Spiritually Fed

 

I am spiritually fed in many different ways. Sometimes through the messages of different ministers or speakers, sometimes through watching a movie or a video, sometimes by taking a walk in the woods, sometimes by just appreciating my sweetheart or pets or friends.  Ironically, as an adult I have not ever felt that I absolutely had to be in a church attending a church service to be spiritually fed and this is even more true as I grow in understanding that we are all One and everything is God.  But I like to attend church services because I enjoy listening to and learning from the homilies of ministers.  I enjoy talking with other people about their understanding of the message and I like to confirm the sense that I have internally that we are all connected. I don't go to church for socializing although sometimes that is an added benefit. If I go to a church, I am seeking spiritual food.

Each ministry has one or more major focus areas in which they are attracting a particular segment of the spiritual population. For some ministers, the focus is on learning. Others choose creative living. Some might want prosperity to be the focus. Others look for harmony and peace within their congregants. As many characteristics as there are of God that is as many possible areas of focus for a ministry, not to mention the unlimited permutations of mixing and matching foci.

In the end, it is my opinion that the most important aspect of a successful ministry is that the congregants feel spiritually fed.  To me this means that they leave feeling better than when they arrived. They have greater faith and hope for their own lives working well than they had when they showed up. It means that they are uplifted and inspired, not depressed or thrown into the muck.  It means they are growing and enlightening up, not returning to darkness and pain. It means they feel that their lives are better for having received the message(s) and that they actually understand new ways to live and move in life with a greater sense of their wholeness and well being as a Divine child of a Divine Creator.

One of the hallmarks of some of the great teachers and gurus of all time is that when people are around them they feel loved, lifted, inspired and whole. This does not go away just because they leave the presence of the teacher but continues into their everyday life as betterment. The Dalai Lama is one such teacher.

I get concerned when I hear people talk about going to a church or spiritual center where they leave feeling guilty, angry, upset, hurt, in pain, in anguish, confused, in hatred, resentful, or fearful. It is one reason why I left the church I grew up in as a child--who wants to go out every week into the world with a renewed avowal that you are damned for all times because you are guilty, guilty, guilty? 

I have a couple of friends who have been attending a church where they are upset because their congregation is rapidly dwindling in numbers and are now barely a dozen people each week. When this is the regular and consistent way that congregants leave a church or spiritual center, it is my opinion that those people have been starved spiritually and in fact may even have been energetically or spiritually vampirized by the place, others in the church or I hate to say it, even the minister. My suggestion is to stop putting yourself in those situations and find a new spiritual home that truly feeds your soul.

One of my favorite ministers of all time is Joel Osteen. I am always surprised when I hear people criticizing him. He takes no money as a salary for being minister but makes his income from the books he writes and sells. He is always uplifting. I always turn off the radio, TV or the video feeling uplifted and hopeful, and more often than not, inspired. He leaves me contemplating and rethinking previous ideas and assumptions.  I am completely and utterly spiritually fed. If that turns you off that’s okay. He may not resonate with everyone. Find teachers who do resonate. 

When attending a healthy spiritual home, people have healthy tools to move forward in faith. They feel uplifted, inspired, and energized to go out into their lives and their world to be, do, have and experience greater and better experiences than they have before. It's a lofty aspiration. Setting a higher intention for the highest good is definitely the way to go.  A measure of the success of any spiritual leader is the condition of the people attending the church. Some may arrive in pain and anguish. Some may be in the worst bottom of the barrel experience of their life. The question is, do they remain there or do they rise up and learn how to thrive? That is being spiritually fed.

(c) 2021, SZing, Spiritual Creator. Photographs courtesy of Pixabay.