In addition to my love of holistic living, I still have this insane habit of keeping up with media, pop culture, and yes celebrities (I say insane, because too much of it can make you just that). I think my reasoning is I like to try and figure out how certain things affect people. In other words it makes for good conversation. Well, here is one. There is a new book coming out about Tom Cruise and his journey with Scientology. The author (I can't recall his name at the moment) has gotten no authorization for this "tell all" book. Well, the book is getting much talk because of it's negative and in depth look into Scientology. I call it a "Witch Hunt." We all know that Cruise has taken a media beating for being a Scientologist, but I believe it has also enhanced his career greatly. Now I know very little about the religion but I can relate to Cruise's plight to defend his spiritual beliefs. As many of us, I grew up in a Pentecostal Church were it was forbidden to wear pants and 'catching the Holy Spirit' was a form of enlightenment. I appreciate my Christian background for being the foundation of my Spiritual journey, but for me I felt the need for something more. As I studied and read, I saw how certain aspects of Afrikan Spirituality had made it's way into Christian Churches. For instance, catching the Holy Spirit is not too different from Spirit possession in many Afrikan cultures. Well, all this studying and learning didn't go over too well with the world around me. My family thought I was nuts. Family members would come over to my home and see my various alters set up and all I see is their eyes widening. I have gotten all kinds of comments on my diet, my clothes, and my hair. One family member told me there was a curse coming out of one of my African masks. Many of their comments went from concern to absolute fear. They were forming their own psychological Witch Hunt. Funny enough, I shared much of their same fear. I was afraid to say certain things for fear of ridicule and often found myself using many of the church terminology I had abandon years before. I was afraid that what they were saying might be true. Then I realized, that all these years of studying, praying, and performing ritual had given me so much peace. It had given me a sense of knowing that I had not experienced in organized religion. That's when I began standing up for my spirituality and my peace. I didn't do this by debating the bible or bashing any one belief, I did it through show and tell. If a negative comment was made I came back with knowledge. From that point negative comments became information seeking questions. My skin was radiant, I looked healthy, and I had a sweet disposition. The nay-sayers now wanted to know how I did it. My mother (a faithful Christian) now practices Yoga regularly and sees a holistic practitioner for a hip problem she is experiencing. With all this said, I commend Tom Cruise because he is the only celebrity that is trying to somewhat educate people (take the movie Vanilla Sky) on his religion There is much to be learned from his faithfulness to his spiritual belief. First of all, no matter what the spiritual path we have all been victim's of the Psychological Witch Hunt. Second, we all have an opportunity to uplift and mentally stimulate others with the beauty of who are as spiritual beings. If you have gone through something similar please share. I am interested to hear your story.