If you have ever been persecuted for your spiritual or political beliefs, this message will likely resonate with you. For some it may even touch something very deep.
In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s shooting, many people are reflecting on the gravity of political violence and the outpouring of hatred cast upon people over political ideas and spiritual practices. For myself, it touches a chord that has run through my entire life since I was a child.
I recall my mother advising that I hold our family religious affiliation close to my chest unless I was with friends. I spent the bulk of my childhood in a school for gifted children and I may have been the only Jew in this southern, Christian-rooted private school. As an adolescent I participated in Jewish traditions with my family, but in my social life I actively took part in Christian practices.
I so keenly recall a distinct hesitation I felt when asked what my faith was as a child, mostly because my mother instilled in me the belief that I’d be ostracized should I reveal that I was Jewish. That stayed with me through college and graduate school.
Meditation as a Forbidden Practice
As one might expect, I managed to marry into a Jewish family, but my spirituality remained a point of persecution. In my second year of college, I embraced a Hindu meditation practice that grew to become the core of my spiritual life.
This love affair I had with meditation practice and all that had been revealed to me in it became a persecution point throughout my adulthood until divorce freed me from that spell. My ex, the father of my children, hated my meditation practice and me for my attachment to it.
I recall, day after day, being called “crazy” for going into a room to simply sit in stillness. He bashed me, saying how insane it was for one to go into a dark room and come out happy, as though I was doing something illegal.
But that didn’t stop my spiritual practice; it just drove me underground in my personal life, and it fueled me to excel in my professional career teaching biofeedback and meditation.
During our divorce, my then-husband sought custody of our children, even though as a court-documented “child and wife abuser” he had no standing to pursue it. Rather than actually litigating anything in family court, we metered in legal fees more than the value of our estate over a four-year period. People called it “legal stalking” for the purpose of kidnaaaaaaaaaping abused children.
The proceedings came to a halt when I fled the state to avoid an unwarranted psychiatric incarceration. That’s not a typo. The intent was to institutionalize me in order to discredit me and the abuse findings, and ultimately destroy my psychological and mental faculties.
Fortunately, I had the cogency to recognize the ploys in place moments before the Body Attachment placed upon me would have swept me into a nightmare of no return.
Before my exile, I asked counsel what his grounds were for wanting to seek custody, even though we both knew he had no legal standing. Counsel said these words I will never forget: “Your husband says, ‘You meditate.’”
The Covid Era Persecution and Consequences
I thought persecution for my beliefs ended with my personal life, until decades later it reappeared on a global stage. In 2020, I found myself unable to openly share my beliefs about bodily autonomy. There were consequences that many of us sought to dodge. I was one of them.
The persecution toward those not supporting the worldwide narrative was over the top. People were being shamed for not wearing masks. Many lost their jobs for not taking the injection. Families were torn apart, friendships severed, and careers severely interrupted — all in the name of noncompliance and holding a belief, some spiritual and some political, regarding personal sovereignty.
I remember thinking this was my former personal life on steroids. Then, as the 2024 election came around, it was more of the same. I heard stories of neighbors coast-to-coast threatening to vandalize homes because of one’s political affiliation.
Spiritual Practice and Private Relationship with God
As I’m witnessing so many people turn to church and God in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, I’m aware of how we got here. Charlie’s message was a light that radiates beyond his earthly life. Many believe he was brought to his death because of his convictions — the way he spoke openly of them and inspired others to listen.
In all of this, I’m reminded of how one’s deep alliance with their spirituality and its manifestation in daily life can be another person’s cause to malign one…discredit one…erase or eliminate one.
My hope for humanity during this most tender time in human history is that we become more tolerant, more compassionate, and more accepting of one another’s spiritual and political beliefs.
For more on my decades-long meditation practice and how it revealed a living connection to God, read Being the Light: Everyday Meditation Enlightenment — A Spiritual Memoir. — Dr. Jeanne King, Ph.D. Read the memoir → Being the Light: Everyday Meditation Enlightenment
Dr. Jeanne King, psychologist and author, helps people heal trauma and restore peace and well-being in their lives.
© Dr. Jeanne King, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved