Epistemology: “Spirituality That Grows Corn”

How do I know what I know? By may actions. I pay attention to my actions. I am alert to my responses. I am aware. This is how I know what I know. I can say one thing and yet do another. I can speak from my intellect and yet my heart (intuition) knows better. And yet the facts are facts and apparent to all who reside in my circle of life.  If I say I accept people where they are at and then ridicule or put them down for being where they are, the facts are I only respect people who are on the same path I am.  I received a post called Inner Journey last week from Rev Jim Rosemergy and his wife Nancy.  They write:

Spirituality that makes sense is a spirituality that grows corn.  Sun Bear contends, "If your philosophy doesn't grow corn, I don't want to hear about it."  Maybe the key is that we are not to hear about spirituality, but to see it in action.  

Wouldn't it be best if a religion never published its beliefs, but left it to others to determine what beliefs it held dear?  There is a consistency between what we truly believe and the way we live.  Sometimes we think of moving to another community and never speaking a word about what we believe.  Instead, we would just live and let people draw their own conclusions about what we value.  It would be interesting to see what people would consider our beliefs to be... Inner Journey info@innerjourney.org

We don’t have to tell anyone who we are and what we expect from our religion i.e. Authority; we don’t have to do what we have always done i.e. Tradition; but we have the opportunity to rely on Personal Validity as we live it.  We pose questions such as: does it work for us and does it fit with our world.  Does it add to our world or make it difficult for us to be in the world.  And the facts are our behavior reflects what we think. And this works well in the world some of the time.

I do just fine in my world until someone asks me: “Are you Christian?”  Or “Do you believe in Jesus?” I recall after attending a Garden Club event in Sierra Vista AZ, I offered a ride to a woman who needed transportation home. We had a congenial conversation, shared many interests in common and then… she asked “What Church do you attend?”  And when I told her…she asked, “Do you believe Jesus died for your sins?” With her awareness that my interpretation of the teachings of Jesus was not hers, we arrived at her home in silence.  

To live in the world with different perspectives does require mutual respect.  And if that’s not there “what people would consider our beliefs to be...” may not work so well, as with my Gardener friend.