I'm so very glad we have the internet as a venue for sharing about spirituality - the community grows as the web widens. But there are some pitfalls and obstacles that limit the extent to which we can really communicate about spirituality online, or on any other platform that involves writing. I grapple with these issues almost every time I write a blog post here.
The nature of blogging, or writing articles for Pagan magazines, or posting in spiritual groups on social media, or even writing books is that of words: we write down what we want to share, and other people read it.
Over the years, I've gotten better at choosing my words so more people understand what I'm trying to get across. Not that I'm always successful, but I don't tend to have too many misunderstandings these days. However, that doesn't mean I can always convey the ideas that I want to.
I'm not talking about the nuances of the written versus the spoken word here; audiobooks and even live workshops still involve this issue. I'm talking about the fact that spiritual experiences happen inside us. They lose something in translation into words.
Sure, I can tell you how we meditate and do devotionals to deities in Modern Minoan Paganism. But I can't tell you what it feels like the first time you ask a question and listen, really listen, and hear an answer.
I can describe a ritual in minute detail, but I can't adequately express what happens in each participant's heart and mind as they move through the invitation, the welcoming, the offering, and so on.
There's a thing in religion called mystery. It's often written with a capital M: Mystery. It's what happens inside you, how you are changed by interaction with the divine. And no words can contain the Mystery. It's an experience, not a solid object that can be weighed and measured.
Of course, I'll go on writing about spirituality. It's what I do. But I always bear in mind the shortcomings of trying to communicate the numinous via language, and I hope you continue to be aware as well. Because ultimately, the purpose of spirituality is not to communicate with each other, but to experience a relationship with the divine.
Always the Mystery.
In the name of the bee,
And of the butterfly,
And of the breeze, amen.