The bell rang just as I was rushing out for a much-anticipated rare day-off lunch. The muffled voice behind the door said, “We’re reading the bible together today”. My retort … “No, we’re not reading the bible today … thank you … “ He also said, “Thank you” and that was the end of it. Until anger began to well in my throat …
“How dare he …”, I thought, “come to my home and proselytize on my doorstep!” I HATE proselytizing in any way, shape, or form. Perhaps it’s because I was raised Jewish … we don’t do that … as a matter of fact people are discouraged from joining us … I guess we still feel like we’re the chosen people.
I DID see “The Book of Mormon” … and laughed at the antics of the doorbell-ringing characters. But it was a lighthearted jibe at religion. This was real life … at my door … wanting to read the Bible to me.
My anger wasn’t dissuaded by a Dim Sum lunch (my fave), a great movie (my second fave), and more glasses of wine than I’ve had in a long time. To take my mind off it, I began to think … what if I wrote an article about the difference between spirituality … my touchstone and the principles that have guided me throughout my life … and religion … sporadic at best for me even when dazzled by the deep and delicious dogma of Hinduism.
So here’s what I came up with … you tell me which mindset you’d like to embrace …
RELIGION is the belief in a superhuman power outside of you …
… which most devotees call God(s). This power (these powers) is/are usually thought of as the creator(s) of the Universe.
SPIRITUALITY believes that the divine resides in all of us ….
… which means that anyone can find their god truth if they only seek it out.
RELIGION has a prescribed set of rules and specific ideology …
… including rituals, rites of passage, and dictates of what is right and wrong for its congregates to follow.
SPIRITUALITY has no rules …
… and simply lets you follow your heart, encourages you to listen to your intuition and inspires you to do what is right for yourself and others around you. Obviously a scarier and more unstructured path, but one that is truer to your individual essence.
RELIGION is based upon punishment …
… and the idea that, if you don’t follow its doctrine, that you’ll be divinely chastised. The ideas of Original Sin and Heaven and Hell are shining examples of this type of thought. This seems like a concept more of control than heightened consciousness as any practice based upon fear fails to coax the soul to greater heights.
SPIRITUALITY is based upon love …
… which empowers rather than diminishes your soul, allowing you to cultivate strength and stand strong in the face of fear. It enables you to find your own truth and champion it despite the consequences.
RELIGION tells you the truth …
… with a black-and-while recounting of how the Universe was created and why we are here embellished by story and allegory, leaving little room for original thought or interpretation.
In reality, scholars are always arguing about the real meanings of religious writings, even though they have been much-translated and re-interpreted by many others throughout the ages. Leaving doubt in my mind as to their ultimate validity in the first place. Yet, devotees will fight or even die for concepts that are debatable at best.
SPIRITUALITY encourages you to find your own truth …
… allowing you to discover answers to universal questions for yourself. You can draw on religious teachings if they resonate with you as well as many other avenues of thought.
Spirituality sets no limits to how deep you can go in understanding all there is to know, and often (in my experience) delves into realms unimaginable to traditional religious thought of any kind.
RELIGION separates …
There are many religions and each teaches that its way is the only way. This can lead to huge divisions of humanity, as mirrored by shootings in Philadelphia, Charleston, and Orlando by so-called champions of opposing mindsets. This “only way” mentality can also champion proselytization … a concept that has all but destroyed some of the great primitive spiritualities of the world.
SPIRITUALITY unites …
It unifies all religions because truth is the same despite our individual differences and uniquenesses. In other words, it focuses on the sameness of the universal messages all religions share and not on their differing minutia in ritual and myth.
So I ask you … what belief system would YOU follow if you had a choice? Which you always have if only you ask the Universe for it.
Religion is belief in someone else’s experience. Spirituality is having your own experience. ~ Deepak Chopra
Want more peace, less anxiety, more awareness? Need to reign in overeating? I’ve got the answer! Click here to experience the very first of my video Micro-Mindfuls™ … short, simple, sequential, downloadable mindful experiences. There’s also a link for the collection on that page; I’ll be adding a new one every week so you can pick and choose which work for you.
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