Conventional Religion

The great religions of the west have consistently taught their congregations that the divine exists outside of and separate from them; that they are weak and sinful; and that the church is their only legitimate avenue to redemption and salvation. Over time these teachings have created a deep sense of dependence on the church and a compelling, almost irreversible belief in personal guilt. To the extent that these teachings have empowered the church they have disempowered the individual. Instead of teaching the doctrine of divine connection, and uplifting and transforming the masses, these teachings have sought to discredit the nature of human potential.

The Time of Blind Obedience is Over

We now live in a time when more people are better educated, affluent, and informed than ever before. The pace of social and technological change in the world continues to accelerate. Everything is in flux. The culture is rapidly changing. The old order is being questioned and challenged as it never was before. Nothing is sacred. The time of blind, unquestioning obedience is over. People are eager to improve their lives, find peace and happiness, and experience the divine connection the church has intentionally denied them. As more people seek to transform their lives  and experience their divine potential they have come to the realization that guilt and dependence will not help them go forward, but will lead instead to further weakness, confusion, and suffering. More and more people are determined to find a personal connection to divinity and leave their pain and darkness far behind them. As this movement accelerates Church dogma becomes less and less relevant. If the divine is everywhere and in everything it is also in us.

Wisdom Traditions

The ancient wisdom traditions of both East and West have a different perspective on human nature and man’s relationship to divine authority than the views offered by conventional religion. For thousands of years these wisdom teachings have said that the Divine light dwells in each of us and that there is no real separation between man and God but that which we create ourselves. The main purpose of life is to forge our connection to the Divine. As we develop that connection, the power of the Divine flows down into us. As divine power flows into us it lifts us up, helping us evolve into the person we were always meant to be. As we continue to grow, and our capacity to hold more Divine light expands, we become a conduit of unconditional love and compassion to those in need.

The Mystical View of Human Nature

According to the mystic view of human nature we are not sinful, dependent, and weak, but extraordinary beings capable of great luminosity and divine love. If we are to fulfill our true potential, the Divine does not want us to be wracked with guilt over our innate sinfulness, but rather, to find our oneness with Him. Where orthodox religions indoctrinated their followers into belief systems that may limit their inner potential, the ancient mystical traditions developed methods of personal transformation that fulfill that divine potential.

Access to our  light and divinity is certainly a great advantage to have when we are faced with a rapidly changing world, great unrest, high stress, deepening anxiety, and a climate of contagious uncertainty. That advantage is one of the reasons why there has been so much interest in mysticism and alternate approaches to divinity in the west.

This is an excerpt from Alan Mesher’s book, JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?