Our lives have been one big spiritual journey! We've grown more through travel, entrepreneurship, and raising a family, than anything else we've ever done. Our beliefs about who we are, about the nature of reality, and about the purpose of life have shifted dramatically since we began traveling; and they continue to evolve as we stay open to new experiences and ideas.
We know better what makes us happy, helps us feel fulfilled, and fosters a sense of meaning, connection, and contribution in our lives. Through difficult experiences, we've strengthened our abilities to rise above them. And we're learning to appreciate every moment for the miraculous gift that it is.
A Change of Faith
We were raised as devout Mormons in Salt Lake City, a unique and tight-knit culture with firm and strict boundary lines defining what's good and bad. We grew up believing with all our hearts that the LDS church was the only true church on the earth, just as we were taught, and that every spiritual feeling we had confirmed this truth. We "knew" beyond doubt where we came from, why we were on the earth, and what would happen after we died.
A short six months into our travels, while serving in a church leadership position and pursuing spiritual growth with even more vigor, we began to realize that our measuring stick for absolute truth could be easily misinterpreted. We began a thorough reassessment of our beliefs, and soon came to the difficult conclusion that it no longer made sense to us. This led to us eventually abandoning the church of our childhood, which had both tremendously positive and negative consequences. You can read the details of this journey, how and why we made this choice, and where it's led us, in Brandon's popular document:
Why I Left the Mormon Church — Read my journey from devout LDS church leader to leaving the religion of my family and childhood.
So, what do we believe now?
We are open to the mystery of life. We have some beliefs, but we try to hold no belief so firmly that we close our mind to alternatives, or cause another harm in the name of a belief. We retain a certain humility in acknowledging that we could be wrong about anything, and often challenge our beliefs to discover more. In acknowledging that we don't know what's true, we also recognize the idea that each person chooses their own truth, in ways that feel good and right to them, and that no method of discovering truth is going to satisfy everyone.
With that said, we do believe that there is a creative, evolutionary force in the universe. It is what causes molecules to bind, plants to grow, and life to evolve. But beyond that, we have few beliefs about "God". You can read these and others of our beliefs about death, and the meaning of life here.
Check out some of our other posts about spirituality below, to see where we've been not just physically, but in our spiritual journeyings.
Resources
Here are some of our favorite books about spirituality:
Also be sure to check out these book lists:
