Religion without theology
requires each individual participant
of that religion
to be their own minister/priest
in opening themselves to the abiding presence
of numinous/ineffable reality,
aligning themselves with the
rhythm and flow of their life
and living in accord with their destiny
and their calling from the source
of life and being
to be true to themselves
in the ways they respond to what is happening
and to what is called for in the here/now
of each situation as it arises
all their life long
by living out of/expressing/exhibiting/serving
their original nature
and their innate virtuosities
(What they do best
and love/enjoy doing most)
moment-to-moment
through all of the circumstances of their life
in being who they are,
where/when/how they are
and doing what needs to be done
where/when/how it needs to be done
throughout the time left for living.
The foundation of their being able to do this
is a regular and recurring relationship
with emptiness, stillness and silence.
Stillness and silence are just that.
Being still and quiet.
Emptiness requires emptying ourselves of
Fear, Desire, and Duty
and of all of the accompanying
thoughts, emotions, anxieties, concerns,
guilt, worries, etc.
that generate inner turmoil and distraction,
imbalance and disharmony.
Emptiness is returning to balance and harmony
by removing ourselves from the impact
of the destabilizing influences at work in our life.
The quickest way to this kind of emptiness
is to sit still and quiet,
inhale to a count of five,
exhale to a count of five,
and pause between breaths for a count of ten.
Repeat this round for three to five times,
and then return to breathing normally.
The kind of emptiness we seek
is found in the pause between breaths.
This is what we sustain
during our normal breathing,
by simply returning to this experience
of nothing
whenever thoughts/emotions/feelings intrude.
In the emptiness, stillness and silence,
shift into a contemplative/meditative trance state
in which we consider one of the following terms
and explore how it applies to, and may be found in, our life:
Balance - Harmony - Integrity
Sincerity - Vitality - Spontaneity
Intuition - Felt Sense - Focusing - Dreams
(An internet search for "felt sense"
and "focusing" will provide a wealth
of resources for you to explore.
Another resource is "The Wisdom of your Dreams,"
by Jeremy Taylor).
At any point in this contemplative/meditative trance state
something may appear, emerge, occur
"out of nowhere" with an energy impulse all its own.
Pay attention to that.
Explore that.
Follow where it leads.
See where it goes, and what it may lead to,
and where that goes...
And end the trance state when it seems appropriate to do so.
Welcome to the experience
of religion without theology.
–0–
Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy 
“Religion without theology”= Spirituality without religion 🙂
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“Religion” is one of those slippery words whose meaning belongs to whomever is using it. Indigenous people had religion that belonged to the individual people, rather than being something external to the individuals which was taught as a system of thought apart from life and living and imposed upon the people in a creeds and doctrines kind of way, yet, consisted/consists of rituals, ceremonies, songs and prayers, all of which constitute a religious pole to the far extreme of sitting still and being quiet form of spirituality. I think we can be religious without dogma and catechisms and beliefs, but with experience, knowing, intuition, felt sense, focusing, dreams and messages from our body, etc.
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It is possible that spirituality alone is too general, too vague, too free and unstructured for some people, so religion provides a framework, a discipline which some may find helpful, to explore their spirituality. It could provide a support and motivation for some people, than going all the way completely alone, on their own authority.
May be there is nothing wrong with any religion, as long as it is restricted to the individual’s personal life, does not become a rigid (social/cultural/political) imposition on the people following it, and does not dictate doom for all those, who do not agree with its premises!
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Giving people a structure to guide them in their own exploration of their inner experience, without binding them in any way to how they use the structure, or whether they use it at all, is as far as I’m interested in going along the “religious/spiritual” path. It’s the experience and not the doctrine/dogma/explanation/etc. that I’m interested in. Tell them what to do if they want to and leave them alone is my way of doing things…
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So much trouble and fuss in the world can be avoided, is so completely unnecessary, if more people could think like this!
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“I shall show you how the Dhamma is similar to a raft, being for the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of grasping…” I think Christians would do well to view Jesus this way. Let him lead and guide, until it is time to venture on without always looking back (or up) at him. Or as Richard Rohr would say, don’t substitute the messenger (and the worship of him) for the message.
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I think Jesus saw himself as this kind of guide. His “If you would be my followers, pick up your own cross and follow me,” as he was going to Golgotha is saying, “Do it like I’m doing it! Don’t look at me as one who is doing anything for you but showing you what is asked of you!”
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My refutation of original sin and the substitutionary theory of the atonement is the end of Christianity as we know it. All Christian churches cease to have a reason for existence when forgiveness of sins is taken from them. Think of the upheaval and chaos that would cause. It would be terrible for the economy. Of course, in the short term, churches would make a hefty profit selling all of their property and cashing in all their investments, but after that, what? I can’t think of anything that would work as a transition plan, paying church employees what they are making, or even close to it. Which supports my life-long contention that it is easy to be the church as long as the church doesn’t have to pay the bills. I don’t know how the church pays the bills without sin and atonement. That was quite the money maker over the past 2,000 years!
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