religion
The Five Spiritual Truths That Transcend Religion
Spirituality and religion are often clumped together into the same category. They are certainly similar in nature. For example, a spiritual person can be religious and their religion can intensify their spirituality, but that is not to say religion is the source of spiritual growth.
Religion, however is birthed out of spiritual experiences. Religious practices are often promoted by a specific teacher who has had a profound spiritual experience, or a prophet who communicates information about the spiritual realm, and how it influences the physical world. Continue reading
Life After Life (Part 7 of 7) – Continued Creation
It has been my experience that love is often the most universal message that people who have touched the other side bring back to us. That being said, even though love is the most important quality that we can express as human beings, there is also good reason to ally with love and forgiveness in our lives.
While we are on this planet our actions and contributions really do matter. As souls we are evolving and growing, and through this evolutionary process taking place on the soul level the planet too is in a process of evolution. Evolution is the creative dynamic that love creates.
In today’s final blog in this series I rely a bit on the esoteric traditions of spirituality that came before us, especially that of the Judeo-Christian and Jewish traditions. As I do so, I want to be clear that there are many traditions that express and say these same things in different ways. My personal background is in Christianity, and most of my formal teaching related to religion and spirituality stem from this tradition. This is why my blogs contain some archaic Christian language as reference points for spiritual understanding. Continue reading
Creating Your Reality – Survivor, Sinner Or Saint?
To create, attract and manifest is an innate metaphysical ability we all have access to as beings of Divine origin. Jane Roberts writes in The Nature of Personal Reality, “You are given the gifts of the gods; you create your reality according to your beliefs. Yours is the creative energy that makes your world. There are no limitations to the self except those you believe in.”
To be a creator is a function of our free will. We are all co-creators of our shared, physical reality and we shape our own destiny in every single moment of our lives. What you think, feel, believe, wish for, and desire in this very moment, is what you will become tomorrow, and the day after. Continue reading
A Time To Grow In God’s Grace
Growing up as a Roman Catholic, I experienced Lent as a strong discipline to better my life. “What are you giving up for Lent?” The answers from my non-believer friends were “homework” or “obey the parents” or “saving money for rainy days.” Lent is one of those practices demanded of Roman Catholics to which non-Catholic believers may say, “Another great reason to be Protestant!” It never really occurred to my friends that Lent was something interesting, or beneficial, to a better understand our connection with God.
One day, I sat thinking of the many reason and faces of this season, and upon doing some research I discovered that Lent is in fact also recognized by millions of Protestant Christians, in addition to Catholic and Orthodox believers. The Eastern Orthodox Lent is longer than the Catholic or Protestant Lent, and it begins before Ash Wednesday. Continue reading
Life After Life (Part 2 of 7) – Near-Death Experience
Some physicians and scientists have attempted to discount the near-death experience (NDE) phenomenon as misfiring synapses of the brain during trauma. However, I believe that as more and more evidence is becoming available, the near-death experience will be opened up as a genuine spiritual phenomenon.
In 1999 I was hit by a car and severely injured. I was 19 years old at the time, and had absolutely no interest in spirituality of any kind. I grew up in a very religious household, and noticed how damaging religious ideology could be on both society and the microcosm of families and tribal units. In many ways I was angry with systems that promoted any kind of dogmatic spirituality, and discounted any kind of spiritual experience. Continue reading