Loss of faith, whether in a religious, political or relationship context, causes a great deal of suffering for many people. One of the reasons I write about the stages of personal and spiritual development is so that suffering caused by a crisis of faith can be alleviated or minimized. An awareness of the varying stages of the spiritual and faith development process permits the individual to more easily overcome the resistance experienced in transiting between the different stages of faith development. Personally speaking, it helps greatly to be aware that a crisis of faith is a natural growth process and is an invitation to true awakening of the spirit.
I recently watched a video that showed the sun rising over a mountain. The narrator on the video shared a story about a person they knew who was a member of a Christian congregation. This individual had confessed to the narrator of the video that they were experiencing a crisis of faith. They confessed that the teachings they once held so dear had become dry and had began to loose all meaning. The words that had for so long given them much comfort and strength had become simply words on a page.
For many secular people such crisis of faith simple does not resonate. Nonetheless, if you have lost faith in a relationship that was of immense importance to you then you might get an idea about what loss of faith can mean. It can be a devastating experience for the individual who loved what such faith once gave to them. The person experiences a real feeling of distress when that individual begins to experience a loss of faith in a belief system that once gave them a connection to something beyond. This also allows the particular person to belong to a community. I have personally witnessed this crisis of faith lead to the loss of long-term friendships, the end of the marriage, a lost of community and a loss of the sense of who the individual is.
This is why it helps, at least in theory, to educate oneself about the transitions involved in many varied stages of faith development. I think it helps to know what happens along the way with regard to challenges around the loss of faith. As with many life experiences, a loss of faith, can open up an opportunity for deepening our connection to what this writer refers to as the process of faith. Faith, as written about here, needn’t simply be faith in a belief system of a recognized religious teaching. It might just as well be belief in one’s connection to a political ideal or one’s core value system. There are numerous maps that outline the stages of the spiritual journey that can take you into a faith that can move mountains. This writer’s investigation of these stages of faith development shows that there is a major transition that involves the experience of a crisis of faith This is the stage where one moves from the reliance on outer authority to the directly experiencing the inner teachings that are at the heart of all religious teachings.
A major transition on the spiritual journey, and the journey of developing one’s faith, is the change from an outer focus to an inner world focus. In varied spiritual traditions this is recognized as an from of initiation. It is the initiation from the Exoteric way to the Esoteric way. This is the transition of that stage of the spiritual journey from the belief of the many into what’s beyond belief and it is a way that few decide to follow. This is a scary process for many sincere and faith filled seekers. They find themselves being pulled every which way. They understand that what they once had isn’t working any more but they don’t know where they are going and they feel lost. They feel that they are losing faith and faith in the teachings is the only anchor in a stormy sea of lost meaning.
This is where true soul friendship helps. Here’s where having a true Anamchara (meaning soul friend) really helps. The true soul friend can tell you with confidence, that while you are loosing faith, you are in fact beginning the process of awakening. What were once words that once might have given reassurance now become the invitation to a spirituality beyond words. This opens up deeper awareness of other aspects of your being. What had once been a system of belief now becomes the direct knowing of what is beyond belief.
The Anam cara knows this process. They have gone through that period of not knowing and come to a level higher up the mountainside. They are a seer who is able to invite you into a vision beyond your crisis of faith. The loss of faith can be a seen as a new day dawning. It is a kind of awakening and a transiting between faith as being outer directed to a faith that is directed from within. This is a deep personal journey beyond belief. Although this is a difficult transition those who have the courage to make the transition deepen their faith in the process.
Tony Cuckson is a Writer and promoter of personal and spiritual development coaching. He is also a pro storyteller in the Irish tradition guiding you to finding meaning and purpose through life stages and life transitions. Using diverse maps of the stages of personal and spiritual development together with mythology, story telling and personal and spiritual development practices you are led to live your one wild and valuable life. To explore more of the writing and the power of story telling and the power of poetry to transform your life visit http://www.tonycuckson.com
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