What is Spirituality?

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murlin99
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What is Spirituality?

Post by murlin99 »

Sometimes I get an urge to just start typing, not always knowing what the end result will be. This happens more frequently the more I stick with my meditation routine. When I get this feeling to just open up and let it flow I have to do it or I can never focus on anything else long enough to get it done. This is one of those times.

Begin:
What is Spirituality? This may seem like an odd question to any of the frequent visitors to this board but it is a valid question. How does spirituality work into anyone's daily life? Do you have to search for it or does it find you? Is it always there do you just have to "turn it on" or do you have to start from the ground and work into it? Once it finds you or you find it do you have to work to keep it or is it always with you? There are so many questions wrapped around this single word.

One of the definitions from princenton.edu dictionary is "property or income owned by a church" other definitions say it is only this way if it is termed as spiritualities. Spiritualities sound a lot like Royalties to me in that definition. I did not know that was one of the definitions of that word until I recently looked it up and was sort of astonished by what I read. I know languages and meanings of words change over the years and one hundred years from now spirituality could have even more definitions attached to it, but to think that at one time it meant church "royalties" still has me sort of baffled.

The definition that I would be more inclined accept in my journey would be the one I picked up from dictionary.com which is "predominantly spiritual character as shown in thought and life" which is how I always saw it but in my opinion that does not cover my view of spirituality with a closed case answer, actually it just leads you to another question of what is a "spiritual character". Spirituality is much more than that....

I have not lived a totally spiritual life, for many years I did not know what I was searching for, I did not know who I was or where I was going. I partied a lot, more than a lot, mass amounts I partied. I claimed Agnosticism when asked if I followed a religion, for the main reason that no one can argue with that more or less, it was an easy way out of the question. After many years of being forced to attend Pentecostal church with my grand parents I was lost as I started to become an adult. I knew there had to be some kind of higher power, but did not think the Pentecostal church or any other organized religion for that matter was going in the right direction. My mind refused to accept that I had to sit in a little building with a lot of other people to show my love for our Father. So I wrote off everything and did not try to find any spiritual path for many, many years, I was adrift in a sea of nothing. I had my family and work, but otherwise I was lost.

A lot of things happened to me and my family in a short amount of time and I was mentally crushed. Being mentally crushed like that with no spirituality and hence no path led me down some long dark roads, when you are at that point you will believe almost anything that you think will make your situation better, and I did with no good end result. Then all of a sudden about 3 years ago the 11:11 prompts started. Like almost everyone else I wrote it off as coincidence the first few dozen times it happened. Then it started to happen all over the place, everywhere I looked I was seeing combinations of 1's. I thought I was going insane, searching google for "repetitive 11:11" of course the first thing I came to was 11:11 Progress Group. I found this board not long after and started reading all of the information I could find about the 11:11 prompts and meditation. I had tried meditation in the past but could never calm my mind enough to get past a few minutes.

After I found this board and read about the meditation, along with the help of the Akashic Construct audio tracks I was able to start meditating on a regular basis. I was actually afraid at first because I did not want to know what was in the deep recesses of my mind or soul after all of the years of partying and not really caring if I went to hell or heaven (Remember Pentecostal teachings here). I have fallen off of the wagon a few times as far as keeping a daily meditation routine, but have gotten better with that over time. I am not a meditation guru yet by any standard, but it is helping me in my daily life. I am more calm now, I am more at peace with myself and every day getting a little better being able to forgive others for the sad things they do. I still have a few amends to make over things that happened in the past, but I am not quite there yet. Of course I also have to mention all of the great people in the 11:11 Progress Group that have given me support when needed and set me straight also when that was needed.

In closing my view is that we all have the capability to be spiritual, we are born with the spark, it is always there. Some people are afraid of the spark as I was for a long time, mainly because of the teachings of the Pentecostal church. Those teachings more or less say, you will go to hell pretty much for any reason that they decide you should go to hell that week, or that decade or century, ESPECIALLY if you do not follow their doctrine to the letter. If this is true then why did our divine Father give us free will? If we were supposed to be bound by the rules of a specific religion or specific set of rules that govern everything we do then that is how our minds would be programmed, but they are not. We have the free will to make whatever choices we want, good or bad, up or down, sideways or longways, they are all choices. I waited a long time before I made the choice to follow my current path with the 11:11 progress group and I am quite happy with my choice. This is my spirituality and no one is going to change my mind that this is the way it should be, not under the rules of the soul governing body called organized religion….

Father gave you the spark.
Father gave you the free will.
Father gave you the resources.
If you choose not to use the resources you have been given
that is wholly your choice but your life will be empty if you don't.


Peace and Happiness,
Bryan
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Welles
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Re: What is Spirituality?

Post by Welles »

Hi Bryan,

In your title you asked the question "What is Spirituality?" You then proceeded to answer it in outlining the meandering path that your particular odyssey has taken. Quite simply spirituality is the journey within when one first realizes that there is 'something' inside them. That usually begins with the feeling that something is missing or help is urgently needed. The search ultimately leads us away from our animal nature and toward exhibiting the nature of the Divine. I think we are most fortunate to have had enough spiritual growth in our lives to appreciate the process.


Vroom :bike: → → → → → → → → → → PARADISE

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murlin99
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Re: What is Spirituality?

Post by murlin99 »

After reading my post again and your reply I have to agree that it was a complex post that attempted to answer one question which in the end was not answered. I think now the title would have better been, How I found Spirituality. Welles my man you never cease to amaze me with your insight.

Peace and Happiness,
Bryan
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Re: What is Spirituality?

Post by vivrider »

Hi Bryan,

I just read today's celestial message, then decided to pop into the message board and read your post and the two complemented eachother! I came from a Southern Baptist home, I guess a few steps above Pentecostal. . . . I remember being about 6 and crying as the red faced preacher screamed, "Jesus DIED for you sins!" and wondering what I had done. I also followed the path of 1111 prompts to this group a few years ago. Best thing that every happened to me :bana:

Nice to meet you!

Love, Vivian
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Re: What is Spirituality?

Post by 11light11 »

I really enjoyed your essay, Bryan. I could relate so much to the way that the Pentecostal teachings had you a bit confused, and that plagued feeling you had of "Will I go to heaven or hell?" When Vivian jumped on and shared her memory of the preacher screaming "Jesus DIED for your sins," I really could relate to that also. What they do to us growing up!!! This has been a topic I have turned over in my mind so much lately, and I believe that it takes a lot of work to 'undo' some of the upsetting lessons from childhood religious experiences.

I loved the portions of your essay where you explored what 11:11 has introduced for you . . .this is the hope. ;) I can really relate!!!

Love it! Thanks for sharing! Love Michele :loves
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Re: What is Spirituality?

Post by Welles »

Hey Bryan,

I ran into a short article about this very subject that provided some very wise answers…

The Difference Between Spirituality And Religion? By: Rabbi Rami Shapiro

http://spiritualityhealth.com/articles/ ... d-religion

Note that the Spirituality & Health site most likely will put up a popup Subscribe form that may seem impossible to close. The close button is a white X in a black circle a little ways off the upper left hand corner. It is a poor design choice IMO.

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Re: What is Spirituality?

Post by Geoff »

As a humorous riposte Spirituality may be defined as choosing your own path to hell.

Of course I don't believe that!

But it is certainly choosing your own path, which essentially means deciding what you will choose to believe. Even if you choose the hard path. :duh :duh :roll: As they say there are many paths up the mountain, and some folks even try tunnelling into the mountain. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Its initially very scary to throw off everything you have been indoctrinated into believing, but eventually its very liberating. The Rabbi says this:
Religion is about belonging, community, shared values, shared rituals, and mutual support. Spirituality is about living life without a net, forever surrendered to reality and meeting each moment with curiosity, wonder, gratitude, justice, humility, and love.
I accept spirituality is about growth, because you are forging your own path, and typically it has no boundaries. But I fail to see that its about living without a net, when all is said and done, that's a very religionist POV. The net (faith) that I found within religion was full of holes. The net I walk on now is truly stable. But I agree that I often walk my own path, and while I very much enjoy finding others willing to share a short journey with me, all too often there comes a point where I say to myself: "If I stick with these guys, I am not being true to myself anymore." And I walk off.

But I think the Rabbi is confusing things. I think he recognises the freedom to choose what you might believe (but he can't really, he's a Jewish rabbi remember) and sees that as a weakness (no net) because he has never experienced the exhilaration of the real FREEDOM. His "faith" is still locked in the Jewish promise, and I cant say i ever knew that, but I did know the Christian promise, and I now know that "faith" was in fact "pious hope", and nothing like the certainty I now feel.

hugs
Geoff
"Slip your hand into the hand of God and you will never walk alone"
said Chief Flaming Arrow.
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