Statement of Purpose

I was called to start NO APOLOGIES as a way of sharing my spiritual journey. I used to buy into plenty of stereotypes and assumptions about the "spiritual life," and had plenty of battles with my prejudices before I could even begin my own conscious journey. I continue to struggle with them even today. My hope in sharing my own journey was to dispel enough of the most potent stereotypes to grease the way for similarly prejudiced others to embark upon their own conscious journeys.

Spirituality is not about crucifixes and intolerant demagoguery, nor is it about flowing organic cotton dresses in shades of the sunrise, crystal jewelry and dizzying doses of patchouli oil. It’s about remembering that we are one with source and inhabiting that unity in any form which fits our unique identity. It's not about avoiding suffering any more than it’s about piling it on and wallowing in it. It's about recognizing, processing and transcending suffering. The more we can transcend our own suffering, the more elevated we become, the greater our capacity to help alleviate suffering in others. And because we are One, alleviating suffering wherever it’s found is the highest calling any of us could answer no matter our material status, daily uniform, spiritual label and no matter the form of alleviation.

In other words, whether a half-naked pygmie in an African jungle; a pin-stripe suited national bank executive; a cloaked priestess of a wiccan coven; or a collared Father at St. Catherine's; all of us are here for the same purpose - to fulfill our soul's purpose, and our journeys all end in the same place. And whether you actively pursue and change the larger culture to such a level that no one ever goes hungary or has no place to sleep; or teach and counsel others about spirituality; or raise your children such that they blossom into their full purpose with relatively little strife or trauma; or simply flash the tollbooth employee a smile that reminds him of his own divinity, it's all the same. It's all equally important. Don't let something as minor as the "form" anyone's journey expresses confuse you, or let that confusion shy you away from flowing freely and openly in your own journey.

I have, over the years, strayed far from this blog's original intent. But that too, is just part of my own journey. Now, I'm at a point of dramatic change. I’ve posted a lot in the last two years about stagnation. Some time during September 2009, probably because of my prolonged stagnation, I had a mini-nervous breakdown. Not the kind that requires medication and a trip to the country. But that kept me up two or three nights in a row in a panic, crying, certain that soul-death would begin if something wasn’t done immediately. Because of the panic attacks, I have entered into a kind of therapy over which, 20 years ago, I would have had a good laugh. But since then, minor miracles have begun blossoming. Minor, but vital to someone who, after 2+ years of banging her head against a seemingly closed door, shut down mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Someone who no longer recognized herself.

A fresh round of my own unfoldment appears to be underway now, and so it seems a good time to resume my original intent.