Should A Spiritually Enlightened Person Remain Active In Organized Religion?

This writing refers to spiritually enlightened individuals who have participated in religious activities on a regular basis or who have attended traditional places of worship. I am one of those individuals and give a brief description of my journey in Here Comes The Judge . First of all, let's look at what spiritually enlightened means. According to Tamara Lechner in 10 Signs of Spiritual Enlightenment & Awakening, September 2020, Deepak Chopra describes an awakening as when you are no longer in a dream world. In a dream world, everything is filtered (perceived) through the ego (personal identity) and focuses on past and future. On the other hand, spiritual enlightenment is awakening by way of self-realization...Only the present moment is real. One begins to understand the true nature of how everything is connected and manifested in our universe. Wikipedia says that the definition of religion is controversial and complicated and the scholars do not agree on any one description. Based on my research, religion is inorganic, man-made, and based on beliefs. Check out my page on Truth Versus Belief if you need more clarity on the topic. In contrast, spirituality is purely organic and based on truth. It is pure consciousness without the influence of one's ego and human manipulation. Spirituality is the source of everything and functions independently. Religion is dependent on belief, culture, and man-made influences. It is estimated that there are over 4000 religions practiced around the globe. The 6 major world religions include Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Taoism. Most religions contain spiritual truths that are applicable to everyone, but differ significantly in the belief systems they promote. Another layer to organized religion is the place of worship where the believers congregate. In many cases, it is that aspect alone that can be quite problematic.

About 15 years ago, prior to my awakening, I joined and regularly attended a church that had a single aka unmarried pastor. He was middle-aged, highly intelligent, easy on the eyes 👀, and super charismatic. He delivered the message in an enjoyable and digestible format sprinkled with just the right amount of humor and fiery conviction. As a result, the services were awesome, dynamic, and spiritually uplifting! I fell in love with this church just after one visit and immediately joined...Lawd have mercy! That was one of the worse decisions I have ever made. One should observe and closely study a potential place of worship prior to joining. We now have internet, email, Google, etc., to research people and places. We can even strike up conversations with people who already attend revealing pertinent information. Unfortunately, I did not do my research and discovered that church was one of the most ungodly places I have ever had the misfortune to set my feet inside! Over half of the congregation were single, divorced, or widowed females below the age of 50. Do you have any idea what that means? A whole bunch of desperate women competing with each other trying to get with the pastor with dreams of becoming the first lady...LOL. The overall situation created a competitive and hostile environment which magnified the hypocritical intentions of most of those female churchgoers. They were not attending church for spiritual growth, but for status, prestige, and physical gratification. I am not making this up or speculating. During a heated dispute between 2 of the female church members, one of them actually blurted, "God showed me that I am going to be the next first lady of this church!"  If that was not bad enough, the pastor clearly strung them along and fed into this barracuda culture. He fed them just enough to keep their appetites stirred and his pockets nice and fat $$$! My message to the woman who verbalized she was going to be the next first lady and the others who thought like her, well, my sisters, it's 15 years later...The last I heard that pastor is still very much single and still leading that congregation. I sincerely hope you all are not still waiting to get with him and become the first lady. However, I cannot credibly tell you that it is not possible if you are fervently sending out that energy into the universe. The Creator works within seasons, not within time as we do. On the other hand, you must recognize the human life span is impacted by time and 15 years is pretty significant when it comes to worldly relationships/romance. If being together supports your divine purposes, then, it will manifests. You do not have to compete with or sabotage your church sisters and brothers.

The pastor and I at our wedding celebration. My dreams have finally come true! Hallelujah!!! 

Once a person starts to spiritually awaken, it is a process with highs and lows. He or she will never be the same or resort to old thought patterns. However, traditional churches do offer some advantages if you find a congenial one.

The Pros

You will likely receive high vibrational, upbeat, and motivational messages. Most religions contain universal truths and wisdom.

Church is an excellent place to socially network to establish personal and business relationships.

The spiritual leaders and other members can serve as an extended family or support system when necessary.

After interacting and getting to know other believers, you might be able to identify the ones who might not be so rigid and open to a different philosophy.

The Cons

Although you will be taught truths and wisdom, you will often be forced to listen to things that go against your personal philosophy. Symbolism is often promoted as actual events. False and/or distorted information could be presented within a man-made, not a Creator-based context. 

You will be expected to participate in religious doctrines that may go against the grain of your spiritual enlightenment. You will literally be pretending to be something you are not. Consequently, your fraudulent behavior will thrust you into a low vibrational state of mind.

Many modern-day churches have lost sight of their divine purpose or reason for existing. They have become more like dating services, social clubs, and/or money-making businesses than a place of praise and worship. Due to losing sight of their priorities, there is a high degree of social dysfunction and turmoil within various religious institutions. 

A growing wave of people are becoming spiritual leaders for the wrong reasons that are more worldly than spiritual. As a result, they bring corruption and immoral behaviors into the church setting.

A large number of religious people have inadequate knowledge of their own belief systems, its history, and the related sacred writings. For example, a lot of Christians who attend church on a regular basis do not even know most of what is in their Bibles. Therefore, they do not adhere to their own religious doctrines rendering spiritual stagnation. 

Many church people are closed-minded, rigid, and extremely judgmental. Anyone attempting to promote a fresh perspective in that environment could possibly be demonized, reprimanded, ostracized, labeled a witch, and even physically kicked out. They tend to label everything witchcraft that is beyond their scope of understanding which is dangerous and reckless.

At the end of the day, it is a personal choice if one continues to attend traditional church while experiencing spiritual enlightenment. However, I do not recommend it because the cons could be devastating to one's spiritual growth and mental health. Hebrews 10:25  "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching." Like-minded people are instructed to assemble, congregate, and encourage each other. I suggest searching for groups locally and on social media that have a focus/interest in topics, such as Spiritual Awakening, Enlightenment, Illumination, Self-Realization, Alchemy, Gnosticism, Metaphysical, Mysticism, New Age, and Occultism.

Are you a spiritually enlightened person who still attends traditional church? What type of challenging situations or issues have you encountered?