The Spiritual Chicks Question Everything

Excerpted from The Spiritual Chicks Question Everything: Learn to Risk, Release and Soar, October, 2002, Red Wheel/Weiser

Question Everything
Condemn Nothing
Align Yourself With What You Want
   
To us, spirituality is the process of exploring our connection to the universe at large---or, more precisely, to the elusive power that holds the universe together and makes our hair grow, all at the same time.  OK, but what is this power we're talking about?  Science calls it Energy or Consciousness, and theology calls it God or Spirit.  The interpretation of this power varies (scientists measure and quantify its effects, while creationists ascribe human-like body parts and personality traits to it), but there are three general characteristics that are more or less consistent—this power is everywhere, knows everything and can do anything.  Now, that's a kick ass power.  We use terms like God, energy, Spirit and consciousness, along with Nature and the One Life, interchangeably.  But it's all the same ever-present stuff.

So if energy, or God, is everywhere, then where  are we?  And who  are we?  This brings us to the definition of one final term---the One Life Principle.  This ancient idea says that there is a single underlying power in the universe, but the expression of this power takes many forms---baseball players, puppies, exotic dancers, Supreme Court Justices, rocks, trees, even criminals.  And, while you might not be ready to jump on the One Life bandwagon just yet, you must admit that this principle explains a lot about life---not the least of which is how Jerry Falwell, Larry Flint and Mother Theresa can all be "children of God."  We're all spiritual beings, because we're all Spirit.   There you have it.  God, or energy, is all there is.  Isn't it a kick in the ass to realize that we've always been what we're trying to become...spiritual, that is?  

Think about it.  If we are already spiritual beings, then anything we do is spiritual whether it's praying in the highest temple or taking out the garbage.  And because the One Life expresses itself through many forms, we each have our own way of exploring our spiritual connection.  This means that somebody's fistfight may be as necessary for enlightenment as another person's college education.  So there's no need to get into spiritual name calling over what's "good" and what's "bad."  The only thing we need to consider is will this belief, action, idea or conversation bring us what we say we want?  The spiritual process is about questioning everything---examining every idea or concept we have to make sure that it is logical to us, and that it works for us.  But the trick is not to condemn anything in the process.   Everything is spiritual---even stuff that you don't like or don't agree with.  Question everything, but condemn nothing, then decide what you want and align yourself with it.  If we can manage these three steps, we find that our personal power is the power of the universe, and life can be pretty great.