Many people who leave the religious beliefs that they were brought up in harbor a great deal of negativity towards that religion. There are few who can look back on that journey and pick out a few aspects of it that can be appreciated.
Why should we "appreciate" something we walked away from, you ask? Well, for one thing, that path that we WERE on helped to bring us to the path we are currently on! So, in many cases that path was a necessary part of our journey to bring us to the path we may be on currently. And there's something to be said for that!
Here are 5 things that I have come to appreciate about the spiritual paths and religions that I was a part of before coming to my current spiritual path!
1. Those paths taught me the meaning of DOGMA!
From Wikipedia... Dogma is an English term transliterated in the 17th century from Latin (Latin dogma) meaning "philosophical tenet", derived from the Greek 'dogma' (Greek δόγμα) meaning literally "that which one thinks is true" and 'dokein' (Greek dokeo) "to seem good."
As I journeyed on my previous paths, it became very clear to me that we were to accept particular "truths" without question. Oh, I know, there are many people in those previous paths that will shout out 'No! Not true! You are always able to question!' But to them I say hogwash! I had seen it first-hand that certain questions were frowned upon or simply left unanswered as the inquirer was made to feel "less than".
I have seen dogmas defend themselves regardless of the alternative facts presented. And I have seen faithful believers cling to dogmas, creating a false sense of security in their lives.
And it was in seeing these things that I began to fully understand the meaning of religious dogma and how significantly it impacts the lives of so many people. In this knowledge, I became even more adamant on questioning everything that was presented to me, as I began to equate religious dogma to the image in my head of a horse with blinders on.
2. Those paths gave me a foundation of "religious knowledge".
I've always believed that knowledge of any sort is powerful. And so it has proven true with religious "knowledge" as well. Despite the fact that I may not subscribe to the "knowledge", having that background has helped me to question things that I had formerly accepted as truth. Had I not had this indoctrinated education, I would not have been able to put some of the pieces together to even begin to question them.
As an example- if I were to look at a major religion that I have little knowledge about, and someone were to state a "fact" about that religion; I would not be able to debate it or discuss it with considerable certainty as I have little knowledge of those "religious facts" (as they are taught). Knowing the historical basis of certain religions has helped me to see a BIGGER PICTURE in regards to religion and its place in history.
3. One path showed me the reverence of RITUAL
Fun fact... I went to Catholic High School. I can recall having to attend "chapel" and often bailing out of it to hide out in the Guidance office... or anywhere really! Well, this one day I had nowhere to go and we were all corralled into the chapel. As I surely wasn't interested in what was being said, and couldn't hear most of it anyway; I was whispering about something completely off topic to the friend sitting at my side. It was then that one of the teachers pulled me aside and explained the importance of showing respect and reverence despite the fact that I may not follow that path.
From that point on, I would attend and sit in respect. And in doing so, I observed those "rituals" and the more active participants. I realized that when performing a ritual of ANY sort, one is showing respect, not just to the faith, but to the energies and deities that you are calling upon. This respect for the reverence of ritual practices made it a natural progression for me when I began to show reverence for my ancestors while on my current path.
4. My previous religion showed me that what someone does within church walls is not as meaningful as what one does outside those walls.
I can remember sitting in a service years ago and hearing the preacher flat out tell everyone that "we do no good while sitting here, the only real good we can do is that which we do outside of these walls". He then went on to say that it didn't even matter that all of us were sitting in that church if what we did outside of those walls didn't show others that we live our beliefs.
This was probably the last time I even sat in a "church" to be honest! For it was then that I had the epiphany that how I lived my life was of far greater importance. This realization instilled in me the importance of "living my truth".
5. I appreciate that one path taught me to "Avoid the Appearance of Evil"... and here's why!
I can remember arriving to an evening church service in my beat up Dodge Aspen with newly applied Grateful Dead stickers plastered all over it. Oh, the looks I got! At the time, I was young and absolutely had no idea what the big deal was! Finally, one of my friends pulled me aside and explained the "evil" in that music and why it "didn't look good" that I had those stickers on my car.
He went on to share a (hypothetical) story about a man who is seen parked in front of a liquor store even though he had been going into the adjacent food market. Explaining that because he happened to be parked in front of the liquor store, should someone impressionable see his vehicle there; it may cause that impressionable person to lose their faith.
Hmmm..... well, I can tell you it didn't change my mind about the stickers OR the music; but it did bring to light a more powerful message in my eyes. People will judge you based on what they see, even if they aren't seeing the whole picture.
What are some of the things that YOU appreciate about the spiritual paths you have been on in your life? (The ones that you are no longer following that is!)
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