by Alyx Grayson

Created on: March 18, 2009   Last Updated: August 02, 2009

Every person's journey begins and ends alone, you may encounter others along the path, but ultimately every one walks alone. In my faith, I believe that all paths eventually lead to the same destination. All gods are one god and all goddesses are one goddess and that each is merely aspects of one divinity. I believe in the humanity of people and the human experience. I believe that the holy scriptures of different faiths offer insights, commentary and lessons worth listening to, but that literal meanings are a mistake. I have touched the face of the divine, I have felt its power move within me and I have the conviction to live my beliefs every day rather than just through worship.

My husband is not a part of that particular spiritual revelation. He believes that all viewpoints have validity, but he holds himself away from where faith might touch him or disappoint him. When we talk about my experiences, I see the doubt in his eyes and I hear the gentle humor in his voice. He does not scoff at my faith or at my perceptions, but he does not share them. He cannot see them, touch them, taste them or experience them as I did. I cannot convey what it is like to feel the divine move inside, to have Her speak with my voice and even though it is a ritual, to have truly brushed the faces of those I refer to as a God and Goddess, to have embraced that divine does not communicate in general conversation.

Faith is defined as a belief or conviction in absence of actual evidentiary facts or proof. I cannot prove a sensation or an intensely personal experience. I can only be comfortable in my own skin about my experience. In conversations we have shared about our respective viewpoints, we found common ground because we both believe everyone's journey is individual and that it is important for our daughter to be open to possible experiences no matter what religious path she chooses to walk down.

Oddly enough, we both believe in intelligent design. We believe that the world we live in is a product of intelligence beyond that of mortal man. That intelligence allows for evolution of not only our species, but our intellect and religious beliefs. It makes for challenging dinner conversation at times.

A few years ago, a friend challenged us on how much we knew about the others beliefs. My husband was raised Christian, I wasn't. My husband dislikes much of the dogma associated with orthodox and fundamentalist beliefs. He believes in questioning and seeking, not in being handed

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