Belonging to a Spiritual Group

Belonging to a Spiritual Group March 16, 2018

It requires tremendous effort and self-discipline to concentrate on any kind of practice without a support group or gathering.

The Best and Worst

At its best, a group offers reflection, empathy, encouragement, and is free from illusions. At its worst, a group can perpetuate dogmas, illusions, narrow-mindedness, and prejudices.

A healthy group dynamic offers open discussions, questioning, a steady practice or meeting schedule, and a fairly democratic process. An unhealthy group dynamic offers just the opposite.

With this in mind, one can join a group with open eyes, be aware of the very real benefits it can offer, and at the same time be sensitive to behaviors that can turn the group onto a detrimental path.

Connect with Similarly Minded People

In my experience, groups of people who have stayed on any spiritual path for a long time become smaller and closer knit than general interest groups simply because the number of interested people drops when one reaches the higher echelons of human spiritual and mental potential. Beginner groups can draw crowds of dozens or even hundreds at a time, while deeper, spiritual gatherings usually only gather a few.

Join a Group or Form a Group?

There are many avenues open to a person wanting to join a group or community of some sort. If you want to join a group, please question and research before you join. Make sure you are not wasting your time.

If you decide to form a group, look to the people you know and to people living in your community that you can learn from. A person who puts together a group can often reach others who are further along the path and get to go along for the ride.

When forming a group it is important to decide what the group should focus on. I have personally formed groups around goals, reading philosophical books and debating their content, a regular meditation practice, focus on spiritual scriptures, and more.

Once you have decided on a focus, gather the interested persons and form a meeting schedule. It is also very important to have a framework for the meetings so that they do not become diluted with current events, family matters, etc. Not that these matters are unimportant, but they are not the reason for the group coming together.

A newly formed group will need time to form a bond. Trust is the essence of any healthy group dynamic.

Facilitator, Not Dictator

There is always need for a facilitator of some sort. The one who organizes the meetings and puts up the schedules is usually the one who put together the group. Do not confuse this role with the role of a leader or dictator of some sort. For a group to be healthy there must be mutual respect, and the participants must feel to some degree that they are peers.

If one person starts dominating meetings, talking too much and judging harshly, the group is likely to disintegrate or become unhealthy.

Something is Better than Nothing

Meeting in person is important, but if that is not possible, you can use technology to connect every now and then through the Internet—it is better than not connecting at all.

If you decide that you neither want to join a group or form a group, you may want to open yourself up to other people’s thoughts and experiences through reading, attending seminars, listening to audio programs, and any other means that will support your personal efforts.

Gudjon Bergmann
Interfaith Minister, Author, and Speaker
Founder of Harmony Interfaith Initiative

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Picture: Pexels.com CC0 License

This column was curated from my book titled, Living in the Spirit of Yoga


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