August / September 2006

The Blossom and the Rose Stem: The Relationship of Spirituality and Religion
—Sharon G. Mijares

Will religion, as we know it, exist in the future? Many people believe that humanity is on the brink of a spiritual awakening—one that is independent of religious dogma, gurus, or other forms of patriarchal governance. Truly, humanity is ripe for a change. Transpersonal and Humanistic Psychologists have much to offer in emphasizing a psychospiritual model for a needed shift in human behavior and resultant development. It is also imperative that we support the inflow of feminine presence, as this will enable an awakening that truly transforms. I believe that humanity has been unable to embody its ideals, or even to follow the guidance of the founders of each religion, due to inner (intrapsychic) and outer (in the world) gender imbalance.

RELIGIOUS WARS PATRIARCHAL WARS
We look around the world and see many problems and wars initiated by religious conflict based upon patriarchal ideologies. The late Sufi Master Hazrat Inayat Khan noted that: “Whenever there has been a war . . . we always see the finger of religion. People think that the reason for war is mostly political, but religion is a greater warmonger than any political ideas. Those who give their lives for an ideal always show some touch of religion” (Douglas-Klotz). This destructive tendency alone has prompted many new-paradigm thinkers to move away from dogmatic religious beliefs, as religious differences are causing far too much strife in the world. The premise that one’s religion has to be superior to another religion is based in the patriarchal stance that one’s affiliation or belief structure has to be better the other group’s, for patriarchy is founded in a hierarchical structure. This has included the dominance of male over female—an imbalance that prevents the embodiment of spiritual change.

Much of humanity has been influenced by trauma of one kind or another, and this motivates many of its leanings toward revenge, rivalry, and so forth. It has impaired the ability to truly receive and give love—for hearts become armored in fear or underlying feelings of not being safe or loved. Religious affiliation affirms the sense of belonging identified in Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. This alone draws many people to religious organizations, but often the group mindset takes over—convincing them that this group’s beliefs are superior to those of some other belief structure. Alfred Adler would have pointed out that true superiority is attained in comparison with one’s prior knowledge or past conditions rather than in comparison with others, but fundamentalist religious organizations fail to recognize this truth. The tendency of fundamentalist religions to demonize the other supports the patriarchal position of hierarchical one-upmanship.

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FEARS OF ONE WORLD
The rise in fundamentalism is to be found in every world religion, but most prominently in the religions of the Middle East: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. According to Karen Armstrong (2000), and others, it is associated with the fears caused by the advances in technology, the loss of familiar structures as the world community develops, and so forth. I would also like to add that a prominent feature includes the challenge to previous belief structures, and the unwillingness to examine new paradigms. Fundamentalists also rely on narrow interpretations of religious scripture, and a reliance on the memorization of selective passages. Therefore, religious practitioners often fail to recognize the spirituality at the very core of religious writings.
Religious fundamentalism is extremely dangerous, particularly because of its relationship to and influence on political decisions. The women authors of The Root of All Evil: An Exposition of Prejudice, Fundamentalism and Gender Imbalance (Mijares, Rafea, Falik, & Eda Schipper; 2007), address major errors in fundamentalist thinking found in the Middle Eastern traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Although gender imbalance and fundamentalism are found in all of the world’s religious traditions, it is most notable in those traditions. For example, the following passage from The Root of All Evil gives an example of destructive beliefs, motivating many recent political maneuvers, which threaten humanity’s well-being and validate the need for true psychospiritual development. (Background: Jewishpeople revere Solomon’s Temple, which was first demolished by the Babylonians, built again, and then destroyed again during the Roman occupation of Jerusalem. This temple has been demolished twice and Jewish people long for its rebuilding. The location just happens to be in the area of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, a sacred shrine for Muslims and Christians, respectively. Meanwhile, some Fundamentalist Christians believe the rebuilding of the third Temple to be associated with the arrival of Armageddon wherein Jesus will descend to gather all Christians and take them to Heaven. The rest will burn in Hell. Tragically, all these beliefs are influencing many political moves.)

Extremist Zionist Jews have focused on the rebuilding of the Temple, forgetting that it is a metaphor for the true Temple within the Heart; radical fundamentalist Christians have focused to a greater extent on the destruction and end of the world, forgetting that Jesus told them the kingdom of Heaven is within; whereas Islamic extremists have been dreaming ways for destroying those who differ from them, ignoring that the revelation to Muhammad emphasized the naturalness of human variations while emphasizing compassion and mercy to others. Each has failed to focus on the wisdom teachings of their own prophets—who all advised that love for one another was the core behavior of spiritual life.

In short, numerous fundamentalist religious followers are hell-bent upon destruction.

True spirituality emphasizes love and compassion. This is the temple of the heart—the heaven within. Fundamentalist religious beliefs, harnessed to rigid theological dogma, are opposed to authentic spiritual experience with its emphasis on more universal principles. But, the fundamentalist fear of the changing paradigms is valid for them, as dependency on dogma does not meet the needs of people who are awakening to divine love, compassion, and universal wisdom. These are the people who will lead humanity into our next stage of development. Change is inevitable.

Many people have begun to identify with “spirituality” rather than with a specific religion. They don’t want to be identified with rigid beliefs and inflexible value systems. Yet we should also question if it is in our best interest to “throw the baby away with the bathwater,” for few have attained this higher level of spiritual realization.

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At the deeper levels of each religion, there are practices intended to guide and awaken the devotee. Deeper levels of Middle Eastern traditions include contemplative Christianity, Kabbalah, and Sufism (esoteric branches of Judaism and Islam, respectively). Yoga, Taoism, Buddhism, and shamanic traditions have ever-deepening levels of training and realization. These practices encourage both psychological and spiritual development (Mijares, 2003; Mijares & Khalsa, 2005). Also, Neil Douglas-Klotz has shown how Jesus’ original Aramaic teachings reveal the transformative wisdom to be found in the original version of the Lord’s Prayer, a formula for deep psychospiritual development when understood in its original language (Douglas-Klotz, 1989). We do not want to lose these great gifts.

In truth, we still need guidance from those who have awakened before us. It is the patriarchal traditions of the past that are changing. The expectation of the guru–disciple relationship will no longer be the wave of the future. The divine feminine is awakening from her suppression. Each religion has some form of reverence for the feminine, and yet each one has failed to embody the feminine in ordinary life. For example, the Yin- Yang symbol includes recognition of equal feminine and masculine expressions, but China, for instance, has not evidenced gender balance in its culture. A similar pattern is evidenced throughout the world religions (Mijares, Rafea, Falik, & Eda Schipper).

The new paradigm will be a movement influenced by feminine values and gender balance. This new vibration and repatterning has already begun. As women begin to take their place and influence religious (and political) arenas, there will be a sharing of spiritual (and governmental) guidance rather than a hierarchical governance. This same revisioning has been evidenced in the feminist model for psychotherapy, wherein the client is empowered, rather than the all-knowing therapist having power over the client. Power is shared. The spiritual relationship and the community become more receptive to the awakening power of spiritual awareness and guidance.

The Italian psychiatrist Roberto Assagioli developed a form of psychology for recognizing one’s inner community, and also the Higher Spiritual Self. The work is centered on the spiritual development that occurs as greater harmony is established among the differing parts of ourselves. This same theme is carried through in Stephen Gilligan’s Self-Relations psychotherapy wherein one listens for the presence of the neglected, abandoned, and oftentimes hidden parts of the self as part of the integrative path to wholeness (Gilligan, 1997). As we bring peace to our inner world, and heal our numerous ego defenses, we open to our greater nature—which is to love. According to Gilligan, healing this split enables us to reexperience our oneness with the greater cosmic field. The Golden Rule stresses our relationship to one another. It recognizes the respect and goodness needed by all people, and affirms our oneness. We are all connected in this field of love, but humanity has been unable to ground these religious ideals without the balance of the female and her relationship qualities (Mijares, Rafea, Falik, & Eda Schipper).

What we know as the Golden Rule is found in every religion. The wording varies, but the intent remains the same. Apparently, this is the archetypal bottom line for spiritual and psychological life. It is one of attuning ourselves to the divine presence that is everywhere in the universe, and, in this field of compassion, to love our neighbors (including other religions, races, nations, etc.) as ourselves. This is the divine fragrance of the rose.

SHARON MIJARES, Ph.D., is a Self- Relations Psychotherapist with a private practice at the Del Mar Integrative Health Center in Del Mar, California. She is the co-editor of The Psychospiritual Clinician’s Handbook, editor of Modern Psychology and Ancient Wisdom, and leading co-author of The Root of All Evil. She is currently editing The Revelation of Breath: A Collection of Essays Revealing Its Wisdom, Power, and Beauty. She can be reached at sharonmijares@sbcglobal.net or www. psychospiritual.org.

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