What I Believe by Carol Wright

Carol shared this with me at our discussion at Cafe Ventana on Swami Prabhavananda’sThe Sermon on The Mount According to Vedanta…

What I believe (or think I believe or feel I believe)

• that there is some force within and beyond ourselves which permeates all creation
• that this spirit enlivens everything that breathes, and possibly rocks and stones and dirt of the skin of Gaia
• that I am what I am (according to Popeye) and I must eat my spinach and take care of my body
• that there are mysteries that cannot be explained and that the primary mystery is ourselves and how (or even IF) we can come to know ourselves and begin to know another – the mystery of words and our attempt to communicate with these little black lines on a piece of paper
• that (and I say this cautiously) there is good in every person; that some people hide their good from fear or anger; that some people’s good has been crippled by their upbringing and education
• that it is hard to be myself (to your own self be true)
• that I am compelled to help when helping is not what is needed
• that it is possible to know my truth if I have to courage to face it
• that even though ego-centric and sometimes selfish and lazy, I am essentially a good human being who wishes for some kind of deep communion with another (even though it is sometimes frightening)
• that people in general long for love and acceptance and divert themselves in crooked ways to find it (in addictions, greed and lust for power)
• that sex between consenting adults is only evil if one is using or degrading another; physical relationship be it lust or love is good; love of self is paramount in order to develop compassion for other and the earth and the spirit of all things
• I believe it is hard for me to embrace religion because I refuse its dictates and question what it teaches; Jesus condemns what does not bear fruit and commands perfection which I long ago decided was an impossibility
• the only perfection is the spirit which upholds the world
• that life and love and the beauty of the earth and our interdependence with all living beings and the immensity of the ever-expanding universe are powerful and disarming and can lead us to the true nature of ourselves