I grew up in a religious culture that taught us that we were "children of god". That is a good concept.
And then, they went on to teach us that we needed to work hard to please that god. We were subtly taught that to make a mistake was a sin. In order to stay in favor with this god, we could obey without question the edicts of our leaders. That way, they would be responsible for any mistake or judgement. We did not have to be responsible for thinking through ideas, situations, or events to reach a conclusion that might be "wrong". Just listen and obey the conclusions of those at the top and we, the grassroots members of the congregations, would be held blameless by this god.
As I look at the very real way the brain works, I see the dangers of this type of thinking.
First, as "children" of some highly evolved, divine being, we ought to be taught that we have all of the qualities of that "creator". In that case, there is no possible "wrong", no possible "mistake" and availability to all of the unlimited intelligence, creativity, Goodness to cause a life of unbounded Good, Abundance, Generosity, Insight and Love.
In order to activate the higher functions of our brain that supports this shift from survival fear, denial, addictive inaction to curiosity and problem solving, we need problems to solve.
Holding onto the group think of one leader's concept does not allow our personal journey into the Good we are capable of giving and receiving. Being in a group whose leaders opens doors is the first step into a fulfilled life. The next step is letting go of the leader, being encouraged by that leader, to try ones own wings.
May you find your own Good Self!
