Opiate of the Masses

Recently, one of the major newspapers had this headline, which I circled in red.

My response: So what?

My problem is that the underlying headline here is:

Which exclusive club does Obama belong to?

America is obsessed with titles, with class and with being able to box up someone's beliefs and stamp it with a label. "I don't care about your spirituality...what CHURCH do you go to?"

There is a huge chasm that separates religion and spirituality.

Religion is an organized, compartmentalized, notarized, approved-by-the-board, budgeted, ice-cream social that insists on turning a very intangible part of a human's life into a scheduled business-like PTA meeting with God, where brownies and coffee will be served. Religion is the free vacation, that, at the end turns out to be nothing more than a time-share sales pitch. At first you were thrilled and thought this was the best thing ever. Then the bill comes. Religion puts a pastor /priest in front of you who dictates to you what you should think. Each of their homilies and eulogies are skewed by their own human flaws and perspectives, but you take it as the Word. And, by God, don't disagree or ask questions. They don't want challenges, just compliance.

Spirituality is inward and so very different from religion, whereas it deals with the individual's ethos, feelings, intuitions and experiences. Internal reflection that results in an inner journey of prayer and contemplation to find a clear, unique and transcendental Truth. It is free-form, organic and cannot be added up so you get a statement with your yearly tithe amount to write off on your taxes. It is more of the Henry David Thoreau version. Simple and natural and without distractions, crowds, guitars, podiums, sound systems, or sign-up sheets.

Jesus said "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar." Jesus was speaking about money, not one's mind and soul. A person's spirituality should not be a commodity that is commercialized, nor a revenue stream for a corrupt institution, diocese or papacy. Today's Caesar is the Church...and I refuse to prostitute my beliefs for a smartly robed pimp.

I don't deny that Obama's beliefs should be taken into consideration when inspecting his candidacy because life is a cake that is hard to separate. However Obama believes, there will unfortunately be much scrutiny if he is NOT part of an institutional church that the media can put their hands on and interview. He will be viewed with suspicion if he is a maverick believer. The media should ask"What do you believe?" rather than "What church do you go to?" It is like asking, are you a Ford or Chevy person. It doesn't matter what brand vehicle you drive if you secretly wish for a Honda. The heart of the matter is being missed and the kidney is being hit!

It is not easy to rip off the heavy church bar code from the inner self, IT HURTS, especially if its been there since birth. I personally have found my spirit to be so much lighter without it. And without that heaviness, I have found peace, and with peace comes clarity to recognize Truth, and with that clarity comes happiness. And for anyone reading this, I wish for you the inner ability "to recognize" and thus attain this same happiness.