The idea of network, of exchange, of collaboration, of mutual knowledge is fundamental among spiritual movements. One of the aspects that make it so important is the protection of spiritual freedom, that is, the right to follow the form of meditation and personal growth that you choose.
Spiritual freedom is one of the greatest demands in our time. The world today often thinks through large organizations, which it considers capable of representing and protecting the people who turn to them, and at the same time considers the smallest realities as bizarre, little, insignificant experiments. In the spiritual realm, there are traditional religions that represent the reassuring normality and the so-called “new religions” which are considered by many to be strange, in which people waste time before returning to the right path.
Protecting the right of free choice of others is the best way to protect one’s analogous right. Realizing it through a network between realities with the same aspirations is the best way to do it.
Networking means many things: exchange, collaboration, and initiatives. At the level of the individual, at the level of what each person can do, it is even simpler: knowing, studying, and inquiring about different realities. As many experiences teach, from conferences to collaboration networks, mutual knowledge is the best way to start weaving a web of solidarity, culture and defense, which protects the freedom of those who actively work in this sense but which, in the end, protects even that of someone who has never faced certain problems.
The first experiments
In the early eighties, a conference was held annually in Damanhur for a few years that we can now define as “historic”. It was the Conference of the Communities and Spiritual Movements of the Age of Aquarius, which gathered the representatives of the most important Italian movements of that time. Since international movements were widespread in Italy, it was an appointment with a broad perspective. It was a very familiar meeting with a few dozen participants. Translation was only provided in English, and hospitality was hosted in Damanhurian structures or by friends who lived nearby, and there was a very relaxed atmosphere full of exchange. It went on from 1981 to 1986 and many thought that the meeting was enriching for everyone. The key goal was to create over time many networks of collaboration and constant exchange.
The following decade saw the birth of more complex organizations such as the Global Ecovillages Network (GEN) , which has an international impact, and in Italy the Italian Ecological Villages Network (RIVE) and the National Coordination of Associations and Inner and Spiritual Ethics Research Community (CONACREIS), to mention only those of which Damanhur is part of.
What I can do
Not all the realities adhering to these networks define themselves as spiritual but if we consider that spirituality means “giving meaning to one’s existence and directing it accordingly“, we can understand that it is in any case experiences that have to do with the growth of people and with the development of their inner world. This is spirituality. Some direct it in a religious sense, others, like Damanhur for example, in a sense of philosophical and symbolic research, others still in a totally secular way. They are choices that everyone makes and that together, form the kaleidoscope of the human spirit. The truth, says Falco Tarassaco, is a crystal made up of a thousand faces, each of which reflects a part of it.
You too can start, with a small act, to weave the canvas of spiritual rights. If you are reading this blog, it means that you already know Damanhur. We invite you to learn about other experiences, and make them known, together with Damanhur, to your friends. Here is a first, concrete action that we can take to build a world of spiritual freedom together. Thank you!
