On Saturday, October 21st a small group of interested and supportive friends came together to discuss the topic of the shadow side of religion and how we might use discernment in uncovering it in our lives, relationships and spiritual practice. Larry Springate was our facillitator for the day as this is an area in which he has done a great deal of study.

In order to understand how shadows are generated in religious contexts, we began by looking at the messages that are often a part of what we may receive when we participate in some communities. An example of one of these messsages could be paraphrased in this manner. "One should turn to God for answers and direction as introspective inquiry is self centered and deluding." There is obvious truth in this message, but there is also a misleading shadow mainly caused by a lack of balance. We may be friends of someone who seems to be addicted to therapy, going from one form to another yet never seeming to grow, or whose introversion seems to play out repetitive and destructive cycles. Being human, we seem to need to get our spiritual sense of direction from something which we feel is greater than our individual identity. If we do not, accountable only to our own limited vision, we may fall into errors like co-dependency and self degradation, or gradiousity and hubris. However, this is even more likely to happen if we leave introspection behind, as it is the ability to be self aware in the light of guiding principles which keeps our effort honest. This message is also acted out adversely when we try for a spiritual bypass of personal problems hoping that if we practice long enough, or in the correct manner these difficulities will be dissolved. Often, what happens is quite the opposite, the difficulties invade our spiritual relationships, and without some form of introspection they soon become apparent to everyone in the community except us. Again it is a matter of balance. Participation in spiritual or religious activities is often a tremendous help in resolving personal issues, but introspection is a key to insight which is a much needed part of the solution. A basic trouble with the initial message is that in favoring one approach it forces us to deny other ways which are equally valid and helpful.

Other messages which we may have received are ones like these: 1) It is selfish to have my needs met. 2) If I'm spiritual enough, I'll have no pain. 3) If I have God, I don't need people. 4) Guilt and shame are good for us. There are many more. Some exhibit an obvious imbalance. Some are so dogmatically rigid that we feel judged, or shamed when we decide in a different direction. Some confuse priorities with boundaries and make us miserable trying to know which is which. Our responses to the messages we received can vary greatly. We may have denied them, totally rebelled against them, revised them, or any combination or variation there of. We are often aware of hidden sensitivities when we react to the same messages delivered by others. We may notice them when our adult self seems to go in one direction and our child nature in another. Although this report has been more descriptive, we approached this topic in a personal, rather than purely intellectual manner. If you are interested in exploring on your own you might wish to look at your own experience as we did. First we looked for the messages we received in our religious education and family life. Then we tried to understand their impact on us, and in our relationships to others and to God. Finally we tried to see what we had done with them, how they have evolved, and where we are with them today. As is usually the case, we had a wonderful day. When one choses to explore sensitive issuses it is a blessing to do so among caring and compassionate friends. Our potluck gave us a sense of community and time for conversation. Times of silence together helped us to focus and be guided by that Mystery within us all.

                                                         A.S.