Creating Spiritual Community

Creating spiritual community is essential to living an inspired life. Creating the spiritual community that feeds your soul is a deeply personal endeavor and one that is worthy of exploration at this time. The choices we have now for spiritual community are endless and as varied as the faces of each fellow human being.
As a child, I knew in my heart what spiritual community was. I tried desperately and to no avail to rope my siblings into my spiritual community. Being the eldest child of eight, this was no easy task. I even involved my parents by  setting up "rules for peaceful engagement" and expecting everyone to follow those rules. Yes, I had at least ten rules that I thought if followed by everyone in the household, from my father on down to my infant baby brother, would assure a peaceful and harmonic family experience and foster a spiritual community.
I posted these rules on the frig and explained to anyone who would listen, what they meant and why they were a good rule to have! I even adorned this poster of rules with my artwork, hoping that would inspire everyone and catch the eyes of the  siblings who were too young to read. I don't' remember all of the rules, yet I do remember two.
"If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" and
"People are more valuable than things."
Sure, the first rule was taken from an animated guru of mine, but I found it a most important rule, especially in a home where nice things were not often, if ever, said.  A loving, harmonic spiritual community was never created within my family. I left home at seventeen and have been creating my spiritual community ever since.Sometimes with great disappointment and sometimes with surprised delight.
The surprised delight has come through realizing that spiritual community is all around us each moment of every day. It does not require a set of rules, or even a group involvement. It can be just you, in communion with nature, your guides, The Divine. It can be you and one other person coming together with the same intention-to be in spiritual unity together, to be open hearted and to "see each other through the eyes of your heart." Spiritual community requires that we look beyond the differences of lifestyle and share a moment or an hour in celebration of each other.
Spiritual community can be whatever you desire, yet is essential to our human experience. It is like food for our soul and perhaps one of the reasons for being here.
What will feed your soul now? How can you be supported in your spiritual self right now? The answer is within your heart, waiting to be revealed as you ask and listen.Have a blessed week.
Mary