Spiritual Paths

Too often spirituality is confused with religion. Some people who have rejected their childhood religion have a hard time reconnecting with their spiritual path because of a resistance for anything “religious”. Being spiritual can include a specific religion, or have nothing to do with religion. Some people prefer a more structured religion, others the ancient traditions of the Druids, and others yet a return to the devotion of Mother Nature.

History has taught us that holding firmly to our religion and believing that everyone else is wrong can lead to war and mass murder. The “brand name” of our religion or our God matters less than the content of our heart. Perhaps the world would better be served if everyone tried to emulate such “peaceful warriors” as Buddha, Jesus, and others. I remember as a young girl thinking that I wanted to be like Jesus Christ, but I also remember seeing that the priest was far from being like Jesus.

This chapter presents many avenues, somewhat like a smorgasbord. When in front of a “spread”, one does not choose everything. You usually take a little of this and a little of that, and a big heaping of something else. In the same way, you may relate to different aspects of various spiritual paths or religions and combine them into your own personal belief system. For each person, there is a pathway that beckons. That path can change as we grow and discover new perspectives, new teachers, new experiences.

I connected with A Course in Miracles in my twenties, and thus found a way to reconcile my childhood religious upbringing with an underlying “innate” spirituality. Since then, many paths have led me to other aspects of my spirituality. Do any of them involve attending church every Sunday? In my case, no. Yet that does not mean that, for some, attending church isn’t a way of connecting with their source of inspiration and spirit. Everyone needs to reconnect with their spirituality in the ways that work for them.

Let your heart be open to all paths — even if it does not resonate with you, it may well be the “salvation” for someone else. To each his own, and peace and goodwill to all.

"Reaching The People You Most Want To Reach"
Copyright 2006 ~ InnerSelf Publications ~ Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada