In today’s global cultures the connection of the individual spirit to the force of God by whatever name the person knows it by, has been lost in religious confusion and misguided ideologies. Raised as Catholic I found the structure and ritual of the Roman Catholic church to be in the way of my connecting to my spirit.

Being a woman in that religion living in a small community with very rigid interpretations of the way rules and rituals were carried out, I could only see myself as a sinner. As my natural adolescent sexuality emerged I was on the route to Hell for sure.

How lost and alone must those who come to the North American culture be when they meet our versions of God. How frightening and perplexed their spirits must be to the judgmental messages from some churches, the proliferation of violence in the media and the lack of ways to deal with stress, loneliness and isolation. How alone it is to try to climb the ladder to success by some version implanted by the constant pursuit of money.

This sense of lost identity is increasing as the internet opens the ideas and lifestyles of the world and mixes them together like in a giant soup. Can the flavors be identified and appreciated?

In my first book Questing Marilyn: In Search of My Holy Grail, I struggle to find my Self through the connection to the authentic person I am capable of being. I lead my readers not only through a journey on the physical realm but a journey of the spirit. It was a difficult journey and one I continue to this day.

I hope religious leaders will unite in grief and pray in hope that there can be ways found for greater understanding of the essential need for a sense of Self that has purpose and meaning and connection to the God force. Perhaps then there will be a greater sense of the value of each life.