Religion and Spirituality are they the same, or are they different?
This question has been posed to me a lot lately. Clients, house guests, and even a random magazine article I stumbled across yesterday all raise this question of religion and spirituality.
(I’ve learned that when the Universe presents me something in 3’s, I’m to pay attention to it.)
So, here are my thoughts on this topic.
Traditional religions provide answers. Typically, religion offers a prescribed manual of guidelines on how to live a good life—in essence, A-How-To-Book for living. There’s nothing wrong with this. Lots of folks like having an instruction manual to follow. It simplifies things.
Spirituality is more about questions. Life naturally inspires personal and universal questions. Spirituality is about asking and then waiting for God and the Universe to answer those questions through personal experiences.
For me, I’ve learned that an answer to an unasked question isn’t helpful, but an answer to a question that my personal experiences inspired me to ask is life-changing. It’s the “aha” that feels so good.
When life ignites questions in me, and when I am willing to listen for the answer from the Universe, my relationship with God becomes dynamic, evolving, and growing.
I experience God through the asking and answering process.