When we started this spirituality website six months ago, I don’t recall asking, “What is spirituality?” So, here are several ideas about what it means to be spiritual from several spiritual leaders, with a special focus on my Christian faith-based perspective…
But just because I follow the Christian religion doesn’t mean I’m religious!
“Let’s distinguish religion from spirituality,” says spiritual guru Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist. “I am Catholic, so religion for me is a way of having discipline and collective worship with persons who share the same mystery.”
Spirituality and religion are two different things – but they can be interwoven. Many church-goers (like me!) feel more spiritually alive when they worship God with like-minded folk. To learn more about the meaning of spirituality and religion, read Spirituality Simplified. And, here are a few perspectives on spirituality from different spiritual leaders…
What is Spirituality? The Meaning of Being Spiritual
Spirituality is feeling valuable and worthy. “Feeling unworthy is like putting a huge obstacle into the God force, into the life force which is everywhere,” says spiritual guru and best-selling author Wayne Dyer. The less worthy you feel, the less connected you are to God or your Higher Power…and the less spiritually connected you’ll feel. Spirituality is knowing that you are perfect because you are you, even with your flaws and weaknesses. Being spiritual isn’t just about loving and accepting yourself the way you are right now, it’s about feeling valuable and worthy.
Spirituality is flowing through life with love and ease. I recently wrote about a “toxic” friend (How to Reverse Negative Energy in Your Life) who always reminds me of true spirituality because she embodies the opposite characteristics! Being spiritual means accepting challenges with grace, rolling with what life brings, giving people the benefit of the doubt, accepting others for who they are, and letting go of things that don’t matter.
Spirituality is feeling gratitude, no matter what. Feeling grateful regardless of your circumstances brings you freedom, love, and spiritual energy. The more gratitude you feel for your life and everything in it – and the more you say “thank you” to whatever your life brings – the more spiritually grounded you’ll feel. And, the more great things (and inner peace) you’ll attract!
Spirituality is staying connected with your source or Higher Power. “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit,” said Paul in Galatians 5:25. Being spiritual means constantly being filled up by God, peace, light, wisdom, and energy – because we are constantly leaking our spirituality! We can’t be spiritual unless we stay connected through meditation, prayer, or creative visualization.
Spirituality is seeing religion and truth objectively. Every spiritual discipline or religion has drawbacks; spiritual people see and accept those drawbacks. “The danger is that every religion, including the Catholic one, says ‘I have the ultimate truth,’” says Paulo Coelho. “Then you start to rely on the priest, the mullah, the rabbi, or whoever, to be responsible for your acts. In fact, you are the only one who is responsible.” Perhaps a drawback of organized religion is the adherence to one ultimate truth…whether or not that’s true, it’s important to be open minded and objective about your spirituality or religion.
What do you think of my ideas about being spiritual – what does spirituality mean to you? I welcome your thoughts below…
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the difference between spirituality and religion, Steven! I appreciate it…and I love how you phrased it.
“Spirituality sees not only the box, but everything in, outside, and arround the box. It accepts the truth that this is how the Universe is, not one neat little package. Spirituality sees life as a teacher, and through this course called Life shows us how all things truly fit together and that there isn’t a thing called imperfection.”
All good things,
Laurie
To me the different between Spirituality and Religion is Religion tends to see things in a Box. A box is a well defined shape and size. It has 12 lines and 8 corners. Religion also states that the only people that it is allowed to associate with is people who also fit in that one box. However, Spirituality sees not only the box, but everything in, outside, and arround the box. It accepts the truth that this is how the Universe is, not one neat little package. Spirituality sees life as a teacher, and through this course called Life shows us how all things truly fit together and that there isn’t a thing called imperfection.
Rev,
Thank you for your thoughts on spirituality and the meaning of being spiritual. It’s great to read about your journey, and what you’ve learned.
For me, the most important thing to remember is that spirituality is something I need to call upon. It’s here within me….but I need to actively reach out and take it. Spirituality isn’t passive; it’s active.
Blessings,
Laurie
I agree that spirituality is more than just observing religious traditions. It is a way of life – and it often is not easy to follow. Sometimes feeling good about yourself, having gratitude no matter what, and flowing through life with ease is more than some people can handle — myself included — and I am a minister.
What keeps me going regardless of what is happening in my life, is relying on Spirit to be with me through it all. When I can’t muster up the strength or the faith to deal with life’s challenges, I can rest in the knowledge that Spirit is holding me up and helping me move forward. I find great comfort in knowing that I don’t have to be positive all the time, that I don’t have to say the right words or think the right thoughts, because Spirit is Infinite Love and Goodness. I can just be myself – flaws and all – and Spirit loves me anyway.
It is has taken me many years to come to this realization — that no matter what I do or do not do — Spirit always loves me and is always with me. To me – that is spirituality.
Blessings -
Rev Della