#72 Go To A Spiritual Church

It has been some time since I attended a "real" church.  Like a lot of other people who were dragged up a particular religious denomation which required a weekly visit to the local assembly, I usually only step inside a church for a wedding and thankfully less so for a funeral.  I was brought up Catholic, neither nonplus nor gregariously going along to the service every Sunday morning, often on the promise of a jam and cream doughnut at the local bakery post-sermon.  I often pondered my Catholicism and asked big questions for a child... was there a God, how can God have no definition or form yet be everywhere and see everything and is it any coincidence that "God" spelt backwards is "Dog"?

The nearest thing to a spiritual church that I could find was a 2-hour spiritual gathering from 4-6pm on a Sunday afternoon at the Australian School of Meditation and Yoga, West End, Brisbane. 


The format for the gathering runs like this:
4pm: Chanting and singing of sacred matras begins.  Djemba drum/s, acoustic guitar, harmonium, bass guitar
5pm: Guided meditation for half an hour 
5:30pm: Inspiring talk exploring the spiritual essence of Yoga
6pm: A delicious vegetarian meal served free of charge (the centre runs on donations)

I sit on the comfy sequined cushions against the wall and look around me.  The attendees are of various ages and nationalities.  Some clearly regulars, others glancing awkwardly side to side looking for clues on what to do and what happens next.  We are each given a small piece of orange paper with a list of sacred mantras which are sung repetitively in a call and response format and I make a mental note that there are some lovely singing voices in the room.  Some of the words on the small orange piece of paper I recognise, many I don't and very few I can actually pronounce let alone translate into English.  I'll just sit this one out, I tell myself and certainly the volunteers at the ASOMAY would not want anyone doing anything one might be uncomfortable with.  Although it has to be said, I have tried Yoga many times and have come across many an uncomfortable Yoga posture. 


I choose to sit up for the next part, the guided meditation but some folk are laying on cushions on the floor and for a moment it resembles the afternoon nap we used to have as toddlers in pre-school, kindergarten or creche.  We are guided to close our eyes while some beautiful soft music fills the room.  One of the instructors suggests we picture ourselves sitting next to a flowing river.  The river I choose to picture is one familiar with my childhood in the town where I went to high school, except I photoshop my river and using my imagination I give it more soft, plush, green grass and less beer-guzzling, bong-smoking bogans doing burn-outs in bomby old Toranas.  

We clear our mind of any thoughts and concentrate on our breathing.  We are instructed to breathe in deeply and slowly and then on the out breath chant "gau-ra-an-ga".  I try it a few times but the bogan within has been awoken by a memory of the river and I find it difficult not to giggle to myself as I mockingly say "Ma-ri-ju-an-a" on the out breath in replace of "gau-ra-an-ga".  I indulge in a couple of more "ma-ri-ju-an-a"s before I try the "gau-ra-an-ga" but by the time I get to the tail end, "-an-ga" I'm out of breath.  Maybe from all the marijana??


Next is the inspiring talk.  The talk is taken from an unknown text and it is about the Three Modes of Material Nature, the mode of good, the mode of passion and the mode of ignorance.  Everybody slips in and out of these three modes although most of us apparently are in the mode of passion as we busily chase dreams and ambitions that usually centre around money, material possession and successful careers.  The mode of ignorance - when we sleep and are inebriated / intoxicated, have drug and / or alcohol addictions we are said to be in the mode of ignorance.  Few people are in the mode of good and this is what brings us closer to true spiritual understandings however it is still a mode that exists in the material plane.  I'm not sure what research was conducted or who gathered the statistics for what mode human beings are generally in - I don't remember any such question on the most recent Census night - but I will take it on face value that these claims are more-or-less correct.  I'm guessing the point is that in order to lead a fulfilling life following good morals and principals and to be more spiritually uplifted one would attempt to live in the mode of good although the mode of passion and ignorance seems far more interesting, fun and possibly less hard work.  Who wants to be a 'suit' anyway?


The vegetarian meal.  I am, by definition, a vegetarian.  I consume no meat but I do consume eggs and to a less extent, dairy.  I am possibly a little bias in my opinion about the extraordinary food served up by the ASOMAY but my carnivore friend who accompanied me also exclaimed the food was delicious.  Like so many other social / recreational activities it is all about the food.  What's that saying?  Build it and they will come.  Bake it and they will eat.


My glass half full synopsis of the spiritual gathering is I am delighted to have spent 2 hours of my weekend giving my soul a bit of attention and nurturing.  There has been a lot of research supporting the claim that regular meditation has many health benefits and people with spiritual beliefs often report being happier and healthier.  It is one way I am beginning to personally discover a pathway to some sort of spirituality, an alternative to my misguided confused Catholicism-focused youth of the Jam and Cream Doughnut Deity and / or chanting - or was that smoking? - Ma-ri-ju-an-a.