Rev. Marilyn L. Redmond
My mother took me to church at
the age of five. It was close to where we lived. In those days during World War
II, we had to walk. Each Sunday we strolled down the avenue to the church in
the neighborhood. I earned a gold lapel pin in Sunday School to wear with a
number. My pin had the number 10 for years of perfect attendance. As I grew
older, my mother decided it was time for confirmation classes to become a
member of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
Since we had moved out of the
neighborhood to a new home, the distance to attend the classes was a big
challenge. Every week for two years, I took the school bus to where I could
catch a county bus into Seattle. I then transferred to a city bus that let me
off on the other side of a lake from the church, where I then completed the
trip to the church on foot. Conveniently, my parents picked me up at a
neighbor's near the church to take me home at night.
I always have been a diligent
student and learning the Biblical Stories and memorizing the Small Catechism by
Luther was the program of study. I know
today the catechism was the dogma and beliefs of the church. I now know that
religious beliefs are rules placed upon us. I did the memory work, but never
took it to heart as I was in survival growing up. It was just words to me. Therefore,
I was not entirely indoctrinated. This ultimately served me well.
However, I did attend church and
continued to take my own children to church for their confirmation
classes. During my domestic violent
marriage, church was a safe place to be.
I was out of the house and in a pleasant environment. I understand now
how it did benefit me to have a safer place then being home, in those days. However,
when I needed to ask myself the deep questions in recovery from addictions to
the prescriptions, I found that the church dogma did not keep me from being
addicted. I needed different answers that were more realistic not for just
surviving in life, but how to thrive without medications.
In treatment, I was introduced to
a path of spirituality to replace the medications. It took a while for me to
understand the difference between religion and being spiritual. I had lived
from my head/ego trying to be safe for years thinking someone would save me from
the trauma. Moving into listening to my heart was new to me. In fact, my church
preached against meditation saying it was the voice of the devil. Consequently,
this was a traumatic shift in commitment. Taking that step of faith was
harrowing. Using a higher power of love was foreign, as I did not know about
love. I was raised that love hurt. Therefore, I had closed my heart as my
stepfather said, "I am only beating you because I love you".
I needed to attend 12 step
programs to stop the addiction route. Over time, I found my old beliefs had
underlined my addiction. I was looking for love in all the wrong places. As I released my fears, guilt, shame, and more,
I replaced the negative for the positive. My life began to shift into a more
pleasant life. Realizing that I had lived in fear and negative messages of
beliefs that were not true was a huge awakening. Since life is about cause and effect, my
cause had a base in fear and falsehoods. I found affirming the truth brought
real results. I was determined to change my negativity into being positive for
better outcomes. I had allowed the dogma and creeds of the church
that were placed on me to be the focal point of my thinking and actions. Replacing
the old beliefs with affirmations to affirm the truth replaced the lack of
truth about who I am. I now understood God is always positive. I have always
been loved. I am a worthy person.
Learning that the word
beliefs has the word "lie" in it was now meaningful. I was taught
lies to live by. If God is always positive and PURE LOVE, then I am not a
sinner, nor guilty for the past, nor is there a hell. I did not cause anyone to
die. In my just published book, "A Spark of Truth" at Amazon, I share
how this dogma through the Nicene Creed in 425AD became the basis for many
religions for centuries. It is also affecting us today.
In the future, I have to find
the truth for me and listen to my heart, I want to be led to that future
reality by my feelings; they are guiding me towards the truths that serve me best.
I move from listening to others, authority, experts, or my head into listening
to my heart and the truth within me. This is why it is important to know that
it serves me more to process information through my body than through my minds.
If something does not feel good to me, then I no longer pay it attention.
I had based what I believed to
be true on what others told me. I learned to change my focus on faith and
listening to my heart messages, rather than in beliefs.. I think for myself
today.. I found love never fails. What goes around comes around. I moved into
being a love-based person and send that out for happy returns.
I discovered there is another
way to view life; I get to choose which action to take, and how to imagine what
feels good. Selecting my own path puts me into harmony with the real me and
what is around me. Try feeling into it, determining for yourself whether it is
a road you really want to go down, and a reality you actually want to
experience. You can feel into the truth of it, then you know that what you feel
is telling you it is true for you; it feels good. That love creates was new to
me.
My book, "Paradigm
Busters" at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Marilyn-Redmond/e/B0069WIKDChas the process of how I moved into my heart from the negativity
of my past. Today I live from my Creator's spirit of love and not my old beliefs.
I know in my heart are the answers to my life for loving solutions. I see through the eyes of love. "Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;
behold all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17 Maturity is no longer living in the immaturity
of fear. PURE LOVE brings us into unity and community.
My newest book, "A Spark of
Truth" at Amazon has the history to how the church doctrine has been used
to misinform people for the benefit of those manipulating and controlling our
lives. https://www.amazon.com/Spark-Truth-Rev-Marilyn-Redmond/dp/0944851630 In addition, "A Spark of Truth" has current
information about how we have been told other beliefs that do not serve us presently.
