Religion

somebody asked him (I forget who) how they would receive the counsel of God if Jesus was not going to be walking among them. His answer was that the Holy Spirit would enter the mind and heart of anyone who opens themselves to him. That's a paraphrase, of course, but the gist of it.

What's the point here? That he didn't say he'd be putting a book together for all to follow. It was the living spirit of God within each person. He didn't say he'd make a large institution with a hierarchy of priests and bishops to intercede between God and the people. It was direct divinity within the individual her or himself that is there to guide us forward.

As I see it, outwardly it changes nothing. We have the exact same life before and after our recognition of the Holy Spirit within ourselves. But it reorients our minds to the divine nature in life and through that we can think, feel and act out of that perspective which does change everything for us personally and then, by extension, the world around us.

The Bible and other scriptures from any religion can be used then for contemplating issues and dilemmas, for helping us return back to that inner connection when it feels like it's unraveling or missing altogether. But I appreciate how it's the living Holy Spirit that is the connection, that it implies we have to use our own intelligence to figure things out and if we get it wrong we will learn. No shortcuts or free passes but steady, unwavering love, understanding and guidance from within.