Irenic Thoughts

Irenic. The word means peaceful. This web log (or blog) exists to create an ongoing, and hopefully peaceful, series of comments on the life of King of Peace Episcopal Church. This is not a closed community. You are highly encouraged to comment on any post or to send your own posts.

8/08/2006

Be spiritual without being religious

I ran across the post Is it all right to be spiritual without being religious? at The Journey. The entry says in part,
To understand this in another way, it might be helpful to consider the meaning of the two words religion and spiritual. The word religion in Latin actually refers to piety and the word spiritual comes from the French word esprit and refers to the breath or breathing. You are, first and foremost, spiritual. Becoming religious—practicing piety—is a result of being spiritual. Your breath (your spiritual nature) is given to you by the Creator. You cannot make yourself breathe, nor can you will your breathing to cease. You are intimately connected to the One who gave you the breath and every time you inhale and exhale, your spirit longs for a deeper relationship with that One who is beyond your wildest imaginings.

The post closes with some specific steps to take if you are considering a change
So, if you are feeling spiritual, but are a bit afraid of becoming religious, you might take a few moments to do the following exercise.

1. Sit quietly for a few moments, letting go of all the burdens and anxieties that are so much a part of life. Bring your attention to your heart and to your breath.

2. Let your heart speak to God about your longing for relationship. You don't need special words or prayers. Just tell God what you are feeling.

3. Take out a piece of paper and write out ten ways that you could be more religious without stopping being spiritual. Feel free to think outside the box!

4. Re-read your list, and visualize reading it to God.

5. Spend a few moments in silence to see what God wants to say to you. God may speak audibly, or you may have a fresh idea or insight, or a new sense of peace.

6. Choose one or two things that you will begin to work on, and offer your intentions to God.

7. Thank God for the time that you have spent together.
In the King of Peace archives you will also find an article and a sermon on praying The Jesus Prayer. and an Adobe .PDF format brochure on Centering Prayer for those interested in these similar forms of prayer.

How do you think spirituality and religion connect? How are they different?

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church

posted by King of Peace @ Tuesday, August 08, 2006  

2 Comments:

  • At 8/08/2006 6:32 PM, Blogger CS said…

    Well,the Buddha was spiritual (and most notably in the sense of following the breath) without being religious. He taught the practice without addressing the issue of the existence of God. And Thich Nhat Hahn says you can practice mindful, and spiritual, attention to the breath within any (or no) religious tradition. At a TNH retreat I attended there were atheists, agnostics, a Catholic nun in her habit, an Episcopal priest - you name it. So I think you can be spiritual and religious or spiritual and not religious. But that's the opinion of a non-theistic Buddhist-Quaker, so take it or leave it. Carol

     

  • At 8/08/2006 11:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    There are lots of people who consider themselves religious, or rather are obedient to a set of principles of formulae to get on God's good side. James 1:27 says, "Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." To me, this means love your neighbors as yourself, and live like you believe what you say you believe. To put it bluntly, showing up on Christmas, Easter, and other assorted Sundays may make one religious in the world's eyes, but it doesn't establish that one is reconciled to God.

    Whether one is spiritual, whether the Holy Spirit bears witness with one's spirit, is a different issue altogether.

    Modern spirituality doesn't mean your spirit communes with God any more than showing up for church makes one religious. Unfortunately, many people with "spiritual disciplines" do not even acknowledge God who must be worshipped in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

     

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