(Cross- posted at Integral Christian.com)
I don’t care what a person’s faith is as long as they practice it from their higher self.
That’s not a very Christian statement for me to make, however, it is no less true. A conviction in God has been a calling chasing me my whole life. I don’t have an evangelical bone in my body and in no way do I feel the desire to reach out and convert the non-believers to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. With that being said, it’s a rare day that passes that someone doesn’t engage me in a conversation about my spiritual practice and my personal beliefs about God, Jesus and faith.
Before I go any further there is a quote by Ken Wilber that I would like to share with you: “Nobody is smart enough to be 100% wrong”. With that being stated, learn what you will from what I write but don’t take it for gospel.
People generally judge my commitment to God as me being a hypocrite or a devoted monk. To respond to that statement I would answer “yes” to both. Perception is how I have been critiqued and both views are likewise accurate. I can’t pick a team/organization/building in conventional Christianity to be true to. I feel equally contented in a Catholic church as I would in a Zen monastery or a Baptist revival for the reason that I experience God’s presence everywhere.
Joe Perez writes, “Encourage readers of the Integral Christian Weblog to consider how the Trinity is alive for you as part of your practice. Where does it fit in your own understanding of your self, culture, nature, and spiritual realms?” The Trinity fits perfectly in my foundation as an Integral Christian. The “I” of Christianity is the interior of me-- “enter into your private room to pray”. This is my contemplative prayer and meditation practice. The ‘We” of Christianity is the collective embrace of the community and the all-inclusive beliefs that we practice and share. Hence, why I feel comfortable in almost any house of worship. Nevertheless it’s all a spectrum, kaleidoscope, divine light that we all experience. The “It” is the interior and exterior of the salvation of the resurrected body of Jesus Christ.
The “It’s” experience is how all-inclusive the Trinity fits into self, culture and nature. The spiritual realms of development are only available to me with the balance of body, mind and soul within self, culture and nature. Within that statement: I as an “Integral Christian” may be an (post-post conventional) example of Christ’s teaching with the grace of God’s help
