Are we “Spiritual” or “Religious”?

Are we “Spiritual” or “Religious”?
  Often I hear people say that they are not religious, but they are spiritual. Some say that they are atheist while others simply view this as a taboo subject. My beliefs are my own business, they say. All power to them, but I happen to have a great interest in the subject, and I look forward to learning what I can about people’s beliefs. I am not interested in being converted, but at some point, ‘I became interested in how “beliefs” actually influence the material life. My mother used to say “you believe what you want to believe.” People at church often told me what I am expected to believe, apparently if I want to belong to the church. I believe what I want to believe and I learn all I can about the ways others believe. They should have the same right.
I happen to feel in the depth of my heart that the word “believe” is not the same as the word “know.” If I know something, why would I have to believe it? If I believe that my Ford truck can fly like a helicopter it just doesn’t. It seems to me that a lot of people around me identify as spiritual since in their mind they know that there is a God, but they can’t accept the things that they are told that they must believe God is. In my opinion, they are simply honest with themselves. Some of those folks actually dig in deeper and in the process discover all kinds of truths that are not part of our main stream religions, at least not the majority most popular ones.

 Most people in our past followed the religions of their parents and kept any questions or doubts to themselves. When in Rome you do as the Romans do. If your religion, for example, said that you should dress in some manner, you did it unless you moved to some country where it was frowned upon. We like to be unique but mostly in ways that will benefit us. When I was a child, it was common to see nuns in their habits, priests wearing long black robes, religious Jews with top hats and twisty sideburns and so many more items that identified people with some religions. You don’t see it anymore. Actually, it is impolite this days to ask about someone’s faith. Yet, it is acceptable for people to declare that they are “spiritual.”

I began seeking knowledge about spirituality in my younger days, way before internet and computers. It is amazing how much easier it is to get information nowadays. I believe there is power in prayer and here is proof. I prayed to be able to learn more and faster and now I can. I also spent a lot of time visiting a variety of places of worship and talking to people of various faiths. One thing is becoming clear to me. The next step in evolution is not going to be physical but spiritual. There are lots of hints about this in the bible, many religious stories and even songs, yet we have been ignoring messages for generations.
 One of the more interesting views is that of Dr. Bruce Lipton, but there are many. He used to teach medicine in Universities and discovered that stem cells could grow into muscle, bone or fat depending on the environment they are in. As the years went by, quantum Physics came about, epigenetics was discovered and computing power exploded. Now, after fifty years of investigating he is talking, and writing, about spirituality. All his studies led him to conclude that love can lead thought and thought creates reality. Spirituality, in his opinion, shapes physicality. It is easy to say but very hard to prove. If you listen to one of his more recent lectures, it is almost easy to deduct the power of spirituality scientifically.
Another great modern thinker was Allan Watts. Originally a minister, he focused on the idea that we are made in the image of the creator, therefore, go on creating. He used to have a popular radio show in the sixties and died in 1973. By using far east religions and biblical quotes that were not popular in the west, he was able to prove that spirituality is the answer to our most dangerous threats. Watts is a very highly educated Englishman and it takes concentration to follow.
Another great spiritual thinker to check out is Pope Francis, the current leader of the Catholic Church with over a billion followers. He, more or less, separates his thinking from the highly politicized religious teachings of the past and talks about the spirituality that birthed Christianity. There are many, including Catholics, who dispute his philosophy but mostly because he is bad for business. Mainly he is warning that if we don’t change there may be no-one left to change. I agree full heartedly. In my lifetime, the world lost some 70% of species, botanical plus biological and the sixth great extinction is in motion.
What remains is to figure out how to reverse the monster we unleashed. Should it be through religion and “our prayers and thoughts are with you,” through physical, political action or by using spirituality and the power of God in us. My approach is, do it all. Do what we can with the material world, by taking what we need and leaving the rest, and welcome the spiritual revolution that is taking place, as a normal step in our evolution. We humans have worked hard to develop scientists and spiritual thinkers over thousands of years. Let's use their knowledge which is useless unless we pay attention to it.
Avner


Source: Internet Public.

Allan Watts. From public domain.



Bruce Lipton. Source Internet public domain.