01.23.08
Coming Out of the Closet….
Well, another interesting concept came out of the discussion I wrote about yesterday between Neale Donald Walsch and Ken Wilber. (It’s available on IntegralNaked.Org) They were saying that many of us who have moved beyond the Ethnocentric (or Faithful) stage have gone through what they are calling a “Hmmm….. moment.” This is where a person might mull over the traditional concepts of belief they may have been taught in their upbringing, and allow themselves to question, to say “hmmm, maybe some or all of that is not literally true.”
Well, there is a freedom and a huge growth opportunity in allowing ourselves “Hmmm moments.” And Wilber and Walsch were sort of throwing it out there as a possible step in personal growth. And they said they suspect many people have had these moments, BUT they either don’t feel safe expressing their findings to others or they question the validity of their impressions because everyone else is still spouting out traditional beliefs!
They were claiming it is very hard in our society to break out of the traditional belief systems because of fear of shunning by people at the Ethnocentric level (who are quite vociferous in our society today.)
Wilber and Walsch were saying it is important to create a safe space where people who have had “Hmmm….moments” or who are about to have them, can fully experience the freedom that comes from them, can trust in what their reason is telling them and can follow through with changes in their life as a result.
We can liken living an authentic life where we don’t have to hide what we believe to coming out of the closet. It would be nice to create a safe place where people at other stages than Ethnocentric can “come out of the closet” and say what they believe, or don’t believe. That is one of the basic reasons for the writing I am doing: Trying to make it safe for non-traditional believers (Rationals and Mystics) to live authentically and be respected for their beliefs, rather than be called evil and subjected to derision from some who feel only their own beliefs have merit.