“Religion is a bridge to the spiritual – but the spiritual lies beyond religion. Unfortunately, in seeking the spiritual, we may become attached to the bridge rather than crossing over it.” – Rachel Naomi Remen

In my recent workshop on Redefining Spirit, I referenced this quote (and misattributed it to Deepak Chopra instead of Rachel). 

When I first read this quote, I answered with a resounding – yes! To me, it communicates what is so often true of how we can get caught in thinking the bridge (religion) is the answer or the way when we are wrapped up in a religious doctrine or community. And we fail to acknowledge the mystery and beauty of all possibilities. But today, I am reflecting on a different perspective. 

I grew up in Chattanooga, TN, a beautiful southern city that’s home to mountains, part of the Tennessee River, and several bridges that stretch across the river. When I was a kid, I remember riding in the backseat of the car, staring out the window at the river below and listening to the distinctive sound of the road as we crossed over those bridges. I’ve always been terrified of heights, and at some point, I started worrying not just that the car would somehow careen off the edge of the bridge – but I started worrying “what if the bridge collapses?”

All of the bridges in Chattanooga are still standing, but a very important bridge in my life did collapse – the bridge of my religion. My ideas about God. My ideas about myself and where I do and don’t fit in. My identity that was so wrapped up in youth group religiosity. A one-two punch of religious abuse sent me into a free fall, heading for the muddy waters of a crisis of faith below where I met myself in all of the fullness of who I am – my gay, beloved, sacred self. I emerged wondering how to scale the cliff face and find my place again.

What do we do when the bridge collapses beneath us? 

What do we do when we feel like someone is on the entrance to the bridge, ready to declare “You shall not pass!” if they pick up on our queerness?

What do we do when everything in our body screams to not set foot on a bridge – it isn’t safe. Remember last time? 

We have to find another way to cross.

To reach the spiritual, we must hold a new understanding of spirituality, and that new understanding must be inclusive enough to help us move beyond the bridge and into the field the Sufi poet Rumi wrote of:

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.”

Whether we cross on the bridge of religion or another way, the work of redefining and reclaiming spirituality empowers us to keep walking to the great field.

I eventually did scale that cliff face, crag after crag, rock after rock, and found a way to come home to spirit and self. It wasn’t easy, and there were times I slipped and had to find my footing again – but every step was worth the becoming and hard fought for faith. 

If you also have found the bridge collapsed beneath you, there is hope and a way forward.

Charity

If you’d like to catch the replay of Redefining Spirit for free, you have some time left! It will be available for free through October 16th: https://courses.charitymmuse.com/p/redefiningspirit