Beyond the Minefield of Spiritual Asterisks, I Know Security and Peace

Summary

Sharon Woodhouse reflects on her personal journey of finding spirituality and peace without traditional religious constraints, influenced by intuition, a blend of science and atheism, and teachings from Rumi, Christianity, and Lao Tzu.

Abstract

Sharon Woodhouse shares her unique spiritual perspective, shaped by a childhood reliance on intuition and a trust in the universe, which has led her to a place of security and peace. Despite not fitting into conventional religious roles, she found wisdom in the movie "Lilies of the Field" and the biblical passage Matthew 6:28, which suggests not worrying about material possessions. This understanding was solidified in her youth and has informed her practical, yet somewhat detached, approach to money and investing. Woodhouse's recent encounter with Lao Tzu's philosophy on the effectiveness of slowness has reaffirmed her belief in the universe's provision and the futility of worry or haste. As an owner of Conspire Creative, she applies these principles to her coaching and consulting services.

Opinions

The author values intuition and a deep-seated trust in the universe, which she has held since childhood.
She believes in a spirituality free from the "asterisks and caveats" of organized religion.
The passage from Matthew 6:28 about the lilies of the field has significantly influenced her perspective on material possessions and life's necessities.
Despite her Catholic upbringing, she has developed a personal interpretation of scripture that resonates with her experience and worldview.
The author maintains a balanced view of money, recognizing its importance but not allowing it to dictate her sense of security and peace.
She finds Lao Tzu's teachings on slowness and nature's pace to be aligned with her own philosophies and life choices.
Woodhouse's approach to life and business is marked by a cool-headedness and objectivity, particularly in the realm of investing.
Her experiences have reinforced her core belief that worry is unnecessary, as the universe provides what is needed in due time.

No worry, no hurry; lilies of the field meets Lao Tzu

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” — Rumi

If I had a spirituality that didn’t come with various asterisks and caveats, I may have been a mystic.

If I didn’t have a sex life and I did have a religion, I may have been a priest. (You can see the footprint of my Catholic upbringing on this one.)

Instead, I happen to be a science-minded, atheist-leaning individual who has had a solid trust in the universe since I was young. A reliable knowing that it held, was, something benign that was always right in front of me, all around me, that I could tap into, quietly depend upon.

The first injection came when I was five, and I relied on intuition and faith in something to guide my twin sister and me over a mile to our new home after we got stuck in a park as the sun was going down (long story).

The next solidifying event I remember was a week in my early teens when I saw a late-night rerun of Sidney Poitier’s 1963 Lilies of the Field for the first time, and just days later I came to understand the reference to Matthew 6:28 from a sermon at church.

“Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin.”

The passage is about not worrying about material possessions; God provides appropriately for all creatures. Of course, this is simply not true. Look around. It’s not how the world works. And yet…

I recall the groovy enthused moments as I worked the significance of this parable out loud in our kitchen after mass. It was shocking and in short order, I knew it to be true — to me, for me. I lit up as it sank in and I decided to accept its veracity.

My very Catholic mom was at the stove making eggs, uncertain whether to endorse my taking this literal understanding of scripture to heart or to insert a lesson about hard work and things costing money.

A math person, a business owner, generally practical and sometimes frugal, occasionally extravagant, occasionally impulsive, with some grand successes and dismal failures around money under my belt, I’m still the girl in that kitchen.

Pretty damned emotion-less around money and weirdly sure that the universe provides. A rather random adolescent moment steered a course, seared a mindset. (This happens to be quite useful when it comes to investing. It’s easy for me to remain cool-headed and objective. At my most roused, I find investing mildly entertaining, and losses don’t pain me physically.)

I’m sure plenty of my family members and friends do not understand my unusual relationship with money. I rarely discuss it nor stake definitive claims about it.

My triumphs and travails have brought me delight and hardship, but never a change in a core belief that there’s little cause for worry. That there is a field, not so far away, where, money or no money, security and peace are always available to me. Lilies already gilded.

It’s been awhile since I thought explicitly about the lilies, but the feeling from the kitchen swooped in when I saw this last week:

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” — Lao Tzu

As someone who has been exploring a deepening relationship with and appreciation of slowness, Lao Tzu has tied the two together and updated the idea of carefree, well-dressed flora for this stage of my life. The universe provides and gets things done as a matter of course. Take it to heart. No need to worry and no need to hurry.

Sharon Woodhouse is the owner of Conspire Creative, which offers coaching, consulting, conflict management, project management, book publishing, and editorial services for solo pros, creatives, authors, small businesses, and multipreneurs.