How Can We Be Free Without Faith?
On rebellion, surrender and the courage to see the good.
There’s a God shaped hole in the heart of humanity, and it shows.
It’s so blatant and painful we can’t even look at it.
It’s clear it won’t be filled with endless wars and woes —
Or the materials we mine from a planet we’ve made our foe.
The G word… it was bound to come up at some point.
I don’t use it very often… carries a lot of baggage.
But I just got back from an unexpected pilgrimage, so I thought, why not?
After all, I use plenty of other words I’m not supposed to.
Here’s what I’ve been reflecting on since.
Can Faith Fill The Hole?
I’m sure a lot of people could do with a return to a faith in something greater, right about now.
Not blind faith. Not hope. Not belief. Not words. Real, tangible faith bolstered by a direct experience of the life intelligence, within and all around us.
The time is ripe for it.
The separate mind is slowly being brought to its knees.
Eventually, it will tire of the chaos and divisiveness inside (and outside) and start seeking order — a higher order. One I believe can only be fully brought about by an inner surrender to something greater than ourselves.
Alas, it’s not so straightforward.
A lot of damage has been done in the name of the Creator.
Trust in the middleman or any institution is low.
Trust is low, full stop.
Faith can fill the hole, but it doesn’t come cheap.
It’s a variable rate depending on how hard your shell has become.
Mine was as hard as a turtle's.
It took more than a few Hail Marys to crack.
And I’m not done yet.
The cracks might be ‘the place where the light enters,’ but we still have to make some room for it. The light of faith has to be invited in.
Problem is, faith is hard to come by for most of us.
The black market doesn’t sell it.
It must be forged inside by the fires of Life.
It must also be chosen.
Whatever the cost, it’s worth it, because without it, we’re left with very little.
Meagre crumbs, the kind the world calls success: the job title, the bank balance, the shiny things — they won’t cut it when life comes along and shatters all you thought you were or had.
Hope might keep you hoping and we do need it, but faith will lift you out of the shit.
Everything is hijacked.
The bad news is everything is hijacked to some degree. From spirituality to ceremony to hegemony — to every damn thing the disconnected mind wants to suck dry of its soul.
Dogmatic and divisive rhetoric still exists.
I was reminded of this last week.
‘Yoga… mindfulness… aromatherapy… a sin!?’
‘Holy shit’ suddenly took on a deeper meaning.
It stirred up an old, but familiar inner conflict — Religion vs. God.
Luckily, with a little less hubris and a little more humility under my belt, I was able to navigate it.
I watched the rebellion grow inside and decided to stew in the discomfort until some new awareness bubble popped. And pop it did!
For me, it was this:
Our peace, joy, and love for life must be protected. We can’t let the horrors of the world — or the difficult challenges of our lives — take these from us as easily as they may have in the past.
We certainly can’t allow our words (or anyone else’s) to steal our peace.
In the end, my prescription was simple:
Choose to see the good — always — not just when it’s convenient.
Not so easy, these days.
But perhaps the best way to expand, serve and grow that little spark of ‘godness’ inside us, and everything else, is to acknowledge it — however challenging that may be.
That reminds me of a lyric from a Tom Rosenthal song…
“Break the bread, love your enemy
And if you cannot find a bridge
Just think about your fridge and remember that you've got a
Big pot of hummus…”
That’s the good news: a lot of hummus can be eaten while we strengthen the resolve to love ourselves and our enemy.
We Need To Free Ourselves From Ourselves.
There’s no question about that. But there’s only so much inner work you can do alone.
It can free you up enough to kneel at the altar of your own divinity.
It can pry open the doors of a heart nailed shut with good reasons.
But there will always be something missing, something beyond all comprehension and definition.
Something not owned or gatekept by anyone.
To find spaces that support our communion with this unfathomable thing is up to us. But find them we must, if we want to grow — and possibly stay sane — in this topsy-turvy world.
So, How Can We Be Free Without Faith?
I don’t think we can.
We can get pretty far, but at some point, we’ll come to an impasse that even a bridge between science and spirituality or a bucket load of Ayahuasca won’t cross.
Then we’ll be left with nothing but to bow down and surrender our minds, our lives and our hearts to the mystery.
Call that Grace or call it God — Shiva, Jesus or Mother Mary.
We can call it whatever we like; I don’t think it matters all that much.
What matters is that we find it for ourselves by having the courage to follow our own inner guidance.
Even when the road ahead is unclear.
Even with all our doubts and fears.
Then, when we least expect it, along will come Grace, with the most beautiful slap in the face we never knew we needed.
Until next time,
Keep the faith.
If you’re navigating your own a dark night of the soul, or have questions about finding peace with the mess of it all, I offer 1-1 sessions. Send me an email or find out more here:
P.S. I’m also exploring a small 6–8 person bootcamp for over-coming procrastination and building your soul-mission. If that interests you, let me know and I’ll keep you in the loop.
