Religion Means...

Hmmmmmmm... And now for a little something that we might not often think about: English and the intended meaning of some of our words

This is Eric speaking. And you know that I'm not one to talk "religion" with Reconnective Healing. God - Love - Universe (choose the word you like). Yes. But religion? No. That's a personal matter. We all have different thoughts and ideas about religion - ours and other people's. And although we may feel that in many instances our religions, as we understand them, may fall short in certain areas, how much thought do we tend to give to what inspired them?

What was the inspiration that was behind our religions, the inspiration from which our religions sprang, the inspiration that often times may appear a bit clouded or obscured by people arguing and fighting over right and wrong, changing the rules, changing the interpretations, adding on new rituals, and the constant and pervasive wearing away of consciousness by the often rote recitations required when in houses of worship?

Sometimes the secret, the inspiration, is overlooked because it's hidden in one of the last places we'd look: in the word itself. As we all know, in the English language the majority of our words are derived from Greek or Latin. What do we get when we break the word "religion" into its Latin roots?

• The Latin "re," when used as a prefix, means "again" or "to go back."

• "Lig" means to "tie," "connect," or "bind."

• And the suffix "ion" means "the act of," "state of," or "result of the act of."

Put these together and the word "religion" in its purest, most idealized form, means to be in a state of "connecting again" - the act of or state of "Reconnection."

Could it be that the original intention of the word "religion" was for us to go back to our original connection with the Universe? Possibly. Probably. So why is it that the meaning of the word seems to have been such a well-kept secret? Well-kept, yet all along, right under our noses. Hmmmmmmm...