Taking The Path Of Spirituality (Part 1)
To rediscover, become aware of and finally experience our relationship with God, beliefs in God are initially, not a necessity; in fact, on the contrary, they can be an obstacle! Sounds strange, but before being introduced into spirituality, if we have already developed or learnt certain concepts or beliefs about God, these concepts or beliefs may themselves be a barrier in our spiritual progress. To start your personal journey on the path of spirituality, the only requirement is openness to a basic idea that there may be a greater or higher source of spiritual energy than ourselves. Only if our minds are open, can we be ready to communicate personally and directly with this source.
What tends to keep our minds closed to God are either the beliefs we have learnt or inherited from our family, our education, our culture or the trust that we have in those who themselves, whether it be our parents or grandparents or our spouse or our friends, have a closed mind and are unaware of it. It is at this point that we find that religion and spirituality part ways.
Religion would have us 'believe' there is a God, and often a belief that it is not possible to know God, directly or indirectly, or to even approach God i.e. there are fears and inhibitions related to God. Religion sometimes teaches us to be in awe of God. Spirituality, on the other hand, encourages us to leave all limited beliefs behind and be both humble and open to the possibility of the presence of God in our life. Hence, in spirituality, personal experience is given more importance than a learned or inherited belief. Hence the essential need for a method such as meditation to make the bridge from belief to direct experience. In meditation the soul/self releases any false attachments, including learned beliefs, and opens to receive and directly experience the spiritual light of the Source.
(To be continued tomorrow …)
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