The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself

“Religion is for people who're afraid of going to hell. Spirituality is for those who've already been there.” – Vine Deloria Jr.

Spirituality is a broad and complex concept that varies its understanding according to cultural, religious, and academic backgrounds (i.e., religious persons, scientists, or laypersons; Koenig, 2008; la Cour and Götke, 2012). In this context, there is a remarkable debate regarding the most accurate meaning, and regarding the possibility of having a single universal consensual definition for this concept (Peng-Keller, 2019). Some issues arise since the fact that spirituality is often linked and overlaps another important concepts, such as religion/religiosity and well-being/positive emotions (Hill et al., 2000).

Historically, the term spirituality was used to describe the practices of people who dedicated their lives to religious services or exemplify the teachings of their faith traditions (Koenig, 2008). Only in the last decades, spirituality has been detached from religiosity as a distinct construct, even though the scientific community still refers to this research field using the “dual” term religiosity/spirituality (R/S; Zinnbauer et al., 1997; Bauer and Johnson, 2019).

(Orginal website study link https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.756080/full )

Spirituality is about one's soul and inner self. Being spiritual involves holding one's personal set of beliefs and practices and searching for the purpose of life. Each person's own definition of spirituality can vary throughout their lifetime, adapting to individual experiences through personal study and self-reflection. The goal of spirituality is to realize one's inherent power to combat all of life's challenges and connect with something greater than oneself.  (To learn more, here are 10 ways you can be spiritual.)Spirituality is a universal, personalized experience, and everyone's experience is unique. One may describe a spiritual experience as being sacred or transcendent, or plainly a true sense of liveliness and feeling interconnected, or pure gratitude. You can belong to a religious group and still be spiritual, and vice versa.

In fact, some may find that their spirituality is closely linked to religion, while others may have their own personal relationship with a higher power. Others seek the meaning of life through their connections to nature or art. When it comes to the religion vs. spirituality debate, neither is inherently good or bad. Spirituality is broader and more abstract than religion. Religion maintains a defined, tangible code of ethics, while spirituality is largely undefinable. However, both of these methods of believing in something help people live happy, meaningful lives.

( original study link  https://www.happierhuman.com/difference-religion-spirituality/ )

The Differences Between Spirituality and Religion

Spirituality is a solitary experience of the divine, while religion involves a group of people brought together by their common faith or beliefs about the divine. Religion aims to build one's character. It shapes one's beliefs, attitudes, and actions by giving importance to the adherence of rules. This unites people who share a religion, as they share character traits and outlooks on life. On the other hand, spirituality concentrates more on each person's individual soul.

There are many religions in our world, and one thing most have in common is that they preach the idea that their story is the right story. However, when someone is spiritual, they are able to pick out the things they believe from any religion and combine these truths to formulate their own set of beliefs. So, when asking the question, “Can you be spiritual and religious?” the answer is “yes—if your true beliefs fall in line with a certain religion.” However, many who are spiritual believe that everyone's ultimate truth is the same, despite any differences among them.

A spiritual person’s set of beliefs evolves as they learn more through their personal study of their own spirituality. Alternatively, in religion, the belief system is usually predefined. The recognized authorities of the religious group reinforce or communicate changes regarding the ideologies for members of the religious group to follow.

In this way, religion requires people to be obedient to their beliefs, keeping them fixed to scriptures or what is taught to them by religious leaders. Religion often discourages people from listening to their own instincts and instead teaches people to accept and do what they’re told, without questioning it. On the other hand, spirituality teaches people to constantly listen to their inner voice and use it as a guide to living a good life. Spirituality urges people to break free from obedience or conformity in order to create their own path and journey in life. Because of this, someone who practices spirituality may continually change their beliefs throughout their life. Nothing is set in stone, so what one may find to be “right” or “wrong” today may change down the line with new life experiences.

           ( Maria https://instagram.com/__iammariab?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= )

A spiritual person often arrives at their own truths while they are developing their spirituality, rather than following an ideology or set of rules. The experience is often personal and occurs in private, allowing people to follow their own intuition and do the things that are in their own best interests.

Although some spiritual traditions offer theories and practices to help people on their journeys, they are not meant to be adopted as a set of beliefs. Rather, they're offered as tools for spiritual seekers to use to help their spiritual growth. On the other hand, a religious person accepts the truth as defined by his or her religion, and these truths are often documented and shared with others. In religion, there is often a promise of punishment or reward for maintaining beliefs or following rituals. But for spirituality, the reward is just one's own inner peace.

The fear of punishment for one's actions is often a principal factor in religion. Those practicing religions fear the consequences of the way they live their lives after they die. Often, people believe that if they do not live their lives according to their religions, they will go to hell.

'Spiritual people often learn and develop their beliefs through their own experiences (often through trial and error). This empowers people to discover their own truths without setting any limits as to the depth of one's understanding. Alternatively, religious individual learns or develops their beliefs based on the experiences they are told about their religious founders or through parables. Spirituality encourages people to create their own path, which allows people to take their own journey of enlightenment. With spirituality, self-discovery has no boundaries. It inspires people to trust their hearts and follow their own instincts. Spirituality is simply one's ability to recognize that every person is more than just a human body—they are a soul that has unlimited potential. Every person is essentially a small god—a unique and powerful manifestation of existence that serves a purpose in this world.

Spiritual people learn and develop their beliefs based on their own experiences while religious people learn them based on the experiences they are told about their religious founders.

So, what is the difference between a spiritual person and a religious person? A spiritual person looks within themselves to do the right thing and a religious person looks to the outside for guidance.

People who are spiritual are able to adjust to new conditions and their discoveries throughout life. They are flexible in their beliefs. A major difference between religion and spirituality is believing versus being. Religion emphasizes the content of followers' beliefs and how those beliefs play out in their everyday lives. On the other hand, the focus of spirituality is on the process of becoming attuned to one's inner self.

Life can be full of ups and downs, good times and bad. Many people see spirituality as a great way to seek comfort and peace in their life. It can often be practiced alongside things like yoga, which ultimately focuses on stress relief and release of emotion.

Spirituality is a way of gaining perspective

Spirituality recognizes that your role in life has a greater value than what you do every day. It can relieve you from dependence on material things and help you to understand your life’s greater purpose. Spirituality can also be used as a way of coping with change or uncertainty.

Mystical Spirituality

Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight into ultimate or hidden truths, and to human transformation supported by various practices and experiences.

The term "mysticism" has Ancient Greek origins with various historically determined meanings. Derived from the Greek word μύω múō, meaning "to close" or "to conceal", mysticism referred to the biblical, liturgical, spiritual, and contemplative dimensions of early and medieval Christianity. During the early modern period, the definition of mysticism grew to include a broad range of beliefs and ideologies related to "extraordinary experiences and states of mind."

In modern times, "mysticism" has acquired a limited definition, with broad applications, as meaning the aim at the "union with the Absolute, the Infinite, or God". This limited definition has been applied to a wide range of religious traditions and practices, valuing "mystical experience" as a key element of mysticism.

Since the 1960s scholars have debated the merits of perennial and constructionist approaches in the scientific research of "mystical experiences". The perennial position is now "largely dismissed by scholars", most scholars use a contextualist approach, which takes the cultural and historical context into consideration. 

( Wikipedia study https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysticism )

Authoritarian Spirituality

Mystic innovators usually become authoritarian when they start a teaching career to pass on their realizations; and their followers will in any case rapidly turn them into authority figures. This is because the only model of spiritual education and training the world has ever known is authoritarian. Thus a sectarian culture is formed, and what is taught within it is given a warrant of authority via an appeal to a combination of some of the following:

• The teacher’s intuitive and experiential certitude or faith.

• Divine revelation.

• Instruction from the gods/angels/ancestors/entities.

• Sacred scriptures.

• Established doctrine and practice.

• A lineage of gurus, teachers or priests within the sect.

• An ancient or modern innovative sage or religious founder.

Religious training everywhere, from the remote past to the immediate present, means believing-and-doing what an authority prescribes. A warrant of authority means that when an inquirer asks why they should believe-and-do what is taught, the teacher’s reply is, ‘Because the tradition of which I am a representative says so. And if you follow its teaching, as I have, you will find that it is correct’. This appeal to the weight of established thought and practice proves that it is durable. It does not show that it is valid. Equally, of course, it does not show that it is invalid. It just doesn’t answer the inquirer’s question. It is beside the point, for the question is an early sign of the inquirer’s spiritual autonomy stirring from its life-long slumber. The question cannot be answered from without, but only from the full awakening and alertness of divine autonomy within.

The universal authoritarian tendency within the diverse religious schools, ancient and modern, of our planet, is presumably to do with the remarkable call of the religious quest, which initially throws up a great deal of insecurity. No better way to put a stop to the upsurge of such shakiness - and the underlying challenge of finding an inner source of guidance - than by capping it with allegiance to an external source of certitude. This is the process of spiritual projection, which I discuss in the next section. The institutionalization of this process has had a range of unfortunate consequences within each school that maintains it. Let me overstate the case, but only somewhat, in outlining these consequences in the remainder of this section.

Intellectual Spirituality

Intellectual spirituality focuses on building knowledge. understanding of spirituality through analyzing history and spiritual theories. This approach can be found in the study of religion, also known as theology. Service spirituality is a common form of spirituality in many religions. faiths.

Service Spirituality

Service Spirituality. This is one of the most common types of spirituality. It's because people experience spiritual peace when they serve others. There are many ways to achieve this spirituality, but the core of it is helping others without expecting anything in return

Social Spirituality

It’s important to understand that conversations around spirituality in social work practice aren’t about a specific religion. Instead, incorporating spirituality into social work practice is about helping clients to explore the spiritual aspect of their person and help them along a journey of personal discovery that can promote healing and healthy living. Doing this is increasingly recognized as a critical element of social work.

In many ways, spiritual issues are becoming a key talking point in the social work profession, as ignoring spirituality is neglecting a major component of many people’s lives. However, many social workers don’t feel prepared to initiate or participate in these conversations. In some cases, it may be because of a lack of formal training on the topic. For that reason, courses on spirituality and social work can be instrumental in providing care and furthering the profession.

“Practice the pause. When in doubt, pause. When angry, pause. When tired, pause. When stressed, pause. And when you pause, pray.” —Toby Mac

When you accept that there are certain truths in your life that you can’t change, it allows you to embrace your new reality and move forward.” —Amy Purdy

“We have a saying in Tibet: If a problem can be solved, there is no use worrying about it. If it can’t be solved, worrying will do no good.” —Heinrich Harrer

“True freedom is giving someone the permission to misunderstand you.” —Lauren Daigle

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