Spirituality is not always fully understood. For those like me who are spiritual, but not religious, we may reject traditional organised religion.
Spirituality is not religion
Being spiritual is not the same as being religious. Religion is about worship, a system of belief, and involves a code of ethics and believing in a god. Religion is something found.
Spirituality
Spirituality is the quality of being spiritual, a non-physical presence shown in life, in thought. Spirituality is innate, it is in each of us. We encounter spirituality when we wonder and question where the universe comes from, why we are here, what happens when we die, and when we think about the universe and how our lives fit into that. Spirituality is also part of the healing process.
Being spiritual means we focus on the spiritual world as opposed to earthly and physical things. Being decent human beings, how we behave, and what we have to offer as individuals through spirituality is extremely important.
Spirituality exists where we may struggle with the complexities of how our lives fit into the greater universe. When our personal values become bigger and more important than our religious values, we are spiritual.
Spiritual values
If, like me, your values include empathy, compassion, tolerance and patience that reveal a power beyond the visible world, you know you are spiritual. It is something we can all be.
When you are ready to establish and learn about the powers governing the universe and your life, you know you’re on a spiritual path.
There is a very big difference between religion and spirituality from what I have learned.
Considering what I have been through and the lack of results from praying to the God that I was expected to believe in as a child, over the years it has made me into a non-believer.
Like they say in AA, 'religion is for people who are afraid of going to hell and spirituality is for those who have already been.'
I have watched the worst things happen to the good people while seeing the best things happen to the worst people, so it has been very difficult for me not to become skeptical.
Maybe one day my opinion will change, but I'm thinking that it won't be happening anytime soon.
It may seem like that Randy, but it doesn't work like that. Bad things also happen to bad people. Our lives are our lives, I believe we are very much instrumental in what we get to deal with.
What we get is what we're supposed to have. Spirituality teaches us the most simple and basic of values. But the majority of us work the opposite way, which makes it harder for those of us who follow the rules.
I personally don't believe there is a hell. Spirituality teaches us differently. I believe we all go to the same place, but some will have more work to do on themselves when they go back.
We initially come from spirit, having had lives before our physical lives, passing over is simply a transitioning from one life back to another.