Joy of Freedom by Freydoon Rassouli
I am Jewish. I even practice the Orthodox Jewish faith. Does this make a difference?
I feel like I’ve gotten to know many of my wonderful readers through social media channels and this has not come up. Part of me felt like I was hiding something important about myself and it felt sort of…dishonest.
Yet another stronger part of me felt like it didn’t matter at all. But does it?
I could not help asking myself this question, in particular around Christmas time or New Year’s, when everyone else extended their wishes to me but I was not really celebrating anything. In fact, Chanukah came and went like a snow flurry somewhere around Thanksgiving time.
It was nice seeing everyone so excited and immersed in the holiday. Yet at the same time, I never felt like a minority quite like I did then.
And it made me start thinking about—you know—stuff. Like tribal unity and community.
Because after I had my spiritual ‘awakening’ that I wrote about here, none of the religious separation existed at all. Actually, I’ve read accounts by people who sensed the unity of all beings—with all humanity being aspects of the one self.
Any religious notions, beliefs, and separation that I once held deflated like balloons leaking air. Unstoppable. Inevitable. Empty.
Truth has a way of seeping out of the soul and dispelling delusion.
Rather than sensing differences among people, races, and religions, I felt like I KNEW everyone who came into my field as reflecting part of me back. It was wonderful! And unifying. It was full of love. Many times I felt like my heart was overflowing with endless, magical, spectacular love.
It was as real as anything I have ever known. The energy that pulsed out of me and around me at that time was immense, magnanimous, unconditional, and overwhelming.
I floated aloft somewhere between the heavens and earth. Hovering among celestial revelations. My heart opened and eclipsed all that I thought I knew about the world.
Instead, I saw all religious differences as imagined—conjured up by a false perception of reality. When studied closely, the basic tenets of all the faiths uncannily resembled each other. It was only the outer form—the shell—that differed and kept them from mixing.
The only dilemma—if you could call it that—was how would I fit my former life into a bunch of airless balloons? And would I have to?
Because what started happening was that instead of me trying to fit into a former life, the life began to transform to fit me.
And here’s the clincher that intrigues me most…Out of the many people whom I started connecting with, often the ones I bonded with more closely ended up being Jewish. It’s not like I was seeking anyone out. The Tribe was calling to me. Was this a coincidence?
Nothing happens by chance. In an intricately interwoven network, the cogs and springs must work synergistically at all times.
So…you tell me. Does Faith really matter in a world of unplugged balloons?
I wish I had the answer.
Hmmmmmm . . . I think it’s ALL about FAITH . . . just not the kind that comes with rules! XOXOXO
I wonder about those rules too… They do seem to serve as guidelines though, or as a blueprint for living in many ways. Not everyone needs to be told not to kill but it sure does help to have that one in place. If our consciousness were more awake, we surely would not need rules at all. We would hear the guidance we are already getting that some of us may have put on mute 🙂 XOXO
Love this mental meandering! Having grown up in and around many, many faiths I can answer: faith matters if it matters to you.
How very true! Thank you, Kim 🙂
YES Faith Matters. It matters very much. But the kind of faith I am speaking about is not ‘believing’ in a set of rules or doctrines that have been passed on through countless consciousnesses, but faith born of having actual oneness experiences such as those you describe. Then it becomes ‘knowledge’. And this we can confidently share and teach and use to take us to the beyond and back at will.
Written by one who KNOWS very well! XOXO
My faith resides in the core of my person, and I find it informs my relationships, my thoughts, my feelings, & my actions. It’s part of who I am. It definitely matters, & I agree that nothing happens exactly by chance. I’m glad to be connected to you in a number of ways, Sarita, my friend.
As I am grateful to be connected with you, Josie, in so many ways. XOXO
The comments here are as illuminating as I hoped they would be! This is the reason I choose to share the way that I do because we all have so much to learn from each other. Also, thanks to your comments, I’ve come to realize that there is a distinction in FAITH.
There is faith that is in our heads which is what we have been “taught” to believe or what has been indoctrinated into us – the rules that Dvora pointed out. Then there is faith that comes from our hearts – at the core of the person, as Josie said so wisely, or that which flows out of a Oneness experience, as Ajnira beautifully noted. It is the faith that is unobstructed by thoughts, ideas, or platforms.
As Kim says so succinctly: Faith matters if it matters to you. Isn’t that true of all things?
Much love, S
Beautiful! Love all the comments! <3
Beautiful, thought-provoking post! I do think this is an important topic and it is something we all need to reflect on. I believe faith matters, yet sometimes it can take time or experiences to acknowledge or realize what faith really means to someone.
Kasey, thank you for your kind words about this post. With each post, it feels like I put myself “out there” a lot and sometimes that feels risky, you know? So all the great feedback is very reassuring! What you say rings true to me too, although sometimes when I really think I’ve found the meaning of something, it suddenly changes due to “enlightening” to something else! Do you ever find that to be true too? xo
Sarita, I love your article! Yes, faith matters in 2014! True faith is believing and knowing that you know, without necessarily “seeing” it or “touching” it, but rather, experiencing it–just as you have so eloquently described. I believe that once that inexplicable, awe-inspiring faith is personally experienced, there is no way that it can’t matter…
Thank you, Ingrid. What a beautiful insight. I feel so inspired by your comment as well as the others here. xo
all beautiful sarita…beautiful words….alona
Thank you, Alona. Your comment means so much to me.