Family of Man Affirmation
69It must be more than 30 years since I visited the Wayside Chapel, in Sydney. At the time, I was wandering, lonely, searching for something to lift my life out of the fearful, lost, depressing doldrums in which I had found myself.
The Wayside Chapel, in The Kings Cross, Sydney, was where I somehow landed up. Extremely naive and not know much about "The Cross," the drug addiction, the prostitution and depravity of life for many people there, was invisible to me at the time. Such activity was right outside of my experience. I had some (quite a lot really) experience of christian stuff, both in the "high anglican" church and in evangelical groups. None of them were able to inspire me, least of all some of the hypocritical and condemnatory rantings I had heard from some christians.
On walking into the Wayside Chapel I was greeted by warm and friendly people. They were not effusive in their approach, just gentle and open.
I received communion from Fred Noffs. There was no altar, no trappings of theatre. No chanting. No genuflecting or making the Sign of the Cross. Just like a family joining at meal time. The memory of this occasion is with me to this day, but things that have happened in my life have effectively augmented that initiation to the Infinite Universe which Ted imparted to me and many others during his lifetime. That place has lifted the lives of so, so many individuals down through the years.
The essence of what Ted taught and the way he taught it, the way he exemplified it, is this transcript of what was on a leaflet which I picked up from the foyer, all those years ago. There is no need for me to comment further. You decide for yourself.
FAMILY OF MAN AFFIRMATION
I AM
I AM greater than my protestant-ism
I AM greater than my catholic-ism
I AM greater than my juda-ism and
I AM greater than my moslem faith.
I AM greater than my sikh-ism
I AM greater than my buddh-ism
I AM greater than my hindu-ism and
I AM greater than all religions past,
present and future, because
I AM a human being stamped
with an imperishable divinity.
Therefore, I am a child of the stars. My religion, like
the clothes I wear, will one day belong to the dust of
the centuries. My spirit is immortal and belongs to the
universe. Our sons and our daughters are the princes
and princesses of an eternal kingdom. They inherit the
riches and resources of this planet for a span, until
they continue their journey through time and space.
I am a follower of all the Masters like Jesus and the
Buddha who reached levels of consciousness through
the achievement of a harmony with the power at the
centre of the universe. I recognise that I am also called
to achieve this same harmony. For this purpose was I
born. For this purpose I came into the world. May God
help me to achieve my goal.
Ted Noffs
vote upvote downshareprintflag
- Useful (1)
- Funny
- Awesome (2)
- Beautiful (1)
- Interesting (2)
CommentsLoading...
Thank you Moonfroth. I hope the inspiration continues to grow in you.
Having re-read your last post, Moonfroth, I still have a question in mind: What is worth working for, fighting for? Sometimes I need a sort of reassurance within me that my efforts in whichever direction will not be in vain. Is this what is meant by "faith?" Getting on and doing "it" with the quiet confidence that I will succeed, even if in some small measure. If it ends up in failure, I still have the courage and strength to get up again and keep trying.
Of course, it might be necessary to re-visit the nature of the quest. "Am I fighting for the right cause?"
Jonny, at the risk of seeming glib about s multi-faceted and elusive quandry--who or what "is" the Imperative that makes us feel we must "quest", that we must "win" in life, that what we strive for must be "right"? To feel all of this at all, there must be a Standard against which we measure our efforts. Were there not, how would we EVER know how we were doing? Christians have it made, because they have all sorts of standards and examples which they can turn to, just to see how they're doing. Validating the worth of their goals in life is, I would imagine, "out of their hands", so to speak. If that DOES seem glib, can we concede that Christians at least have a Coda to guide them. As do many other of the world's religions.
For myself, I do not belong to nor do I have any personal interest in a Coda laid out for me by ANY religion, so I have to measure the worth of my quests against the value structure I live my life by and the positive responses I get from the people I impact. I hope it's good. And I suspect your questioning nature is that of a good man who simply wants to satisfy himself that he's living an honorable and caring life. From what I intuit from your writing, don't worry!!
Great wisdom, thank you.
Beautiful!
Finally, a question: why is it that advocates of many religious sects are consumed with a passion to proselytize and convert? I exchange barbs occasionally (sometimes I just can't resist!)with a guy on another site. He tells me that he loses sleep because of my "godless ways", he fears for my soul because I won't embrace his God, etc. etc. --you and WD have heard it all before--why must he do this? As urbane and sophisticated I'd like to think I am, I just don't understand that evangelical imperative. Any thoughts?
Yes, good questions.
I can only offer a few suggestions which come from my own experiences back in the 1970s/80s. First, there is a sense of superiority one acquires through being "right with God." It's a sort of false bravado. I can confront people whom I would not normally say Boo to. I have the authority behind me, a sort of veil of protection. At least it was for me, others might have differing opinions.
Secondly, there is a sense that if I don't "bring people to the Lord," I will not be fully accepted by my peer group.
Third, but not least, my inner convictions do not quite match up with my outward, stated spiritual position. I need some sign of encouragement, and this comes from others agreeing with me.
This is as far as my thoughts take me for now. Maybe others will give us some clues.
Thanks Jonny. Great food for thought.
jcl - Right on!
I was tossing up food for seagulls on the beach the other day. I needed some reference photos for a painting. There weren't many people around, so not much danger of anyone being bombed. A guy came up and said I shouldn't be attracting the gulls. I politely explained. I guess he thought I should should have followed his instructions. He said that I need Jesus. I said, "Who doesn't."
He said, "You aren't right with God."
I wanted to punch him out, but God stopped me.
We have our preconceived notions . . . don't we?
Hahaha, did you hold a mirror up to him?
I continue to see the "religious" pursuit as primarily an INNER search, trying to make sense of "me" and "my self."
How much was that guy reflecting himself in you? What you were doing, or the way you looked, or the way you reacted to his criticism, triggered him to express the deeper need in himself. That journey of his we can honour; needs a bit of patience usually on our part. Then if we step back and, instead of trying to push our own perceptions back onto him, just freeze.... let him go, let him continue his own path, without interrupting.
It's not our business to live his life for him.
jcl - True. It seems when I am meditating on spiritual things, I ascend to the heights. I think I have arrived at my goal, "I am now right with God."
Then an hour later, some jerk cuts me off in traffic, and I give him the finger. I suppose that's where forgiveness comes in.
The journey taken inward is always a lonely one. Sometimes many have to hit a bottom line before they can open up enough to even take that journey inward to discover who and what they really are. There is a lot of talk on the outside, but with that journey inside you have to deal with it on your own terms.
However, all experiences lead to the same doorway it seems, no matter how unique that experience is that appears on the other side. I'll have to post my poem, "When I Came Out The Other Side" . I like what you ask about how we reflect within others. That's worth writing a poem about as well, Jonny. Nice insight there. Getting rid of the baggage that is that stuff of who we think we are and what other's think we are is part of the journey inward to find spirit.
a poet friend
RH peat
Thank you Poet Friend.
moonfroth Level 3 Commenter 3 months ago
An inspiring Hub Jonny. Thank you. I think the most difficult hurdle--perhaps the ONLY real hurdle--to spiritual enlightenment, is that we all must quest for "Spirit" within a physical Being that perversely is consumed by needs, ideas, and passions that have nothing whatever to do with Spirit. The great images of Christian lore, for example, are frequently metaphors that reflect this irresolvable dichotomy. Ste. Theresa's vision of the heavenly cherub comes to mind, or the sexual/spiritual conflicts in the poetry of John Donne. Anyone who thinks about these matters will, of course, have their own examples. Interestingly, no one or group or religion (that I've ever heard of) has ever shown a way out of the quandry. Oh, there are /thousands/ who will announce that they and only they can show The Way. But to take the first step on that magical Way you have to have FAITH. Uh-uh. If the way professed is THE WAY, would it not be Manifest, Apparent, unquestionably There? Since it is not, and never has been, perhaps the quest itself is fraudulent? Perhaps the answer lies in the warmth and quiet assurance of wayside chapels and the familial congress between people who truly care about each other? Maybe we've been beating ourselves up for two or three centuries. . . for nothing!