Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Interspirituality for the Modern Day Seeker

Home
New Visions
Belonging to a Spiritual Group

Belonging to a Spiritual Group

Last updated on: March 16, 2018 at 4:50 pm by Gudjon Bergmann

Belonging to a Spiritual Group 2018-03-16T16:50:14+00:00 Gudjon Bergmann

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

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

Follow me on Facebook or Twitter

Picture: Pexels.com CC0 License

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

Previous Post

March 12, 2018

It's Not Us, It's Them!

Next Post

March 20, 2018 Addicted to Controversy?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Beliefs and Values Change Compassion Contemplation Creating Moments of Peace Cultural Division Culture Wars Current Events Environmental Protection Experifaith Forgiveness Global Warming Golden Rule Gratitude Gun Debate Gun Safety Integral Theory Interfaith Interfaith Dialogue Interfaith Quotes Interspirituality Islam Language Meditation Mindfulness Morality mysticism Nonduality Parenthood Pluralism Poetry Prayer Quotes Religion Religion and Politics Science and Religion Self-Care Social Harmony Spiritual Practice Spirituality Stress Uncategorized Yoga

Select a Month September 2023 August 2023 June 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz