LaRonda responds to an article entitled: Should Deafhood Have Churches, written by the author of the blog called: Spirituality of Being dDeaf. This blogsite attempts to discuss the spiritual and religious issues being d/Deaf. The most recent questions the author asks are:
- “Should there be Deaf “churches”?”
- “If we do end up establishing “churches” extolling and celebrating Deafhood, what will it be?”
You know, I often say to others that my hearing son, and my hearing husband are “my church.” In the last 10-20 years, I’ve learned more from them about patience forgiveness, humility, love, compassion, giving, tolerance, hope, etc., than I have learned anywhere else.
Photos by: Brent ZuppI do have my own faith in a God of many names and consider myself a deeply spiritual person, but where I practice my spirituality goes beyond a church, synagogue, temple or shrine. I learn and practice in the church of life.
Is being deaf and our journey into deafhood a spiritual experience? In my opinion, it is. I learn the same things in my experience of being deaf that I learn as a mother to my son or a wife my husband, (i.e.: patience, forgiveness, humility, love, compassion, giving, tolerance, hope, etc.).
We, who are d/Deaf, hard of hearing, late-deaf and deaf-blind, etc., living in a hearing world, learn many of the same morals and ethics from our d/Deaf experience that we learn in our church congregations and communities. Being d/Deaf is a deeply spiritual, tremendously humbling and profound life experience.
Is our experience of Deafhood, religious (Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, etc.)? Exclusively, in and of itself, my answer is no. Our deafness or Deafhood is not defined by any one particular religion or spiritual path, though many Deaf people gather together to celebrate their particular religious faith in churches, temples, covens, etc.
Could the experience of Deafhood be called our “church?” To me, in a way, the answer is yes. A church could be defined as a collective body of like-minded people who come together to reflect upon, learn, seek guidance, work through, find or give support and celebrate their connections to each other and to the source of all life.
Being a “deaf” mother, wife, employee, co-worker, daughter, granddaughter, sister, cousin, niece, auntie, neighbor and friend are all life experiences that define “my church.” It’s all about the bumping into, working our way around, standing our ground, asserting our needs, sharing our values and beliefs, offering forgiveness, teaching and guiding others, and celebrating the successful relationships and connections we have in life.
These are the faces and places where I learn more about myself as a spiritual person than anywhere else. They are identities and relationships with whom I rise and fall and rise again, as I learn and practice the same ethics and morals I would in any religious faith or church community. Being deaf is my life and life is my church.
So, do d/Deaf people need d/Deaf churches? Many enjoy having a religious faith community of like-minded individuals with the same beliefs, values, language, culture and norms in which they can celebrate their faith. I say it’s a good thing, though not necessary for an individual to have a spiritual experience or spiritual existance. I don’t feel that claiming a religious affiliation or attending a d/Deaf or hearing church is the only way or place to learn or be a spiritual individual.
Life (being d/Deaf, hard of hearing, late-deaf, deaf-blind, a CODA, or hearing, being a woman or a man, being married or single, being gay or straight, being employed or unemployed, being young or old, etc., etc.) is a spiritual experience in and of itself.
Perhaps we are all spiritual beings having our own unique human experience….
First, I always love reading your b/vlogs. I feel resonate with you.
Spiritual is the Way of life for me. And you hit right on the spot about Church. Indeed the life I am living as Deaf is my “Church” ,too. Thank you for explaining today beautifully. No one is perfect on this Earth.
*hand-waving*
ASL forever
Left by LS on July 7th, 2007
Hmm… you got me thinking. I will reflect on this more and will let you know what I think.
Left by moxie_mocha on July 7th, 2007
Deafhood can be the experiences going through Life being Deaf.
Yes, the Church is your family and can learn so much from them. “Spirituality” is the practices of the “New Age Movement”
It all goes away when one died then what then. “Deadhood” I think not. Look around you don’t you think there has to be a supernatural entity trying to reveal itself in nature. Why are we hear and for what purpose. Forget the physic readings, forget the cystals, forget the tarrot cards, forget TM, put out the incense, stop looking for the aural field, whatever your thinkings may be. Everything is fine in the present life, one may thought, there is an unknown force out there, death. Is there an afterlife, what do you expect, being reincarnated, until you reached a certain level, or being stranded in the spiritual world trying to communicate via ouja boards. Enough of this stuff, Deafhood is being taken out of context by humanism. One may have hundreds of books on spiritualism, but we only need one Bible, just read one verse: John 3:16 and then I pray you will find the Way, the truth, and the LIFE, that you will realized that Jesus was the answer you been seeking that been missing all your life. For more information, contact http://www.deafreformed.org, it is up to you, to continue in your ways, or to have hope, joy and peace. The Hands of God now in your Eyes.
Left by A Deaf Calvinist on July 7th, 2007
Lovely blogpost, LaRonda. Wonder what you would like to be
if you were born again. A butterfly? Many people want to be
butterlfies if born again.
Smile.
Jean
Left by Jean Boutcher on July 7th, 2007
Thank you all for your comments.
Deaf Calvinist, I thank you too. I want you to know I honor what you have to say, but I need to clarify something. When I used the word “spirituality” I did not say anything about being New Age. Can a Catholic be spiritual? Can a Christian be spiritual? Can a Buddhist, Muslim, Pagan, or Quaker be spiritual? My answer is yes. You made an assumption that when I spoke of spirituality, I was taking New-Age speak. I may have used words that put those thoughts into your mind so I can see how the jump was made. However, I purposely did not disclose any religious affiliation to make my post neutral and open to all.
I tried to clarify that I do not believe that Deafhood is the same as religion, but that it was a part of life and that life as I experience it, is in effect, my church. This does not mean that I don’t have faith, attend church, or believe in life after death. Take care, my friend, not to make assumptions. I chose to remain neutral on purpose. I am not lost. I am not missing anything. My life has hope, joy and peace, just as yours. I live with purpose and I know the way.
Hugs.
~ LaRonda
Left by LaRonda on July 7th, 2007
Thanks Jean for your comment as well. If there is such a thing as being born again, I think it already happened to me in this lifetime. I got to experience changing from hearing to deaf.
Butterflies are deaf, you know. Maybe I did reincarnate into a butterfly afterall.
(Just having some fun…)
~ LaRonda
Left by LaRonda on July 7th, 2007
LaRonda,
IMO? Your quote: “Being deaf is my life and life is my church.” It sums my spiritual beliefs as well and in so many words: ”less is more!” Thank you for sharing!
Godspeed and be well!
S~
Left by SB~ on July 8th, 2007
You’ve expressed a nondenominational view of religion and a spirit of brotherhood of all people that transcends individual religions.
It seems that deafness, and deafhood is a human experience, a physical experience that is tied to the earth and physical existence. Who knows if the deaf experience survives into the spiritual world? For that matter, does individual religions also survive into the afterlife?
We should be thinking about what unifies us all, and what is within us that belongs to the Almighty and the spiritual world, if such words can be used to describe it. We have more in common with all the other peoples of the world than are defined by our groups.
Left by Dianrez on July 8th, 2007
Dianrez’s last passage is a very, very, very good one.
I would like to know what my favourite philosophers
Kant, Descartes, and others would have said. I will
search for it in their works.
Left by Jean Boutcher on July 8th, 2007
Thank you all for your continuing comments.
Dianrez, you bring up a really good point about looking at that which unifies us. We are so often attached to our egos and view ourselves as separate from each other and our source of life, when in fact, we are all one.
Being d/Deaf is indeed a human experience, yet I still think it goes beyond just human. I do believe it is a spiritual experience, just as our other identities and relationships as I wrote of in my post above. Ursula King writes: “… spirituality is now understood anthropologically as an exploration into what is involved in becoming fully human”.
The term “spirituality” has as various usages. I think this is where we stumble as a group. We may define it differently. What “spirituality” means to me can be defined best through the research done by Martsolf and Mickley:
Spirituality is about:
* “Meaning – significance of life; making sense of situations; deriving purpose.
* Values – beliefs, standards and ethics that one cherishes.
* Transcendence – experience, awareness, and appreciation of a “transcendent dimension” to life beyond self.
* Connecting – increased awareness of a connection with self, others, God/Spirit/Divinity, and nature/Nature.
* Becoming – an unfolding of life that calls for reflection and experience; including a sense of who one “is” and how one knows.”
These things clearly describe my experience of being deaf. Thus, I feel my journey of d/Deafhood is a spiritual one.
Thanks again, everyone, for your comments.
~ LaRonda
Left by LaRonda on July 8th, 2007
Doesn’t any, ongoing challenge have the “potential” to be viewed as a spiritual experience?
Family, life in general, Deafness (though many will not agree with Deafness as a challenge).
And I say “potential” because it always comes down to how the individual decides to view the challenge. In your case, you have chosen to view the challenge of life, etc as a spiritual path. That gives the challenge meaning for you, and that’s wonderful. Others won’t and that’s okay, too.
As for a religion or church for the Deaf….I’m not for that. Religions/Churches serve to separate one group from another. They draw the line in membership and create an “Us” versus “Them” mentality. I don’t think the Deaf community needs that. But I do agree that Deafness can be a spiritual experience–You certainly have achieved that during your life as a Deaf woman.
Left by Brent on December 17th, 2007