Shamans and Brahmans and Priests, oh my!

Where do you start when you are looking for spiritual guidance, a spiritual tradition to support you, for your “perfect fit” in this bewildering forest of different religions, traditions, beliefs and teachers?

It can be very confusing.

First, remember it’s a process. We have been raised, educated and conditioned with certain beliefs which color almost everything in our lives, including our acceptance of other beliefs.

So, baby steps.

It would have been almost impossible for me to jump from my early indoctrination in Catholicism to Shamanism in a single leap.

When I was a kid, I was an avid church-goer, even bumming rides with the neighbors when my parents weren’t going to church. I loved church. I loved learning about God and Jesus. I wanted to be a nun. I went to CCD even after my Confirmation (until my dad said he wasn’t going to drive me there every week). I was a devout Catholic.

And then I wasn’t.

I started to question the church doctrines when I was a teenager. Then I read “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach (published 1970).

It changed my life.

And the search began.

When I broke with the church, there was a void in my life. I still believed in God. I wanted to keep that connection, but I didn’t know how or where to do that.

In college I was introduced to some new ideas, new beliefs about religion and spirituality. Nothing vastly different than my current beliefs, but enough to get me thinking.

Over the next few years, I read a lot of books about spirituality and spiritual traditions: “Bhagavad Gita”, “The Road Less Traveled” (M. Scott Peck, MD), “The Tao of Pooh” (Benjamin Hoff). I would hunker down in the library with a few books about Buddhism and pore over them for hours.

I started attending church at Unity Spiritual Center.

In my early 30s I found “A Course in Miracles”. Another game-changer for me.

My spiritual beliefs evolved and changed over the decades. But I realized something very interesting.

All the spiritual traditions and religions I encountered, when boiled down to their essence, their basic ideas, say the same thing.

Yep. All the same. Same beliefs. Same ideas. Same goals.

They all advocate Kindness and Service. They all believe in Love and Oneness. They all encourage an ongoing practice to help grow and deepen the connection with Spirit/Universe/Higher Power/God (pick your favorite).

How do you decide? There are thousands of books, websites, teachers and videos about spiritual awakening. Google “spiritual awakening”. What looks interesting? Use your intuition. I like to use the body test: if my body gets tight and contracted, it’s probably not a good choice for me - at least not right now. If my body expands, if I feel light and excited, it’s probably a good place to start.

There really is no one right religion, tradition or teacher. Find what or who speaks to you, whichever makes sense to you. You can combine ideas from different traditions. You can follow more than one teacher. You get to decide what’s right for you. You can even change your mind.

Even at my age, I know I’m not at the end of my journey. Spirituality is an ever-evolving process. Who knows where I'll end up?

What a wonderful adventure!