Intolerance in America

There is so much said in this country about religious freedom. For some it seems it is the most important freedom that the United States offers. While the founding father’s fought a war to gain us this freedom, along with many other freedoms, it seems to me that we have spurned religious freedom in favor of an intolerant attitude that “God” is the only name of the true creator. Anyone who believes otherwise is evil, a heathen, a devil worshiper, even anti-American.

I got to see a glaring example of intolerance this past weekend at the base of Mt. Shasta, in California, where I was attending a Retreat. I am following a shamanic path as many of you know. Part of that training is to be non-judgmental, to be loving to all, to accept that others have their own path and that the best I can do for any and all is to clean up my own act and lead by example. A part of that leading is to honor other people’s path.

I recognize today that each of us has a path that differs from all others. Each person has their own unique challenges that they must face. In light of this I can become a light to assist them on their journey. I can offer what works for me, but no matter what, only they can decide how to place their foot upon their path.

During the retreat I got an unhealthy taste of my own intolerance ( the following is from my journal):

… While we were in our circle, a group of elderly folks came up to the tables in the site next to us and began sitting up for a picnic. More and more people showed up. I am assuming it was a church group but I do not know. I did not speak to them and they did not speak to us. It was Sunday around noon and everyone in their party was dressed nicely.

During the steps of our proceedings I kept noticing the other group looking over at us and talking. At one point we began a prayer aloud as usual and we were asked by our leader to get louder to show our true feelings. We did.

When we finished our prayer, I noticed the other group had formed in a rough circle around their tables of food and were in the midst of loudly reciting the Lord’s Prayer. The thought that crossed my mind, “were they trying to drown us out?” The next morning I realized that if indeed this is what they were doing, they only succeeded in drowning us out of their own ears for none of us heard them until we finished our prayer.

Had they been in a prayer, I would like to believe our leader would have honored their sacred communication with their God by delaying our prayer. I know this is what I would have done out of respect for their path. It is not a question of whether I agree with their religious practices; I can respect their path and their sacred space.

...

I am not asking anyone to follow my path, nor am I asking anyone to agree with my beliefs. Yet I will ask that you respect my right to follow it and to respect our sacred space as we do yours.

After listening to her about alternative ways of looking at the situation, I realized my own judgments about Christianity had reared up and became projected onto this group of people who were at no time impolite, at no time disruptive, and at no time interfering with our retreat. When it is all boiled down; the only complaint I could possibly make is that they began their prayer while we were offering ours rather than waiting.

Even this complaint seems childish when I get away from the energy I had given the situation. Like I stated in the journal entry, none of us heard them until we were finished with our prayer.

It is just possible that the timing was such that they were ready to eat, and since we were so loud in our recitation, they could only be loud to make certain that their group could hear what they were saying.

There may be truth in the projections I would put on them, that some of them were indeed disrespecting our sacred space, but it is just as likely they were not. Regardless, who am I to judge (for judge I did) what their intent was? Why would I let their opinion matter to me. And why would I think mine would matter to them?

In the end there was no harm done to either group. The only injuries were self inflicted by me by letting myself become obsessed with the worries of what they thought about me.(After all this is the bottom line, it isn’t about violation of sacred space at all), and the loss of my focus on the Retreat that I had invested so much of my time in.

I have a choice of what to believe:

The first assumes an intent to cause harm, the second an intent of the group to take care of themselves. While I find neither particularly uplifting I do feel the second makes it possible for all to have good intentions. I would rather live in a world where people’s intent is to do no harm.

Granted the second choice might just be a way to delude myself. But in this instance it allows a way to let go with no regrets. The first one allows an old wound to gain new strength and rise up to take away a part of me in a useless expenditure of energy.

From here, the choice is very clear.

Light Seer

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