2ndchance

Connection

Wow.

Just finished participating in a spirituality group here at Smith Mountain Lake.  An amazingly diverse group of people. . .each with different faith stories which have impacted their mental health recovery.  I found myself, for the first time in a long time, sharing some of my own journey with a group of strangers new friends.  It has been a while since I have been in a place where I felt comfortable sharing my spirituality in the context of my mental health recovery.

And this is the place to do it.  All of us here are in recovery here.

I even touched upon my suicide attempt. . .in the context of a discussion we were having on the topic. (First time for that too, in a long time.)  One of the other group members had said that she could not understand how someone could get to that bad of a place.  She thought it was a totally selfish act.

Well, it is a selfish act.  But I wanted her to understand how and why I got there. . .in spite of my faith in God and in others.  How I had lost faith in myself, and did not want to enter either hell or heaven, but just to stop.  How it created a huge hole that sucked me down, and how an amazing series of coincidences saved my life.  So I shared this.  And it opened the door for several other people to affirm what I had just said. . .those who have reached that same bad place and survived.  It is very empowering to talk to other 'survivors' and to listen to their stories.

It is almost time for bed and another long day tomorrow awaits.  I think I will sleep well tonight. . .surrounded by beautiful nature and beautiful people.

P.S. I also had a very empowering talk with two group members who attend a church in my home town.  Sounds like something I might want to check out.

Today=FTW

Tag

Here is a thought-provoking essay from my friend Liz on the socio-political place Christianity has in America and around the world today. . .including some needed reminders of the history of religious persecution, and a surprising story of one parish's fight to live out their beliefs.  Take the time to read the whole essay.

Revolution

With the death two days ago of Tammy Faye Messner (Bakker), it is worth it to take a closer look at the state of Christianity today.  In the 80's and 90's, Jim and Tammy Faye stood for all that was hypocritical.  I remember disliking their 'brand' of Christianity long before their fall from grace.  In spite of all that happened, Tammy Faye managed to turn her life around, live out her faith, and die with dignity.

Interestingly enough, Tammy and Jim's son, Jay Bakker, has founded a ministry called Revolution:

To show all people the unconditional love and grace of Jesus without any reservations due to their lifestyle or religious background, past or future. This love has no agenda behind it (I Corinthians 13:5). This grace sets no timeline on personal change or standards for spiritual growth (Romans 4:4-5). The idea is to be a part of people’s lives because we truly care for them rather than to fulfill a religious duty; to walk with them through all their struggles as a part of their life, not as a religious outsider. The desire at the heart of Revolution is to see this idea spread to other communities and churches. We aspire to see people from other communities and churches taking to heart the true message of the grace and love of Christ, and in turn to see them spread this message to those in their community, building relationships and sharing in the life experiences of those around them (Galatians 6:2-3), and living out the grace, hope and love that God has blessed them with.

Religion or lack therof

I have been hanging out on a message board for over five years now.  For four of those years, I have been a moderator. . .so I get to see much of the 'behind the scene's stuff'.  We used to have a very diverse membership. . .many political views, many religious views, music, sports, etc.  Lately, our little board has been more like a gated community.  We had to close down direct new membership joining to combat all the spam, and when we re-formed after being dropped from our big draw, Wil Wheaton, we lost much of our visibility.

The moderators and admins work very hard at keeping the peace and maintaining the site. We try to take a balanced approach to manage the variety of opinions.  Over the past six months or so, a core group of members who are anti-religion have developed a strong presence.

Truth be found

My spirituality is grounded in the Christian faith. Although I have often wandered away from these roots and have tested their validity - endlessly - the basic teachings of the Christ remain close to my heart. I'm glad that God cared enough about us to take on human form and walk among us as one of us. It is the ultimate expression of compassion that although we humans have made a mess of things, God does not give up on us.

I am also a growing Buddhist. I am of the belief that God has spread truth throughout the world, in many different traditions, and I greatly admire other spiritual leaders from those traditions. One of those leaders is His Holiness, the Dali Lama. In his book "The Compassionate Life", the Dali Lama writes about the practice of the six perfections: generosity, ethical discipline, tolerance, joyous effort, concentration, and wisdom. Each day I set my mind and spirit to practice these perfections just a little bit better than the day before. Some days I improve. . .other days I screw up. But the process of striving toward perfection keeps me from becoming stagnent and challenges me on all levels of living.

Look for truth in unexpected places.