Searching - My Journey Along a Spiritual Path

These questions and doubts bounced around my mind for a long, long time … decades upon decades.   Was I the only one having these questions and doubts?   I didn’t hear anyone else inquiring about this or raising these subjects in class.   Was I a freak?   Had Satan (is he / it real?) gotten a hold of me and was deceitfully and with sinister delight filling me with evil and sinful thoughts, even worse thoughts than when I admired that infamously saucy Farah Fawcett poster?     But who could I talk to?   Who could I ask?   To my recollection, all of my religion classes were led by Catholic priests or nuns.   I certainly couldn’t ask them lest I be considered an evil-minded, misguided, devil-indwelt heathen.   Plus, those nuns were known for taking sadistic glee in smacking misbehavers with a sturdy ruler or yardstick.   Spanking was still allowed in school, and I certainly didn’t want my bum bruised.   Oh, the shame!   Wha...

PART 1 Critical thinking has been defined – at least by Google AI -- as “the intellectually disciplined process of actively analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information to reach reasoned, objective, and sound judgments . It involves questioning assumptions, identifying biases, and using logic to assess evidence, moving beyond simple information recall to deeper understanding. ”     I think most everyone would agree that critical thinking is an essential part of growth and, indeed, being human.  It allows us to carefully and cerebrally analyze a topic, statement or assertion and make an informed determination as to its truth or falsehood.  This type of thinking and decision-making process allows us to navigate through an infinite number of daily tasks, dilemmas and situations and make informed, well-thought-out decisions and judgments.  Without critical thinking, we would be doomed to persistently believing lies, half-truths and false assertions and prem...

Over the past several years, my spiritual life has experienced a massive upheaval.   Dogma and beliefs I long held sacred have been significantly altered or revamped, and in many cases completely discarded.   What I professed to believe and practiced nearly all my life no longer works … if it ever really did.   As one belief after another tumbled down from my mountain of dogma, I was left with a pile of broken rubble that once formed the base of my faith.   Just like the effects of a sudden avalanche, I was left shaken, both emotionally and spiritually.   How would I move forward?   How would I rebuild my faith and my spiritual foundation?   Would the new house be on more solid ground, or once again rest on shifting sand?   In the wake of this personally calamitous and turbulent destruction, I am painstakingly, albeit with great trepidation and sometimes fear, rebuilding what I actually believe spiritually and how this manifests itself in my d...