We Are Family!

"Family is not built on blood, it is built on a stream of consciousness that connects all humanity."

-- Barbara Condron. Spiritual Renaissance, p. 266

Whenever we make a division, a boundary, we've created a problem. That problem is called "other." If we define family as merely our blood relatives, even if we're a really prolific lot, we've got a very small in-crowd. If, on the other hand, we think of ourselves as part of the entire human family, our relations are innumerable, and we are connected to One and all.

Defining family by the stream of consciousness that runs within each of us, and between all of us, rather than by the blood we share with a few, means that there is no one who is not family. And you know how we treat family, right? Like shit! Just kidding. Family, at least for most of us, most of the time, has a special place in our hearts. Why not expand that special place to include your whole heart and the whole of humanity?

In that spirit, I'm thinking of starting the first all-inclusive church. Everyone is automatically a member. Have a belly button? You're a member! No divisions, no boundaries. None of that saved versus the damned crap. No saints versus sinners, nor orthodox versus infidels, either. One church, one family, one humanity. Welcome.

What is the spiritual practice of this church? Treat everyone as family. Treat everyone with love.

Simple. Also simply hard. That one admonition alone, can be an entire spiritual path -- love all. Start with the person in the mirror. Or, if that's too hard, start with the next person you see. I guarantee you that unless you're the secret love child of Barry White and Mother Teresa, you're going to fail at love more times than you succeed. No matter. Another opportunity, another person, will always come along.

To practice the path of love you need no spiritual accoutrements. No monastery or ashram. No fancy robes, or customized meditation cushions. No secret instructions or high falutin' initiations. A heart. A heart alone will do just fine. A heart connected, not by blood, but by that thin stream of consciousness, to each and everyone of us. Simply let that heart, your heart, love more and more each day. One of these days you'll even love that rascal in the mirror!