My Spiritual Autobiography, in brief

Inspired by hearing snippets of congregants’ stories in our recent service, “Yes, And” I wanted to take the opportunity to share a concise description of my faith journey. I have shared pieces of this in different moments at Westside, but maybe parts of this will be new.

My parents met in the UU congregation in Birmingham, Alabama in the 1980s. My dad grew up Southern Baptist and fully rejected it, and was seeking a community of free-thinkers to be a part of. My mom grew up Methodist and deeply loved being part of a progressive faith community, but when she moved from North Carolina to Alabama as a young adult, had trouble finding a congregation that felt like a good fit, and found her way into UUism.

I was raised in the Community Church of Chapel Hill, UU, which was founded as a non-denominational splinter community from a Presbyterian church whose minister was defrocked in the 1950s for his engagement with Civil Rights work. Like the ethos of this congregation, I have always felt deeply UU, and also deeply spiritually connected to Southern justice movements with roots in progressive Christianity.

My extended family and close friends community has always included and been enriched by Jewish religion and culture. I have been lucky to be included in Shabbat dinners, Hanukkah celebrations, and exploration of beauty of the Hebrew language throughout my life. Jewish people and faith communities have taught me a great deal of what I know about connecting with other people through ritual.

Much of what I know about connecting with myself and the world around me has come from earth-centered spirituality, which feels at the heart of my mysticism. From my time living on an eco-feminist farm in India, I gained a great trust in the abundance of the earth, and a practice of paying attention to the cycles of the moon. I also delight in this era’s resurgence of interest in all things “witchy” and love sharing tarot readings, altar-building, and similar practices with friends.

I am also indebted to the cultures and lineages that have brought the most transformative and important spiritual practices into my life: yoga and Zen Buddhism. I meditate daily, attend silent retreats every year or so, and connect in Sangha (Buddhist community) whenever I am able. Yoga is a practice that helps me more fully embody presence and attention, and heighten awareness of all that is alive within myself. The other practice I do nearly daily is journaling, in a style adapted from the “Morning Pages” method from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.

These days, I wonder if it might make sense to call myself “Unitarian Universalist and Buddhist“. But Buddhist practice doesn’t put much stock in attaching oneself to labels, and I wonder if that would diminish the role of these other spiritual streams in my life. ”Maybe I am Unitarian Universalist and Buddhist and a bit pagan, and also wouldn’t be who I am without Judaism and Christianity.”

The good news is, the labels are less important than living the journey; and I know that this community makes space for all of these pieces.

(Photo of Navdanya Biodiversity Farm in Uttarakhand, India)