There is a coming together of souls as a community that is common to religions. This is a basic human experience. As our cultures have grown from different lands, and evolved in different ways to nurture our survival as individuals, families and groups, so have we brought our spiritual practices and relationships to the divine along with us. One of the most cherished parts of this is our sense of being home, wrapped in familiar ritual and custom, even when visiting a congregation far from our personal home. In today's world, most of us can find a congregation of our basic faith almost anywhere on the planet. There will be differences. But there will also be "home".

Yesterday I had a refreshing experience with a small round table group discussion in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The topic for discussion was the essential commonality of the search or experience to know infinity or god, or unlimited love, or... It is interesting to find so much joy in a group that defines these terms in so many ways as they reach for God in so many ways.

And then there is the joy we find in opening to others. This starts with willingness to hear someone else and find something you can agree with about what they say. Maybe, in some cases, it starts with just being willing to be in the same room. In the Way to Happiness, L. Ron Hubbard states, "Man, since the dawn of the species, has taken great consolation and joy in his religions."
www.thewaytohappiness.org