What Omnism means to me

Lake and Grain Elevators (Photo credit: J. Stephen Conn)

In order to understand where I'm coming from, a brief overview of my religious journey would be beneficial.

My father was Lutheran and my mother Methodist when they met and tied the knot. For the earliest years of my life I was brought up in a good Christian home without the burden of putting on fancy clothes and attending services on Sunday or any other day of the week. Some where around my seventh year of life, after attending some seminars on prophecy, my parents became Seventh-day Adventists. So for the next five or six years I was indoctrinated into that form of religion. When it comes to Daniel and Revelation, I pretty much have it down pat. But, I can not say that I was spiritually comfortable.

Some will say that the next event in my life has led me to the state I am currently in, but it was just the tip of the iceberg whose majority lies several hundred feet below the surface. Between the ages of 12 and 13, my father passed away and left a many faceted void in my life. In trying to fill this void, I began to look around at what the world had to offer in the realm of religion.

Exploration

My earliest explorations off the beaten path were down the roads marked Levey and Crowley, as these were as far away from what my parents had believed as possible, especially Anton Levey. Soon after that, I discovered girls and decided to explore what ever religion they were in. Needless to say, I think I've attended every denomination of Christianity under the sun. From Catholics to Jehovah's Witnesses and none of them felt right.

When I married for the first time, it was to a gal that had no foundation in Christian dogma. She was more of a thinker and believed in a Cosmic Collective Consciousness. This gave me time to read and look around some more. I discovered Cunningham and Buckland then. Read as much as I could on Wicca and Paganism. While looking at these, I branched out into the teachings of Buddha, Krishna, and Joseph Smith. I also explored Shinto and other Eastern religions. I read the Koran and the Book of Mormon. It was a time of exploration.

Epiphany

Finally, after taking a journey to California and the rest of the West Coast of America, I came to one conclusion: All faiths have seeds of truth but none hold all truth. So, for the last six years, I've been quantifying that thought by attempting to compile a list of truths that are gleaned from all over the world. Not surprisingly, most faiths agree on the basic principles and only differ when it comes to the name of the Deity or Deities to honor.

Final Thoughts

Omnism, to me, means that you don't have to limit yourself to one dogmatic formula to come closer to the Divine. You can be spiritual without having a religion. And you can have faith without structure. I firmly believe, when it boils right down to it, all the Gods are One in the End.

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