Spirituality When You are Living Off-Grid

I had the unique upbringing to have parents from widely different religious backgrounds; my dad grew up Italian Catholic while later in life he went back to the reservation to be exposed to and study his Native roots, while my mother is from Israel. While my mother grew up with atheistic parents in Israel, everything is grounded in Judaism, from the language, holidays and education. The setting is similar for someone who is not Christian in America but still learns about the Christian knowledge and how we as a country celebrate many public holidays that were original Christian holidays.

My parents didn’t want to force me to be any particular religion therefore as I was growing up wanted me to have a well rounded knowledge of what is available, so we would attend any and all religious events. I have been to almost every type of Christian church (there seem to be hundreds of varieties) from kneeling down in Catholic mass to seeing snakes handled in church to holy holy revivals with people speaking in tongues to being baptized in a river to singing the gospels with thousands, touched my head to the floor with Muslims and Sufis, chanted with New Agers, hugged trees on full moon nights, danced around a fire with hundreds, visited holy sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, had sweat lodges with elders, talked with self proclaimed gurus, lived with a monk, ate (broke bread) with people (many now friends) of every background, held hands in a circle with hundreds at the Teotihuacán pyramids in Mexico, and have been touched by the spirit at all of them.

My greatest feeling of wonder and greater purpose is when I am in nature. Knowing that my church is anywhere and everywhere I am makes me want to respect, take care off, and have wonder for everything and everyone I see and experience.

I think of God for want of a better word as everything, Oneness. I think at one time we were all One big ball of energy and as times goes on our oneness with each other and the universe has spread out. When we do things together, by occupying the mind and body, whether at a church, religious establishment, or dancing together at a concert, our spirits are free to get reconnected to the oneness and this connection to each other reminds us that we were once all One.

Have you ever felt a connection to everybody, beyond just a telepathic connection, and everything when you get a large group of people together doing the same thing; whether ritual or dance or a concert?