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Welcome to OneLife Ministries. This site is designed to lead you prayerfully into a heart experience of Divine Presence, Who is Love. I hope persons of varied wisdom paths will find inspiration here.
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Blessings,
Brian Kenneth Wilcox
MDiv, MFT, PhD
Interspiritual Teacher, Author
You are invited to join Brian at his fellowship group on Facebook – Inspirations for Living – Love, Joy, Peace.
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Enter this sanctuary time by settling down, becoming quiet, and breathing deeply some breaths. Remind yourself you are in the Presence of Love. This place you are entering, within, is the inner Temple, where you are One with God. You may wish to use a mantra, or prayer phrase, follow the breathing in-and-out, or witness the arising and falling of all around you as the manifestation of universal-God. Enjoy these moments of quietly settling and come out when you are ready.
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A disciple approached the Spiritual Master. “Master, I'm excited.” “Why?” “I've found out that my nephew now goes to a church?” “And?” “Well, certainly this means he is now a Christian?” “Friend, when a boy I used to go with my dad to feed the swine every day, but that did not make me a pig.”
*Story by Brian Kenneth Wilcox
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Many of the hate letters I get indulge in guilt by association. “You quoted Marianne Williamson; therefore you are really a Course in Miracles person and you are not a Christian.” It works the other way too. “You quoted the pope, so you must be okay.”
I think Christianity has created a great problem in the Western world by repeatedly presenting itself, not as a way of seeing things, but as one competing ideology among many. Instead of leading us to God in new and surprising places, it too often has led us to confine God inside our place. … It is easier to belong to a group than to belong to God.
*Story and quote Richard Rohr. Everything Belongs.
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I got a lot of hate mail while serving a mainline church in a small southern town. The emails were so hateful, I ceased reading them and referred them for safe-keeping to my personnel chair. I deleted the mail. This hatefulness was based on ignorance and fear; and the messages and threats got bad enough law officers would sit in our worship services on Sunday. One cause of this meanness was that I had a beautiful hand-carved Buddha statue at my home altar. I was accused of being a non-Christian, and one of the ring-leaders of this hatefulness was praying for God to save my soul, for to her to so respect Buddhism certainly meant I was an idolater and not a follower of Jesus. Yet, she seemed to have no problem defying the principle teaching of Jesus: “Love others as you love yourself.” Apparently, her loyalty to a “christian” group was more important to her, and others, than loyalty to the Way of Christ. I am certain many Buddhists are too Christlike to act so un-Christlike as that “christian” lynch-mob acted toward their pastor and spiritual leader.
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The founder of the last Christian group I served as pastor in said, “The world is my parish.” Yet, his view was his group, only “christians,” were in the right group.
Well, the world is my parish, and no one has to belong to the “christian” group, any religious group, to be in love with God and, yes, Jesus too.
No, I am not advocating one is better off not being part of a group to share in the spiritual Path. I am saying belonging in itself does not make one anything at all but a member of that group. Likewise, we cannot conclude rightly that one must belong to such a group, or he or she simply is irreligious or unspiritual, and worse damned to some damnation. Groups generally focus on an ideology, and much religious ideology leads many persons to a devotion to a group that supercedes a commitment to Truth.
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In what ways does belonging to a religious or spiritual group potentially aid in spiritual growth? Can hinder? Do you belong to a religious or spiritual group? Why? How does it aid you to grow in your experience of the Divine? What about it do you see as not helpful to persons seeking to live a deep spiritual Path?
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©Brian Wilcox, and OneLife Ministries. 05/06/2010
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*OneLife Ministries is a ministry of Brian Kenneth Wilcox, SW Florida. Brian lives a vowed life, as an Associate of Greenbough House of Prayer. He lives with his two doggie friends, Bandit Ty and St. Francis and serves as a jail Chaplain.
*Brian welcomes responses to his writings at briankwilcox@yahoo.com . Also, Brian is on Facebook: search Brian Kenneth Wilcox.
*You can order his book An Ache for Union from major booksellers.
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