Reasons spirituality can be taught apart from religion is spirituality is universal. And religion is humanmade. Many people shy away from faith due to the doctrines, dogmas, rules, and biases. Lucky for us we do not need religion for spiritual transformation. A spiritual journey is available to all.
Tenants of Many Religions.
Religion offers guidance to live a ‘good’ life. However, some religions can also be exclusionary. Tithing, rituals, shared faith and beliefs, guidelines, and memberships are unique doctrines to each religion.
Religion is a human’s version of how to connect with your spirit and often forms a community to worship together. Unfortunately, many religions use fear, guilt, and shame to engage people.
In my experience religions do not teach self-care and loving self. Many people attend religious services and are rude to others as they drive out of the parking lot. The teachings are lost on these participants.
Tenants of Spirituality.
Spirituality is not about praying in a monastery or meditating for an hour a day. It is about living a life congruent with your inner wisdom in collaboration with spiritual laws. The teachings of spirituality are universal, eternal and therefore for all. Many teachers have their models, but the basics are the same.
Why Neither May Be What You Are Seeking.
Let us say that you devoutly practice the teachings of a religion. And yet you feel disconnected from your true self. You wonder, why am I here? What is my real potential?
On the other hand, I meet many people who tell me they are spiritual. They read all the latest books by famous authors. And can quote their teachings. Also, meditation is part of their daily practice. These same self-professed spiritual people have self-doubt, self-loathing and lack self-care.
Both religion and spirituality can create false beliefs about who we are and our purpose. The value of both comes from self-reflection and guidance.
The Six Key Differences Between Religion and Spirituality.
An actual practice of spirituality connects your unique aspects of you with the universal consciousness. Integrating spiritual beliefs, laws, and experiences requires focus conscious intention. The first step is to want to be your authentic self and find where you flow in life for instance.
- Spirituality is for all. It is universal, eternal and stands the test of time.
- There are no entrance criteria or hoops to jump through.
- There is no right, no wrong, and no judgment, just lessons to learn.
- Spiritual laws are, always have been and always will be. They do not change at the whim of new leaders.
- An inner journey is self-directed in your own time with no coercion.
- Spiritual practices help you to learn who you are, what you are, your gifts you share with the world and what you need through self-reflection. It is not about memorizing doctrines.
You Are the Spirit in Spirituality.
Your spirit is an invisible aspect of you, albeit the most important. It interacts with the forces of nature, the spirit world and the universe at large. Firstly, the non-physical reality of your spirit is accessed through intuition, secondly in communication with spirit guides. And thirdly through an understanding of the energy and spiritual laws. In spirituality, connecting to your core self is essential.
Who or What Is Your Higher Power?
Spirituality is a practice to connect your unique divine light with a higher power. A higher power is a God, Goddess, Universal Consciousness, Absolute, Divine, and Source. Perhaps your higher power is love.
The frequency of love exists in the universal consciousness. We can adjust our thoughts to receive the love that is always available to us. We neither deserve nor not deserve this love. When we perceive ourselves as separate from the oneness, then we suffer.
Spirituality Is Open To All.
The sun shines for all of us regardless of who we are. You can connect to this frequency anywhere, anytime and anyplace. The style of your hair and clothing, socioeconomic status, education, and reputation cannot grant or deny you access. There are no exclusions and no qualifying; it merely is.
The Seven Spiritual Laws from Deepak Chopra.
Seven Spiritual Laws as described by Deepak Chopra are helpful. Many of us grew up with the belief that achieving success requires relentless hard work, grim determination, and intense ambition. As a result, we may have struggled for years and even reached some of our goals but wound up feeling exhausted, our lives out of balance.
As Deepak Chopra observes in his transformational work, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, such desperate striving isn’t necessary or even desirable. In the natural world, creation comes forth with ease. A seed doesn’t struggle to become a tree―it just unfolds in grace. It knows the kind of tree it is. It knows how to receive the sunlight and nourishment from the soil.
The Seven Spiritual Laws are strong principles you can use to fulfill your deepest desires with effortless joy. If you put them into practice, you’ll realize that you can manifest whatever you’ve been dreaming.
Prayers.
As a Catholic, I was taught to pray. We prayed before meals, before bed, in the morning and every week at Mass. To this day I pray, “Holy Spirit hover over me and keep me in your light.” I am an energy practitioner and student of spirituality. I realize that I invite a high frequency of light to bless me. There is not an actual white dove flying overhead. The dove is the image of the energy I am inviting in. Holy Spirit is the name I have for this power.
In spirituality, a gratitude prayer does not need to identify a higher power. It gives thanks to the universe for our blessings. As you evolve as spiritual beings, you learn the real power of love. You learn to align and draw to you that which you desire to manifest.
Spiritual Transformation.
Organized religions offer many teachings that support their followers to heal, love and give to their communities. They can stretch our minds to believe in what we cannot see. My upbringing as a Catholic taught me to believe in spirits, saints and the benefit of prayer.
Life events, thoughts, and beliefs can cloud us from the truth that we are eternal and infinite, and peace exists within us. There are many paths to awakening such as trauma, illness, tragedy, and near-death experiences. They can shake you awake to the truth that there is more than you can see, hear, feel and taste in the physical world. Why these events happen in our lives is a mystery that we may never understand.
A spiritual perspective acknowledges that we are part of a vast universe of moving parts. We do not take tragedy personally. God is not punishing us for our sins or wrongdoing.
If you are someone with devote religion affiliations, it does not exclude you from exploring the spiritual laws. These laws transcend time, space, geography, culture, age, and gender. My clients come from many backgrounds.
In my spiritual development, I learned the universal consciousness beyond our physical reality is a space where the impossible becomes possible.
A Spiritual Law – All Is One.
For instance, ‘all is one’ is a spiritual law. There is no separation. What happens to one, happens to all. Not all religions teach this theory. Some exclude those who believe differently. Wars can start over these differences.
Your spirit is always whole, perfect and complete. An earth journey is imperfect, confusing and painful. And as we all know joyful and inspiring, too. Spirituality is a foundation in our rapidly changing world of chaos and conflict. It is time to see the world as one.
On Becoming You.
My book, ‘On Becoming You’ is an instructional guide to align with one’s spirituality and an eternal place in the world. As your guide, I teach tools to connect with your intuition, spirit guides, higher power and the universe at large.
You need support to unlock the mysteries and the truths held in the fabric of your being. And to learn the tools to keep you on track. This book will do both. On Becoming You is due to be released in the fall of 2019.
Reasons spirituality can be taught apart from religion is many folds.
There is more to you than meets the eye. I help people align their life choices with their authentic self. If you feel lost sometimes, you may benefit from a conversation with me.
I provide spiritual direction to many people just like you who seek to learn more about themselves. And tools to make changes in their life. If you are ready to explore yourself as a spiritual being contact me. I am Kathi Pickett, RN intuitive and healing energy practitioner dedicated to supporting individuals and groups on their spiritual journey. You can contact me for a healing energy session or learn more about spirituality.