REFLECTIONS ON SPIRITUALITY

Spirituality gets many definitions .

The proper definition of spirituality is getting fulfilment from faith in the supernatural and or embracing obligations that come from the spiritual realm.

It is not true that religion and spirituality can be separated. People who agree with the thought that they can say that you can’t have religion without spirituality but you can have spirituality without religion. Actually the two go together. A spiritual person who denies that he or she is religious is actually his own individualistic religion.

A religion with only one member is still a religion.

Faiths that do not believe in a supernatural soul such as the Christadelphians still urge people to be spiritual . Some atheists say atheism is spiritual for it gives you meaning in life and can be fulfilling. But then what do they need the word spiritual for? Why not just use the word fulfilling? For example, we might say that a person has done something in an unselfish spirit. This is a metaphor. We only mean that their attitude is unselfish. And there need be no spirit involved in that!

An atheist should never speak of spiritual.

Religion and spirituality are separate things
 
Religion is hard to define. But we know one characteristic of it is that it tells you what you must believe on the authority of some supernatural power. For example, Christians tell you that you have a duty to believe and obey what God has revealed. It is based on the idea of authority - divine authority to be specific. No matter how liberal religion is, it is about control. The desire for authority is a form of the desire to abuse and to violate. Even it is light, it is still to be condemned. The authority that gives you total freedom or a lot of freedom is still an authority. You are still expected to slavishly do what you are told. If the authority tells you to go and have a good party if you want one, you are still being obedient just as much as you would be if it told you to enter a monastery forever. Those who progress within religion will progress better without it.
 
Spirituality is different from religion. A person for example can have a Catholic spirituality and not get be an official formal member of the Catholic Church. The person is a follower of Catholic spirituality but not yet of the Catholic religion. There can be spirituality without being part of a religion but religion cannot exist without spirituality.
 
Some say that spirituality advises you to experience things for yourself and find fulfilment in them so that you grow into a better person. That is not spirituality but freethinking. It would imply that true spirituality tells you to be your own God and to find meaning in life without letting anybody else interfere. But that would be saying that those who believe in God are not spiritual!
 
Many define spirituality as your personal experience and relationship with the divine. For some, that is fine as long as you realise that you are your own God. Some say that spirituality is about feeling communion with all life and gaining physical, mental, emotional and intellectual contentment through this feeling. But what is spiritual about all that? You might as well say that caffeine is spiritual. At least their view argues that our inner life does not need to be about praying or religious doctrine or ghostly spirits.
 
For a person who believes that everything is material, they would imagine their spirit is a material thing. They see the feeling of spirituality as a material force or energy that makes them enjoy life. They are not spiritual for they see everything in terms of material forces.
 
If spirituality is about finding peace, religion is really an accessory and therefore a block. It dilutes our focus.
 
Spirituality is about getting comfort and confidence from the supernatural. Spirit is a supernatural thing. This belief is nonsense and many of us live happy and good lives without having much belief in the supernatural. Many of us don't even care.
 
Be guided from within. You don't need the outward guidance of religion. You don't need belief in the spirit or in the supernatural. Be your own God, prophet, Messiah and pope.