Spiritual Connections
I recently participated in an Aboriginal healing drum circle with some of the boys I work with. I went along to support them in reconnecting with their cultural heritage. It was a very interesting experience for me because I have not participated in any kind of spiritual rituals in a very long time.
My mother was raised catholic, and tried to raise my brother and I as Christians. From day one, the Christian message never made sense to me, and by the age of five my mother was asked to not bring me to Sunday school because I asked to many questions. She brought me to one regular Sunday service, but I was five, so I grew bored and squirmed and made enough of a disruption that we left early. After that day I spent Sundays with dad. My father was not religious at all but would talk with me about a connection with the world and the universe that he felt we all shared. As I grew up and thought about it myself I started coming to my own conclusions. I won’t go into great detail as to what those conclusions were because that would fill a book.
In my younger teen years, I spent a lot of time with my Aunt Aline, and she taught my brother and I about the spiritual beliefs of the local native culture. She told us that it is all based on spiritual connections with the earth and all its inhabitants. We are all connected to everything, and that connection is the most important part. It’s mostly about observing and respecting those connections. Not worshiping and repenting. Those ideas paralleled with what I believed in and I found comfort in the feeling of being part of everything while still retaining the concept of self. Over the years, that feeling of connection to my surroundings allowed me to become more perceptive. And I started to notice more connections between everything. These connections brought me to the conclusions that I feel make the universe make sense to me. Again, I will save those details for a book. What I think is important to point out is that most connections that people feel to be spiritual or even religious can be explained very logically. And the healing drum circle is a perfect example.
The drum circle connects everyone on a single level. The consistent beat and repetitive chanting put people into a meditative state that reduces stress, which in turn makes us feel better. The meditative state also allows us time to process our own thoughts. These combined factors are very therapeutic, and although simple, they are very important in any kind of healing process. This improved feeling is shared throughout the group and that in turn helps them feel bonded as a community. And since most people look at the world through a religious filter of some sort, they see these types of experiences as spiritual or even holy.
Just because it can be explained by logic, and even studied scientifically, it doesn’t mean that these kind of connections are not important. In fact, I believe they are very important. They just don’t have to be connected to any one particular religion. And I will save that rant for another day.
