Faith

In the book 20-Minute Retreats by Rachel Harris, Ph.D. the chapters following the basic information needed to engage in retreats is listed by topic. The first topic is that of faith. Harris says that faith is not only faith in God. It is faith in "ourselves, faith in others, faith in our process" (Harris 19). To those of us who are not monotheistic having faith can become something of an issue. Either we are deeply spiritual and do not allow the external world to impact our spiritual lives, or we find it hard to find time for faith when the world bombards us with monotheistic ideals and values and degrades our own.

I often wonder how true to my faith I am. I do not participate in group religous activities. I do not often celibrate the holy days that I belive in. And I most certainly do not go around talking about my faith to others. It is private. But then when I think about how I live my life with the full belief that the universe will provide, I just have to be open to it. Much of my identity is tied to what I belive in. None of the signs of needing a faith retreat are true or present in my life.

I think that this is perhaps true because even though faith is not number one in my lifestyle, it does show in everything I do. I live in the moment as much as possible. I belive nature is sacred and try to act accordingly. Like everyone, I make mistakes. I am not a perfect discordian, nor am I a perfect witch or Darkborne. But I have embraced my faith to the point that I know in my heart and soul what I am. I do not need trapings or cerimony to remind me of it. I feel energy every moment of my life. I see the world through the eyes of one who is endarkend. I have faith in myself because how can I not when I know that I am part of the sacred, part of the all. I am cynical and have little trust in the qualities of my fellow human, but I also am aware that I cannot hold the standard I have for myself as true to everyone. That they do the best they can on their own path, and for how far along they are in their spiritual evolution.

I do realise that not everyone can be this zen about faith. That there is more to it and that others need the trappings and to be reminded of this virtue. For those that do need this, I highly recomend this book.

Reading 20-Minutes Retreats

Harris, Rachel Ph.D. 20-Minute Retreats. Henry Holt and Company.
New York, New York. 2000.

Please see this bibliographical information for all posts mentioning the book. I will include citation of the author's last name in my posts.