December is Spiritual Literacy Month
Though the month (and the decade!) is nearly done, it’s never too late to brush up on your spiritual literacy. How do you do this, you might ask? The first step might be reading up on your own religion. If you haven’t read your religion’s main doctrines from cover to cover, you might want to do so—especially if you want to be sure that your religion is truly for you.
If you don’t subscribe to any particular faith, you’ve exhausted the texts in your own, or you’re simply interested in other faiths, this is a perfect opportunity to truly study different religions. Where I come from, most people think that Buddhists “worship Buddha,” and with so many green “JESUS” signs around, I always think it would be pretty cool to put up a big green “BUDDHA, “KALI,” or “THOR” sign—not exactly for spiritual reasons, I suppose, but to at least acknowledge that there’s a lot more diversity out there.
To remedy this narrow spiritual scope, why not expand your horizons—if not to see what else there is out there (and wonder if you would be interested in it yourself), then to simply increase your awareness of the growing global community that we are all part of. Here are a few ways you might want to do that.
Take part in another spiritual service. I love to do this myself, as long as it’s not too boring. Most of the ones I’ve attended are Christian-based, but boy are they diverse and interesting. If there’s singing, it’s bound to be at least a little fun! See if you can visit a local temple, church, or even religious school.
Check out a text at the library. I bought a set that included the Bhagavad Gita, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and several other sacred texts that I’m eager to check out. Try a site like religioustolerance.org to find out more, or do a search on various religions that you might be curious about. Perhaps you’d like to learn more about the spirituality of the Native Americans you share ancestry with, or you’re curious about paganism, Jainism, Hinduism, or another unfamiliar set of beliefs.
Offer a knowledge exchange. Have your friend of another faith over for dinner and invite him or her to speak about it to your family, without judgment—just plain old curiosity. Then offer to do the same at his or her home. If there are special religious dishes you could serve for the meal, be sure to include them.
