article
by Freya Ray
"As above, so below. As within, so without."
"There is no separation."
"Love thy neighbor as thyself."
Yes, it's quotes day here at Widdershins. But I have a point. I'm here to promote the open-armed embracing of that which is superficially deemed "other." The three quotes above come from very different sources, and yet all speak to the same truth. One person is like another in their soul. If you have eyes to see, all are worthy of the same loving respect.
Before you march up on top of your pagan high horse and tell me all about how you already know this, and how as a member of an oppressed religion you know this better than anybody and about how because you're ninth circle or the Priestess of Cool you definitely know this, allow me to ask you a question. When was the last time you made disparaging remarks about Christians or muggles, or even Gardnerians or fluffbunnies?
Point taken? Good. We all have problems with judgment. We all believe in separation. I know that there are a few exceptions to this who are walking this plane, some of them surrounded by millions of devotees, some of them accepting donations of change and derision by the side of the road. But the chances are good that you're not fully enlightened. I'm not either, if you can believe it. Which means, when being lazy or careless, you forget things. Like you forget that we're all one, we're all one Spirit, we're all in this together. You start believing in your own oppression or enlightenment, your own intelligence or spiritual ascendancy, your own betterness or difference.
You're not different, not really. And you can remember this all on your own. Here's a simple exercise, best practiced on the bus, in DMV waiting rooms, or in laundromats. Look at your fellow human beings, the great mass of humanity most people generally try to ignore as much as possible. Look for the light of their souls shining within them. Keep looking until you see it. To avoid getting beat up ("Whatchou lookin' at? You lookin' at me?"), you can spend a large amount of your "looking" time with your eyes closed. Picture people in your mind's eye and see their bright shiny souls. See the amazing wonder of their spiritual selves. It's your spiritual self too, you know. We're all one. We're all made out of the same soul stuff. If you're not seeing theirs, you're not seeing your own either.
When you get to where looking at any other human being you run across brings you close to the point of tears because you're overwhelmed by love for them, then you've got it. You've reminded yourself to see inside people, rather than quickly assessing their exterior and dismissing them as different. Feel better about yourself as well? You should. You can't run around head-over-heels in love with all of humanity without including yourself in the excess of devotional energy.
Of course there are differences between us, on mundane levels. We're all part of Spirit, and not everyone gets to be the same part. If we all together make up the hands of the divine, well, we don't all get to be the opposable thumb. But some of us like being that extended middle finger anyway, and wouldn't trade it for the more "evolved" position if it were offered to us. Everyone is playing the role they chose before they came in. Love them for that choice, love them for playing their part and enriching your experience on this plane.
I know for sure I'm not totally enlightened. Whenever I think of the man who abused me as a child I know that I still don't like him. I have brief moments, when I'm feeling very good about life, when I can distantly and abstractly love him as a soul and for what he taught me. But love him personally, and want to be in the same room with him? Nowhere near it. I can use this extreme example to check where I'm at in my own journey toward love. You can do the same, if moved to. It can be helpful to remember that the people who have hurt you this lifetime have done so as their part of the great drama we all play out together. Some people have to be the villains, or the story has no juice. If we're all Mister Rogers, it's a pretty bland life, eh? I'll take the passion, thank you. The passion, and the melodrama, and the hurt and joy and healing and growth.
When you're good at loving the people on the bus, try loving your enemy. Try loving your neighbor as yourself. Try remembering that the feelings you hold inside you are reflected and created outside you. Pick your favorite enemy and try to love him or her. It will help you heal the part of you that was damaged by the encounter. And it will help you own the good things that came out of the pain -- the wisdom or strength you acquired through getting the shit kicked out of you.
Spiritually, we also have judgments. "This is my magic, that is not." "This religion is good, that one is bad." Well, allow me one brief moment of ranting: From the crap I've heard coming out of many of my fellow witches' mouths, I can tell that if they were running the world there would be Christian-bashing and discrimination in as many forms as we see today in the reverse. I know that there is hatred and hateful acts propagated by any religion in power. That's because people are in power. Whenever there's power to be had, people who want it and like to abuse it will gravitate toward it. Don't tell me you haven't known any pentacle-wearing types who want to know how to work spells for their own gain. I won't believe it.
Anyway, my point is, it's the people who are the problem, not the religions themselves. A reading of the scripture of any major religion will reveal a nice juicy human muddle of loving and intolerant statements, resulting in a nice juicy human muddle of loving and intolerant followers, using the statements to justify their loving and intolerant acts.
Seek out the love. If there's a religion that bugs the hell out of you, go do some more reading. And read for the good parts, like you look for the good parts of those folks on the bus. Visit some churches (temples, ashrams, sweat lodges), looking for the good moments. Most spiritual gatherings have at least a moment when the congregation is visited by Light. If you're open to it, you can share in the experience of being uplifted when it happens.
Try to leave your preconceptions at home. I've been to goddess circles where nothing rose except the egos of our priestesses. I've been in places I was initially tempted to dismiss as "not my path," and experienced a moment of shared revelation. Spirit is everywhere, in everything.
Seek Spirit in some new places. It will open your mind and your heart.
Reach out to people you have nothing in common with. They are just like you.
There is no separation.
Freya Ray is a professional psychic, shaman, writer and teacher. She can be reached for comment or for psychic readings by phone at (206) 276-4290 or freya_ray@yahoo.com. For full information on her practice and a writings archive, check out www.freyaray.com/.
Copyright © 2006 by the article's author