Monday 15 September 2008

Politics and religion - strange bedfellows indeed!

There’s been a recent and very interesting development in the world of politics both in Britain and in the United States. Religion has once again taken centre stage. Now you might say that politics and religion have always been intimate if not strange bedfellows. But this time there’s a twist.

What has struck me is that more than a handful of US and British politicians have sought to portray themselves as both knowledgeable and devout members of their respective religions. In these otherwise unrelated instances, elected officials have made comments regarding the beliefs of their religions. They spoke confidently about what their Church stood for. They were chosen by the people to make policy and to enact laws and yet they decided to stray into the minefield of religion. Boy oh boy, has it backfired.

Let’s look for a moment at what happened in America. There a Catholic politician spoke out regarding the so-called confusion within the Catholic Church about when life begins only to be met with the firm smack of contradiction. The highest officials of the Catholic Church issued immediate statements saying that the only confusion regarding the topic was in the mind of the politician and not within the Church.

My point this week is not to enter into a debate about when life begins. To be sure, this is an emotional topic. What I am keen to point out, however, is that in these recent instances active members of a faith have proclaimed publicly to know what that faith stands for. But they have been wrong.

So, what’s going on here? Were these people careless in their choice of words? No, I sense that they said what they meant and meant what they said. Were they lying or intentionally trying to mislead the public? No, of course not. Were they then simply ignorant of what their religions stood for? Well, saying that the individuals involved are stupid is a copout.

It seems to me that we have become a society that likes to cherry pick, especially when it comes to religion. We take the belief bits that we like and that are easy and we ignore those teachings that don’t sit comfortably with the life that we want to lead. I know people who consider themselves devote Catholics but haven’t been to mass much less confession in years. And I know people call themselves Jewish yet have an irresistible penchant for bacon on pizza.

What I’m getting at is that we are becoming more vocal about being members of our religions. We are tribal creatures and find it easiest to try to connect with the Divine in groups. But when we cannot adhere to teachings of a particular faith, I’m not so sure that we can simply close our eyes to those aspects that trouble us or are difficult to swallow.

When we align ourselves with a group be it a political one or one of religious orientation, we give our energy to it and it gives energy back to us. There’s a circuit that is formed and is maintained. It’s healthy and it’s positive. But when that group stands for something that we cannot accept or support, we experience contradiction. In this instance, the circuit is broken. We give the group energy, but we cannot accept the group’s energy in return. In other words, we put in more than we get back. This is when we experience energy loss.

How much energy we lose and whether the loss affects our lives is something both relative and a matter of degree. What I am encouraging all of us to do this week is to continue our self-exploration of our beliefs. Let’s take it to another level. Look at what groups to which you consider yourself a member. Do you subscribe to their beliefs, teachings or policies wholeheartedly and unreservedly? Or do you cherry pick? If so, then acknowledge that you are giving the group more than you get back. Appreciate the imbalance. And then, ask yourself how much it is impacting your life. Whether it’s perceptible or not, there is a discrepancy.

What you do with this information is up to you. Some of you will go on as you were. Others of you, however, will decide that business as usual isn’t good enough. If you fall into the second group, then you may want to consider working with someone as this can be a rather daunting journey to go it alone.

Every day I work with clients who have chosen to empower themselves to make the changes that they need to live a healthier and more authentic life. Through my Intuitive Life Coaching I provide one-on-one sessions to guide and inspire my clients to do it for themselves, whereas my Medical Intuitive Readings help identify the spiritual issues underlying illness. If you are ready to accept that challenge and behold the awesome potential of your own powerhouse, then let’s get started today!

And don’t forget about my Journey to Power forums. Please join me there and tell me about what you have learned about yourself through your own explorations of your belief systems. I look forward to your postings!

And this week over at PsychicBridges, I consider whether psychics should make political predictions. What do you think? Have a look at what I have to say here!

I always welcome your thoughts and feedback on IntuitiveBridges, so let me hear from you by clicking here.

Until next week,

Kindest regards,

Back To Top