To be or not to be…spiritual.
Society as a whole today mostly values intellectual and physical growth. Unfortunately, it does not place a high value on spiritual development. We are brought up to associate spirituality with the rites and rituals of religious institutions. So when we think ‘spirituality’ it seems most of us think ‘religion’. Although often used that way, those terms are not interchangeable. Spiritual is who you are and how you are connected to all of creation. Religion is your choice of the ‘form’ of how you practice your spirituality.
Spirituality does not mean any particular form or practice. There is not one religion that is more spiritual than another. Spirituality is a way of being…being who we really are. It’s very personal. We are all, in our own true nature, spiritual. However, as we move through life there are a variety of obscurations we pick up that shroud, mask and cloud that true nature. Because these are so gross and spirituality so subtle, we often feel little or no connection in our daily lives to our spirituality and relegate that to an hour or so one day of the week when we practice our religion.
The demands of modern life make it difficult for us to strike a harmonious balance in the development of our spiritual, religious, intellectual, and physical aspects. With the advent of the technological and information age, more and more demands are placed upon us with regard to our time and attention. The pressures of life impel us to give more weight to our intellectual growth. That’s what counts in our school years and in finding a good job. Our physical side is considered to be important for good health. We value exercise and sports for our physical and mental wellbeing. Health experts today point out how physical exercise also relieves stress.
However, things are changing. Practices such as yoga, meditation and mindfulness, formerly relegated to the esoteric and ‘kooky’ crowd, are getting more media coverage than ever before. Even some mainstream doctors are recognizing and accepting the benefits to body, mind and spirit and to their patient’s overall wellbeing of these ‘spiritual’ practices.
As one does the work of clearing these obscurations, something blossoms within. There is a light, a joy, a peace. That is the dawning of spirituality. There is a crack in the ego mind’s fear, doubt and judgment and the light that is your own true nature shines through. In that moment there is a sense of boundlessness that is beyond the scope of words to describe.
The reason those masters who have gained stability in the spirit write poetry, songs and express themselves in art forms is simply that language at best can only point to spirituality. Why? Because the spiritual experience is not an experience of the mind where language resides. It is an experience of the vastness that is at the same time the boundless nature of the oneness of all.
If you want to know boundless nature, you must experience, you must perceive something which is beyond the physical. Something you might have touched when you jumped into the ocean, when you saw a mountain, when you sang a song, when you danced, when you closed your eyes, in so many ways it could have happened. You touched it, and now, how to turn those fleeting moments into a way of being.
If you are willing to explore spiritual fulfillment for you, we invite you to Contact Us. We’d love to show you how to start your day connected to that spiritual you and with a very powerful spiritual experience within.
