“Do you believe in heaven?” That’s what a friend asked me in a crowded bar over the holiday weekend.  Her words are still ringing in my ears and my mind.  I immediately responded yes to the question that’s always been true for me.  What’s changed over the years however, is my interpretation of heaven, and what it means to my life, and others who share the planet with me.

It was my Godmother who taught me to recite  the 23rd Psalm before I started kindergarten.   She laughed when I asked her who Shirley was, as in ‘Shirley goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.’   Back then heaven was literally paved with streets of gold.   It was where I prayed “The Lord my soul to take, if I should die before I wake.”    Of course, I was older before I had any understanding of death.

For most of my early life, even young adulthood, heaven was a bit of a mystery.  I knew I wanted to go there, I just wasn’t in any hurry about the trip.   There was a radical change in my perception of heaven by the time I reached my late 20’s.  That’s the time I joined a religion that taught heaven was a place for God, angels, and only a few humans who would rule over a paradise earth.  I left that religion and it’s teachings behind a few years ago.  Now, without the dogma of a rigid belief system I find myself without any certain answers when it comes to heaven.

Maybe it is the final reward for a life well lived as preached from the pulpits of many Christian churches.  Or perhaps as some believe it’s kind of a transfer station as we move from one reincarnation to the next.  Others say there are different levels in heaven set aside for individuals based on their ranks on earth.  I just don’t know.

The sacred writings of various religions provide satisfying answers for many believers.  That’s got to be a good thing.  I see no harm in beliefs that bring peace, comfort, and stability into our lives, and our world.  Personally, I no longer promote one religion over another.  I find myself growing more comfortable and at peace with life’s uncertainties. 

I pray there is room in heavens realm for more than one group of worshipers.  And, I sincerely hope we don’t have to have all the answers before we can gain admittance.
I am fairly certain of one thing.  If we each live according to divine rules anchored in love, compassion and peace our lives together on earth might be truly heavenly.

I can hear the steady rainfall outside as I pour my morning cup of coffee.  Throughout my body I feel the benefits of a good night’s rest.   My mind is clear, my heart is peaceful, and I am grateful on this Sunday morning.  A few years ago I could not imagine not getting dressed and heading to the house of worship I’d attended for two decades to express my gratitude with fellow believers.    On September 6, 2007  I officially walked away from  the faith I once proclaimed to myself and others.  Strangely, my love for God has not diminished.

In his popular 1971 song, John Lennon asked us to imagine “a world with no religion.”  While I have read and seen  religions divisive and often bloody history, I don’t think I would wipe it from the earth.  Religion to me seems to possess an ability to instill good within it’s members.   Please understand, nothing in my heart can condone those belief systems that promote hate and harm cloaked with a veil of religious fervor.  But, a faith focused on compassion, and grounded in forgiveness and love can powerfully transform a person’s life.

The religion I ultimately rejected has been labled a cult my many.  But, it instilled in me morals and values I continue to cherish. The same virtues espoused in churches, synagogues, temples and mosques worldwide.   It was my former religion that gave meaning to the admonition  “treat others as you would have them treat you.”  The same religion helped me to understand the consequences of my actions knowing,  “as you sow, so shall you reap”.   Several times a week at various meetings for worship these messages and others were given real life application. 

However, over the years I began to question the faith that sought to separate me from the rest of humanity.  It was not a literal separation, but a psychological and emotional isolation.  My religion accomplished this by elevating its “one true faith” above all others.
So while showing compassion to all people, I was to cultivate a hatred for the religions these individuals followed, knowing their inferior faiths would ultimately experience the wrath of God.

Eventually, I started to question the religious paradigm I had built my life around.  I asked myself  what if I did not have the “Truth” I so passionately evangelized to others?  Simply asking the question internally caused  my minds eye to see more clearly.  It no longer seemed logical that one group of worshipers could somehow have an exclusive claim to God’s good grace, especially when the individuals in that group were so similar to all other  people on the planet.   We all seem to possess the same physiological, psychologicial, and spiritual needs.  We may express them differently, because of  our ethnic, cultural, and geographic circumstances.

Throughout the ages religion has allowed humankind to explain the unexplainable.  It should not be surprising that as our knowledge has grown and changed over many millenia  so has our religious beliefs.  I suspect what has not changed from the beginning is the divine mind of God. 

What if God is not at all threatened or insulted by our conflicting religions?  What if that divine being, like a loving and patient parent is only waiting for us humans to grow up?

We watch our own children and grandchildren, sometimes with amusement as they mispronouce words, or stumble and fall in a clumsy attempt to communicate and walk.  It is our hope that they will some day spread words of wisdom, and soar through the sky in machines of their own invention.  Maybe God has similar grand hopes for the human spirit. 

I no longer profess to know the mind of God.  I doubt a lifetime will be enough  to fully comprehend even my own complex nature.  I no longer believe my eternal fate is determined by the name I call God, or the building in which I choose to worship.

I do understand the importance of living a dignified life, and respecting the beliefs of others.  It is respect and tolerance that can allow many diverse religions to peacefully share our planet.

If we continue to allow religious dogma to demonize the faith of others we will continue to battle wars, and ostracize those who follow a different spiritual path.  And, the peace we preach for our world will continue to be a thing only imagined.