"Religion vs Spirituality"
Our expansion and mastery lies in the realm of the still unknown... only by embracing uncertainty with the certainty of love can we gain mastery of life.
"The problems of victory are more agreeable than those of defeat, but they are no less difficult." ~ Winston Churchill
Spirituality is necessary and vital to life. Religion is not. Any organized religion may act as catapult with much to be learned about human nature, though less about spirituality itself. Then, like a student who has sat long enough at the piano, though he/she may duplicate with ease works of great masters from centuries ago, must rise and find his/her OWN music, or sit before those keys NOW with rules set aside, imitation and regurgitation as art outgrown favoring one's innate ability to listen/create/be a unique conduit of the Universal instead.
This discourse with LIFE is the sweet spot for, no longer dependent on some external be it book, tradition, legalistic caveats or charismatic gatekeeper, we become dear friend to ourselves having developed a "feel" for the intelligence which surrounds us, supports us, infuses our beings, all centered, spouting from Love. Like a pure, clean, water source a small trickle is all it takes - steady, constant - our awareness of it and our partaking of it next. This is Spirituality: to know God intimately is to know one's self for, you do not exist without the Source.
As we expand we encounter many attempts at substitutes for this simple practice which is more art form than cerebral for, Spirit exists everywhere in all things seen and unseen. That we relegate its connection through only certain pathways is definitely our problem. God is not some pet to be trained to jump through hoops according to your stubborn dictates and desires, ignorance or self-importance. It is these very aspects of mankind that has given the word "God" such apprehensiveness or outright disgust. Religion has done more to sully the name of God than any Atheist has.
We have a longing to be connected to both the deeper and more meaningful. If people turn away from religion it's because religion is not serving their need. That many have turned to politics in its stead is natural but disturbing for all concerned. So much is at stake for the world that it's incredibly easy to look to politics and be riveted and overcome; but as central theme to thoughts, feelings, actions? It's a death spiral. Let's all do our part and do what we can do to produce the best outcome according to our understanding, but politics as religion may be worse than the zealotry of religion in terms of emotional havoc.
In short -- there's just too much B.S. in politics (sounds like a lot of religious dogma, eh?) for you to center your life around it. It's like living with a sociopath: nothing's ever on the level and they just want to make you feel like crap no matter what. It's also like living through a divorce: one parent is kind but vilified by the other, siblings take sides, you live in fear of the nasty one gaining custody who starves you, beats you, uses you, promises you everything but instead takes from you everything, generous only in blame. Whew! Let's go FIRST to the loving parent to ALL OF US: Spirit can never steer us incorrectly or fail us, we're loved beyond measure.
The idea of a Sabbath or time specifically devoted every week to the spiritual is nice. To "pray without ceasing" is better. Again, I'm not referring to the conventionally prescribed practice of prayer but a quiet intimate steady rapport between you and your Greater Self. We tend to be in a state of constancy in one form or another. Think about it: you may be at most times angry with yourself or others. You may be in a state of unrelenting worry. You may be ever-guilting yourself for anything, everything, even stuff you make up just to keep feeling guilty! We maintain a homeostasis and to evolve this "stasis" to a "spiritual stasis" is nothing but time and effort.
You're also going to have to "grow a pair" and be willing to dive deep within instead of doubting yourself or your ability to connect. Research, read, listen, watch, add to your education to be certain, then forget all of it and bushwhack your own path and bask in your well-earned erudition, then repeat. If your spirituality does not belong to you, it's easy to steal. It's easy for it to be replaced by any number of defeating options. As you bit by bit discover absolute truths and laws through the magical experience of life, like a puzzle, eventually you will have a clearer picture, then clearer still! There is Universal Truth for all of us to find and we'll each to it arrive on our own splendid path in our own blessed time.
Prescience & the Penumbra of Love
(More pertinent than ever.)
Original published date March 2012, updated Oct. 2024
Boo! Madness is ensuing with no sign of abating. Western society is reeling from whiplash & continued crashes. You can feel it brewing all around you just as my friend, a respected Thai journalist, saw the sea before the Tsunami of 2004: "The sea was mad" is what she said, how she described it. The ocean looked to be boiling and then the first wave hit and took her under. She had a scarf tied around her neck which hooked itself onto a picnic table lodged by a tree holding her in place so she was not swept back out to sea when the wave receded...
It is but a matter of time before another "wave" hits and the western world is again in upheaval by a major man-made catastrophe. This inevitability, though perhaps not consciously recognized and often avoided, is nonetheless profoundly impacting, producing some surreal behavior. Unrest and unease define the Zeitgeist of the day -- they're inescapable -- so a disconnect from reality must take place for some to cope. When danger comes we either accept it and prepare for it or we run from it and distract ourselves with one frivolous diversion or another. What, what can we rely upon when all looks so uncertain?
You may be experiencing some trauma in your life, a sense of urgency, a desperation even. These are all understandable: we are in trouble. It's real and no amount of denial or pollyannishness can altar this simple fact. (If this is gloomy, so be it. :)) But, let's return to that urgency... We're reaching a critical time of crisis where those unaccustomed to handling the radical and difficult changes will buckle under the weight of the burden. I need to say to you, while we still have some time, be selfish - save yourself first. Only in love is there strength - and we will, all of us - be going to need it.
This is not a time for pretty philosophies or rigid ideologies: you must dig deeper than those. Life is not just some leisurely study for the foppish, sanctimonious, or intellectually curious - this is no longer enough. The only truth worth anything is that rooted in reality garnering real results. You're going to have to decide yourself if what you've known has any place, any real application in the world that is to come. If you've not considered the veracity of your current paradigm, examination at the earliest possible time is highly encouraged. Aiming to "be right" will not help you when your world starts crashing in. "Being right" is the business of the ego.
Living right, however, should be everyone's business. Being forgiving, generous, flexible, and compassionate may sound defeatist to some, as though we're whitewashing the situation or overlooking real negative forces or enemies. Not so. We're addressing the enemy within for, within each of us is the capacity to uplift or destroy ourselves. You've never had a better reason, or arrived at a better time, to take a personal inventory and assess where you've made missteps then make swift and definite action to correct them. The time is NOW, while you've still got the time.
Let me ask you, if you know a corrupt global society is devouring itself, its deterioration hastened by greedy people devoid of accountability; conniving, swindling, and bullying for scraps of any kind or size to "get theirs" while the getting can be got, doing all they can to make that time last forever; if you have the remotest or tiniest inkling that the worst is yet to come externally - or even fear it - wouldn't you work as hard as you can to make your internal world as solid, harmonious, rich and in tune with what's eternal ASAP? What could you possibly be waiting for? Madness may be ensuing in a crowd but, what about you as an individual?
When my journalist friend was hit by that first wave, the picnic table that saved her life also pinned her down so she was unable to move. She was severely injured from the debris of all sizes the enormous wave pulled both in and out, and was knocked unconscious. She came to when a voice instructed "Get up. Get up, your journey is still not over." She fought her way up and out -- before the second monstrous wave hit. If she had stayed under that table she would have died. She had moments to get to higher ground. A voice told her to "Get up." She did.
Is there a voice that's been trying to communicate with you? Dare you not listen? She didn't know that second wave was coming yet, a greater intelligent understanding reached her consciousness to save her. We all sense massive waves of destruction and turmoil could be ahead (and if we don't, we should). The increasing sense of urgency will only heighten as it's directing us to grow, expand, love one another, to do as that master called Jesus taught so long ago: "To love thy neighbor as thyself." But, how can we possibly do the former, if we do not first do the latter?
Stop putting off the important things. Do them while you can still enjoy them. Sure, you'll have plenty of chances in the future to express love but, why wait? In your procrastination think of all the moments you've sacrificed! Can you really afford to be so wasteful? Think how much further along you'll be if you were to start now! Love yourself. The real kind. Don't settle for another man's truth, or the machinations of a religion or government that seek to control you for their own gain. Look not to achievements or laurels of the past, nor meekly accept and be driven by societal definitions of success. Ascertain your own standards and have the guts to stand by them.
What will save this world when it's time to rebuild is what was missing all along: genuine spirituality, one man, one woman at a time. It's also what will save you when all around you appears to be lost.
What I have not told you, and what you may not know is, after the tsunami the beaches and waters of Phuket became more beautiful, clear and pristine than they had been for decades... They were washed anew by those mammoth raging swells, seeming harbingers of destruction bringing restoration in a way nothing else could.
Play song & chill for a bit -- you've earned it!
