i believe a true and honest spiritual path involves seeking and asking. somewhere in the Bible it says, "I believe; help my unbelief". to me, a living spiritual life, that grows throughout one's lifetime--as you say above, kathie--is a truly living thing. this is hard to say in words. i believe it is in the seeking and in the questions that we find the truth. swallowing it whole without question is in some ways dishonest--and yet, it works for some people and i do not disrespect that.

i look at how God has been preached over the decades from Christian pulpits. 100 years ago, there was a very pervasive fire and brimstone, be good or you will suffer in hell--fear based--theology going on. now, i am hearing more and more that God is love. that is a result of faith as a living, growing relationship.

i am sorry. it is hard to say in words what i feel to be true in my heart. but i tried. :-)

You did a great job RoseBear. I especially like your statement "it is in the seeking and in the questions that we find the truth". I'm afraid there are too many people that don't question what they are told and/or who get to a certain point and stop looking for answers, thinking that they already have them all. I, of course, don't think I'll ever have all the answers, at least not in this lifetime. Thanks for your comments!

Since I'm stuck inside till cooler weather comes back, I think I think too much. It occurred to me to question how it is I seek and grow spiritually.

What if I lost my vision, for instance? I rely on the internet, on all of you for fresh perspective and new insights. I like the banter and the challenges to explain why I think what I think. I also rely on books and journaling.

I don't know many people, and the ones I do know don't like to go too deep. So is my path authentic if it couldn't be maintained with a loss of vision? Just wondering what you think.

Dee, if you, indeed, are what you write you are (think a lot, listen, keep your mind and heart, as well as your eyes open), then the loss of your vision or any other physical disadvantage that may overtake a person, cannot stop you from growing spiritually. Because your spirit will still remain wholesome and awaken.

Dee, Sparrow said it very well. Like you, I rely a lot on the visual, especially books. As an avid reader I have always been very grateful for my vision and I sometimes fear losing that more than anything else. But in reality I could easily spend the remainder of my life contemplating the vast amount of stuff that has haphazardly accumulated in my mind. Actually, I probably really need a lot of reflective time to absorb that multitude of thoughts into something manageable and understandable.

Kathie, I love this statement too. Everyone's journey is different and by adhering to one particular approach we may be depriving ourselves of something we really need that is not part of that particular approach. No one person, group, or organization possesses the entire truth. If we don't question things and search for ourselves, we simply don't grow, at least not to our fullest potential.

Very well put Phil and I agree, particularly about how questioning and searching helps us to grow to our fullest potential. It's my feeling that this is what Jesus intended us to do when he said "Seek and you will find."

Regarding a loss of vision and whether one would be able to continue to grow, I have a perfect example of that situation in my family. My father has always been a reader, he became an internet buff when he got older, everything he does has always been very visually oriented (obviously!) Now in his 70's he is slowly losing his vision and is no longer able to drive. He recently switched over to audio books and has to get really, really close to his computer screen to read it. But he adapts and continues to learn and grow. While losing my vision has always been my personal "horror story", he is helping me to see that one can overcome anything and still keep learning and growing.