Thanks so much for everyone’s feedback concerning the celebrity interviews. I do want to clarify that most of the criticism I’ve received has been constructive, not cruel. (Although sometimes, I get that, too. Anyone who has a blog has to deal with rude comments. It comes with the territory, unfortunately.) I think what I’ll do is continue to sporadically post the celebrity interviews, but infrequently, as I’ve been doing.
As for the Amy’s Blog Talk Radio Show last night: I think there was something amiss with the call in number, but no worries. I’ve attached the link at the end of the post so you can listen to it later.
Here, Erik starts by answering my question from yesterday’s post: Why does he think current religions are outdated?
Erik: The idea that one person in your religious belief system had all the answers. We have so many people coming in that are so much like Jesus who can do healing—the blind can see, the cancer’s gone. All that shit. They’re all over the world, you know. It’s not just holding hostage of notions like, “These people only come to India or Jerusalem.” They’re popping up all over the place. And we have other that can talk about compassion and love and seeing beyond.
Me: Is there a religion that isn’t outdated? What about spirituality?
Erik: A ha! That’s where I’m going. All of these people who are coming it—thousands, Mom—like where there was one, there are now thousands, and this is what’s supporting the belief in spirituality. This is—Nah, I don’t want to say that.
Jamie: I’ll tell you what he was thinking, though. He did say spirituality was the new religion, but he didn’t want to link the two words.
Me: What do you mean, “coming in”? “Where there was one, there are now thousands.”? Coming in where?
Erik: Being born to Earth.
Me: I thought so, but just wanted to make sure.
Erik: People who are born to Earth who have these insights, this holiness quality, this kind of perseverance that the average Joe doesn’t seem to have but can learn to grow into. These are the thousands that are making a difference in the world whereas in the olden days it was just the one dude. You know, back then that whole, “I lead the sheep, and you are the sheep shit” did really well, but you do that crap now, that shit’s not working. Every sheep thinks for itself. You fucking try to lead me, and I’ll put a gun to your head.
Jamie: That was a bad analogy.
Seriously, Erik.
Erik: We think for ourselves, and in this spiritual umbrella how God exists over all religions, spirituality exists over all of the religions, and God—whatever, Mom. I like to use the term loosely—this spirituality encompasses everybody. Everybody’s a free thinker; everybody can make choices for themselves. It’s all the same material. That’s what makes it so fucking awesome.
Me: So, spirituality doesn’t have one leader. It has as many leaders as it has members. We have teachers, but they don’t lead us. We make our own decisions for our spiritual growth.
Erik: Exactly. The core beliefs are driven by each individual because, you know, one person might come in and have no fucking problem knowing how to love, so for them, that come so easy, they’re not going to put heavy emphasis on it. They might put emphasis on something else like boundaries. Honoring thyself. But then you come across somebody else who can keep a boundary to no end, but just cannot love themselves. They just can’t. So, that’s the emphasis they put on in their spiritual journey.
(Jamie listens.)
Jamie (to Erik): You really wanna go here?
Erik: Fuck yeah. It’s sad, because you get into these religious structures, and they’re choosing the scripts they want you to listen to, and they’re telling you the way that you should walk and the words that you should use and how you should eat, behave, when really a leader should ask, “How can you better yourself, and where do you want to go?” And then the leader would just listen to the sheep. But these old school religions don’t quite have that. Some of them are being morphed as our society and cultures grow where the preacher or minster or reverend, whoever, uh, Rabbi, they’re listening more to the individual person and individualizing it. Those are beautiful and unique situations. I praise those people. I praise those leaders. It’s the ones who are sticking so hard and fast to the rules and to the books and to the scripts that are losing insights of really what that individual needs, not what the whole congregation needs or what they feel the whole world should need.
Me: Well, is there any value in the old religions for some?
Erik: Oh, totally. I said that before. When the leaders came in, God sent it in bits and pieces. There’s value in every belief system, every religion. Great, good shit in each one of them, you know, but to swallow it hook, line and sinker, that’s just too much. That’s asking to be pulled out of your surroundings, to get reeled in by something.
Me: So, you’re not being completely true and honest to yourself if you totally, blindly—
Erik: Surrender to this structure and this system when you forgot to follow yourself first.
Me: Yeah. Follow yourself first!
Jamie: Follow yourself first. That sounds so freaking cool. I’m writing it down.
Me: That’s another t-shirt, right there.
Jamie: He’s laughing.
**********************************************
Amy’s Blog Talk Radio Show: CLICK HERE
**********************************************
Do you miss your son or daughter and want to talk to him or her? Let Erik bring them forward for you this Thursday in the Grieving Parents Channeling Call. Only six parents comprise this very intimate group for this amazingly healing opportunity.
