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Spirituality

What is the Difference between Spirituality and Religion?  

July 10, 2018 By Cara Lumen

What is the Difference between Spirituality and Religion?
An Inner World Exploration

Consider this: Religion is taught and interpreted through the limitations of the human mind. Spirituality is discovered through the soul.

Religion is taught and interpreted by mankind in accordance with the prevalent group consciousness. Spirituality is discovered through your individual and unique awareness of the whole.

Your spirituality continually unfolds

Your spiritual awareness and experience will expand and contract and shift directions as you get to know yourself, define and clarify your personal values and make self-aware, aligned choices that create your life experience.  These all lead to individual choices in what to believe and how to apply it.

We have choices in evolving our spirituality. We can mindfully take time to question the religious beliefs we have been exposed to since childhood to see if they still resonate.  We can look around at what we’re experiencing, choose the values we want to live by and forge not only our own life path but a spiritual path that supports our journey.  We do that by exploring our inner world.

There are three phases in developing your own spirituality: 

– question your core beliefs
– explore unfamiliar spiritual expressions to see what resonates
– create your own unique spiritual practice.

Question your core beliefs

Because our core beliefs have been around so long, they’re familiar and comfortable and seldom called into question.  But we should periodically examine and define these beliefs to see if they still resonate with what we’ve learned and what we believe.  

For instance, there are a great many things we believe because that’s what our parents taught us or reflected back to us.  Now, this can range from good to bad. A drug-addicted parent gives us one view of life, a conservative parent another, a free-floating explorer of life another.  Stop for a moment and put your parents in a general category. Also reflect on the cultural climate they grew up in, how it restricted or motivated them. Then see how their life experience differed from your present one and what that means about the choices you should/could make today about your core values and beliefs. Question what you believe and why you believe it and re-choose based on who you are today.

There’s a difference between a taught-from-childhood religious education dictated by the beliefs and backgrounds and choices of your parents and an experiential discovery process of your own unique, individualized spiritual expression.  You may have to look closely to see what you inherited and what you consciously chose.

Like the core values we learn as children from the belief systems of our parents, it’s probable that our specific religious training, or lack of one, was also dictated by them.  

My mother was Presbyterian.  My father Morman, which my mother actively didn’t like as a religion.  I got a strong message there.  

As a young divorced woman, I was drawn to the low Episcopal church but could not enter a second marriage through that church because I had been divorced. So I felt rejected by a religion I was drawn to.  I went back to the Presbyterian church to get married.  Then back to the Episcopal church for the ceremony and structure that appealed to me at the time. I had begun my own spiritual exploration by noticing what called to me and taking steps to go exploring.

My first major discovery or what truly called to me, what I truly believed, all by myself, for myself, came from one book, The Aquarian Conspiracy by Marilyn Ferguson.  I was a wife and mother living in the conservative mid-west. That book told me about people all over the country (particularly on both coasts)  who were doing and thinking and being like I wanted to be.  I had not even known they existed.

I made a major life decision to go exploring for myself and that’s when I recognized the difference between the handed down religious beliefs I had been indoctrinated in and the very personal spiritual exploration and discoveries I embarked on in my forties.  I became a metaphysician!

I continue to explore.  And choose.  And modify.  I have not stayed with any one form of spirituality or one religious practice. My spiritual core is based on metaphysics that includes New Thought, many forms of energy healing, Taoism and Shamanism.  I see myself as spiritual, not religious.   Eclectically spiritual, for my spiritual beliefs come from my exploration as a human on this planet. I have chosen what calls to me.  What resonates with me.  What is effective for me. It’s never the whole system, simply the parts and pieces that resonate. 

Religion to me is a formal, handed down doctrine that’s taught and interpreted by people steeped in the beliefs and prejudices of their own time. Spirituality is what you evolve for yourself. It comes from many sources and is chosen because it resonates deeply with you. And you take only the parts that feel aligned with your own spiritual path.

Be aware of your unique spiritual path

Instead of seeing yourself as a member of a congregation, you are now aware that you have an individual spiritual responsibility, a path of service that’s yours alone to walk.  And you set about selecting the beliefs and concepts and ideas that support you in making that individual journey.

As our life evolves, and we learn about and understand ourselves more intimately, we need to question our beliefs, whether they come from a particular discipline or have become an eclectic mix of spiritual principles that call to us. Do you have the courage to do that?  Do you trust your own inner wisdom to discern what’s currently for your highest good? 

Even if we’ve explored and taken parts and pieces of various forms of spiritual expression, we still need to periodically examine and evaluate to see if those ideas and practices still serve us. 

Explore unfamiliar spiritual expressions

The first time I had a clue about anything other than my Presbyterian upbringing was in a Comparative Religion course in college.  I had no idea all those spiritual approaches existed.  My question to myself was, “If there are all these different religions, how do I know mine is ‘right’?”  Right in the sense that it gets me closer to a higher energy?  Right in that it makes me a kinder, more thoughtful person?  Right in that it answers my need to feel connected to a greater energy? 

What is right for you?

Here’s my problem – all of these religions have been interpreted by humans and are filled with the limitations of being a human.  

Spirituality is of the unseen world. There are no boundaries, no limitations.  The core is Oneness.  The oneness of all things.  If each of us could live our lives as if we were all one energy –which we are – can you even begin to imagine how our world would change?

So I went exploring over the years. Becoming a metaphysician took me exploring in energy techniques like reiki, transcendental meditation, yoga, tai chi, chi gong, Bach flowers, herbalism and Ayurvedic principles.  

When I left New York City for Santa Rosa, California, I found the Center for Spiritual Living and spent five years becoming a licensed practitioner. That is New Thought with a lot of Emerson influences and has elements of all the world’s great religions.

But I moved on.  Poets like Rumi and Gibran spoke deeply to me.  I was steadily drawn into Taoism, which seems more free-wheeling to me than Buddhism. As I explored, I took what resonated and left the rest.  

A few years ago, I began to immerse myself in shamanism, learning its powerful form of meditation called “journeying”.  I have developed an exceedingly strong and active inner life connecting with my helping spirits for their guidance and wisdom.  Is it religion? – No.  Is it spirituality? – Totally.

I studied the work of a past-life regressionist Michael Newton, who, by leading his patients into descriptions of their lives between lives on earth has opened a whole realm of possibilities for me. It’s part of my personal spiritual exploration and what I have come to believe about it is very aligned with being 85. There is a great “next” waiting.  

And that’s the point.  Take what works for you and leave the rest behind.

Understand and periodically redefine your core values

What are your core values?  If you are like most of us, you don’t even know where to begin. 

Core values are our fundamental beliefs. Our guiding principles. They help us understand the difference between what we see as right and wrong. They are our guideposts, our measuring sticks, to help us find our way on our chosen path. And they may prioritize themselves differently as we move through life.  

“Spiritual exploration” is at the top of my list of core values.  Finding my place of illumined service is right next to it.  Learning is near the top.  I value life (I’m a vegan – “do no harm”). I value inclusiveness.  Honesty is high but it’s so ingrained as a core value I almost forget to list it. You get the picture.  Make a list of a few of your core values, those guidelines, and guideposts, the choices you make on your life path.

What concepts offer you the most comfort, the most strength, the most “whatever you need right now” in your life?  Pick and choose and add the elements that support your personal spiritual practice. 

I begin my day with a personalized ceremony that’s eclectic and open to change.  It includes sound healing, chi gong intention setting, gratitude and blessings for the day to come. I deepen my inner awareness by taking a shamanic journey every day.  I do mindful breathing. I pause in my day to meditate with nature. My spiritual practice is eclectic and totally nurturing to me.  It’s also open to adding, subtracting and rearranging all of the elements. 

What forms of spiritual expression have you explored? Have you given yourself permission to pick and choose the practices that call to you?

Create and evolve your own expression of your spirituality

Because spirituality is individual, because it’s made up of elements that resonate with your current needs, you can let the form evolve. You can add things and drop things. The point is to have your spiritual practice, your spiritual exploration, expand your awareness, deepen your connection with All-That-Is and make you a better person.

I don’t like to be restricted.  I don’t like rules. I don’t like to be told what to do. Formal religion feels constricting. It has too many rules, too much conformity. Even after five years of training to become a practitioner in the New Thought Center for Spiritual Living, I formally practiced only a few years before I moved on to my own more eclectic version of spiritual expression.  I had grown spiritually and the format was too rigid for me. And that’s a pretty relaxed church.  

As I explored I moved to terms like the All-That-Is, and the Nowhere That We Came From, (Rumi) the Web of Life, and one I made up: The Emptiness that Holds Everything. That frees me from a limiting human, male, dominating father-figure and frees me to feel and be and explore my core essence, which I feel is light”.

Whatever beliefs are at our spiritual core, we base our lives on them and make our choices from them.  Everyone’s spiritual path is different.  We must learn to honor that. We must allow that.  And we must not try to make others think the way we do or condemn them if they don’t.  Each person is on their own spiritual path with their own version created by them alone to guide them on their path.  

Just work on your own spiritual path.  There’s enough there to keep you busy. Each person has their own version. Our personal experience of religion/spirituality is all up to interpretation.  Whether you’re looking at the doctrine of an organized religion or an oral, generationally developed spiritual tradition like shamanism, the individual interpretation and application is up to each of us. Even what looks the same on the outside is going to be seen and experienced differently on the inside depending on our personal viewpoints and cultivation of our own spiritual experience. 

At the core, nearly everyone believes in something greater than they are  

But from there the journey and the beliefs are as varied as we are.  It may be seen as a force “out there” or “in here”. It may be described in many metaphors, but it is actually indescribable.  It is felt. It is known. It cannot be described. 

Our spirituality is also so fundamentally vital in our life that whatever version we’ve defined for ourselves is seldom questioned and seldom changed.

Therefore, human-based differences based on our core religion/spirituality will continue to be the source of discord – until we all can see ourselves as One Light, One Interconnected Web of Life and know that our strand in this Web of Life strongly affects others.  The focus and depth of our inner light as reflected in our own life has a ripple effect that shapes our world and our life experiences.

How is your light doing? 

Does your life reflect your current beliefs or have you changed a bit?  Do you need to become kinder, more inclusive, offer more unconditional love?  Can you feel the connection of your inner light with others? Do you feel like we are all part of one Light Community?

In order to expand your spiritual experience, do you need to look around at other spiritual philosophies? I love the Taoist concepts of Lao Tzu and the Tao Te Ching. I find shamanism gives me the most direct spiritual experience I’ve had so far.  I love the Buddhist concepts of mindfulness and the messages of nature that life is always unfolding. 

Question your core beliefs

The first step in exploring this difference between religion and spirituality is to be willing to go exploring. To be willing to identify your core beliefs and let your inner voice guide you into your personal expression of spirituality. 

Look around.  Talk to people of different belief systems. Read the authors who describe different forms of spiritual expression.  See if they’re repeating the dogma they have been taught or if they are actively thinking about and exploring certain facets of their religion.  Go exploring.

Evolve your own spiritual experience

Begin to create your own expression of your spirituality. Be eclectic.  Be selective. Take what speaks to you and adapt it into your own spiritual path. 

Then walk your spiritual path, with openness, expectation, and a willingness to change. 

Have you questioned your spiritual foundation recently?  Will you?  I wonder what you will discover…

To Sing a Deeper Song, Consider:

Abide at the Center of Your Being

What Does Spiritual Friendship Look Like?

How Your Spiritual Life Changes You

Discover Your Spiritual Heart

The Path of Supportive Service

Does Your Path Have Heart?

Filed Under: Our Luminous Legacy, Spiritual Expansion, Spiritual Heart Tagged With: Spiritual Expansion, Spirituality, transformational thinking

Steps to Deepen Your Spiritual Awareness

March 2, 2016 By Cara Lumen

steps

There are steps we can take, beyond the obvious ones, that deepen our spiritual awareness. They are subtle steps, personal steps and very individual choices. But where to begin?

Create regular quiet time

You can’t do inner work unless you are quiet and listen. That can mean walking in the woods, closing your eyes and taking some deep breaths, or sitting in meditation. Do you arrange for quiet time? Do you consciously set aside time to contemplate, absorb, and listen to your inner voice? Start there. Choose your method. Set a time. Be quiet.

Get to know yourself

Learn to understand what you need. What drives you? What do you long for? What’s keeping you separate? Journaling helps you understand yourself. Mind maps sometimes uncover inner messages.

Accept yourself. Love yourself. Be patient with yourself. Shape yourself into a more open and receptive vessel. Accept that you are Tao, the All-That-Is, the Great Nothingness, as is everyone else.

Study what calls you

Your spiritual life is totally personal. It’s up to you to explore and examine and try on concepts to see how they feel in your life. I’m learning a lot from Taoism. I love to identify with the cycles of nature. I love the idea of letting life unfold and simply shaping things as they come. I love the idea of learning to simply “be.” But it all takes practice.

Deepen your place of service

We are in service by our mere existence. Even our casual interactions have impact. When we make conscious choices to walk beside someone in service, we have a far-reaching effect. How are you in service? How far-reaching is your impact?

Dissolve all concepts of duality

Here’s the big one. We need to stop seeing ourselves as separate. A quote I’m working with is from Rumi, “Live in the nowhere that you came from even though you have an address here.” I’m working on that to see and feel and experience all as one. There’s no “you”. There’s no “I”. There’s but one all-encompassing energy. How do I experience that? How do I understand that? How do I know that?

It’s easy to feel close to someone you like. It’s a lot harder to feel oneness with someone who’s quite different. You may feel close to the cat on your lap, but less close to the lion stalking through the woods.

I can feel the nothingness when I meditate. I have moments in meditation when my whole body seems to disappear. At times I become so totally absorbed in what I’m doing that my physical surroundings cease to exist for me. Is that the “nowhere that I came from?”

Practice “being”

My conscious step toward feeling this “nowhere” is to deepen my awareness of my own presence in every circumstance. I pause to listen to the sound of silence. I consciously merge my energy with my cat as he sits on my lap. From the crystal I hold, I invite energy to enter my body. I feel the flow of energy in my Qi Gong practice. “Being” is subtle. It needs your awareness. But it’s a place to begin.

Is there a teacher?

The only physical-plane teacher I have are my personal experiences and my ingestion and absorption of the spiritual philosophies with which I resonate. The fact that I write to figure out these ideas is one way I learn. I’m deeply tuned in to the phrases and concepts that resonate. They show up at all moments of my life. My inner voice says, “write about that.” I write for my own clarity. I search to encourage my own spiritual expansion. I’m traveling my own journey.

Just as you are.

You are the only one who can deepen your spiritual awareness. How are you doing that?

To Sing a Deeper Song consider:
How to Walk Beside Someone in Service
I Am You 
We Are Part of a Larger Spiritual Order 
Your Work as You 
18- How Your Light Illuminates Paths of Darkness 
21-How to Share a Piece of Your Soul 

Come Sing a Deeper Song

Filed Under: Inspiration, Self Awareness, Spiritual Expansion Tagged With: life lessons, self-awareness, Spiritual Expansion, Spirituality

How Words Limit Us

February 23, 2016 By Cara Lumen

lion cuddle

I had a huge personal shift when my friend in Spain said there was no word in Spanish to convey what I mean in English by “shift.” Isn’t that interesting!

Shift in consciousness? Shift in awareness? There’s no word for “shift” in Spanish. Does that mean I can’t convey its meaning? No, but it will take more words, and they, too have meanings.

We interpret words individually

If I say the word “dog”, we’re each going to have a different image – big, little, assertive, timid, friendly. You get the picture. So how do we tell our truth to others? Let’s think about that.

Understand the power of the words you choose

What seems a natural expression for us may have different meaning for others. The most prevalent example for me is the word “God.” To me it suggests a male, an older person, a father figure…some of us would prefer to think of God as a woman.

The word limits us because it’s too close to the limitations of our humanness. And whatever “God” is, it’s much, much bigger than that.

So we look around for other words. I like “Tao” because I have nothing associated with that. All-that-is, Nothingness, Universal Mind. Those are closer, but are still tangible. We’re looking for a word to mean what Rumi called “the nowhere that you came from.”

How do we convey our meaning?

Learn to speak in the language of the other person. You won’t use the same vocabulary with a baby as you will with a 5-year-old, or a teenager or an adult. They each have different frames of reference. It would help our communication if we learned to be aware of the frame of reference of the other person when we speak.

Recently, I was playing cards with some senior friends, and in answer to a query I was trying to explain what I did. They will not identify with “spiritual philosopher.” They may not have an aware experience of “personal growth” let alone “self-awareness” “spiritual expansion” and “impactful service.” So I needed to find simpler words.

I think my answer was that I was having a fabulous time doing it and was experiencing my own personal growth. After some thought, the next time we met, I was able to explain what I do as, “I write about life.”

What are the simplest words you can use to explain what you do?

We have to learn to write for and speak to people in words they can understand. Lack of experience in the area of which we are speaking is a very interesting barrier to communication.

For instance, I can’t in any way identify with the “burn” of a muscle since I’ve never pushed myself that far.

How have you misinterpreted the meaning of a word?

That brings us to ourselves. I wonder who I have misunderstood simply because of the words that were used that I couldn’t identify with.

I prefer to learn to read the energy behind the words. And we need to learn to listen to what is not being said.

I was on the executive committee of our Residents’ Association and we had begun to hold our meetings in the commons room rather than the library with the door shut. It felt like it was more transparent.

The vice-president was in charge of a particular meeting and she asked us to set up in the library. I started thinking all sorts of thoughts about being secretive until she said “I can’t hear very well in here.” Boy, do we make things hard on ourselves by jumping to conclusions.

Learn to read the energy

Years ago, I visited a friend who was a practicing Buddhist. She had a small box mounted on her wall with two doors that opened. She spent time before it in meditation and chanting. I asked if I could look inside.

When I opened the two small doors, a flood of loving energy came pouring out, surrounding, encompassing, and embracing me. Inside was a scroll with words I could not read. But I could “read” the energy.

Get your antenna out

When you’re with someone, move inside yourself and start reading the energy you’re receiving – energy that underlies their words, energy from their emotions. Construct your responses based on that energy rather than the words you hear. There may be worry, or fear, there may be joy or excitement.

We express much more through our personal energy than through our words.

Learn to speak the language of one-ness

We’re all one energy. We’re not separate from anyone – the ones we like and the ones we’re not particularly drawn to. That doesn’t mean you have to hang out with energy that no longer nourishes and supports you.

However, it’ll help if you begin to notice how you feel when you talk to someone and use this as a barometer of the success of the communication.

Words limit us. But our feelings and intuition, on the other hand, build a bridge.

To Sing a Deeper Song consider:
Engage in the Power of trust 
How to Deepen Your Calling
Is Everything You Know Still True
21 – How to Share a Piece of Your Soul 15
28 – How to Walk Beside Someone in Service
23 – What Are the Truths You Live By?

Come Sing a Deeper Song

Filed Under: Self Awareness, Self Mastery, Spiritual Expansion Tagged With: personal growth, self-awareness, Spirituality

Create Your Own Spiritual Journey

June 9, 2014 By Cara Lumen

Religion and spirituality though related, are not synonymous. Religion is the creation of people and cultures. Spirituality is your direct personal relationship with Tao, the All-That-Is. Deepening your spirituality is your personal responsibility. No one can do it for you. You select parts and pieces from numerous sources that inspire you to feel more deeply. You adapt, absorb and weave those concepts into a personalized spiritual program that deepens your inner awareness and amplifies your innate sensitivity to the natural rhythm of things. Do not compare your path with others. Each path is unique and personal.

I have a strong spiritual practice that I lovingly do every day. It is comprised of components that work for me. It changes as I change. It shifts its focus as I seek a new lesson. It is up to each of us to create our own spiritual path, We do that by designing our distinctive practice of self-cultivation.

Become a nonconformist

In order to create your own spiritual journey, you must be willing to see yourself as a nonconformist. You learn to listen to your inner voice and trust it. You learn to respond to your inner urges. Your unique spiritual journey is a solitary path that allows you to continually expand your personal relationship with Tao, the All-That-Is. As a child, I was Presbyterian. As a young mother, I was Episcopalian. Gradually I evolved into a metaphysician who studies and embraces concepts from all the words’ great religions. I became a spiritual practitioner in the Center for Spiritual Living.  Eventually I simply wrapped it all up in the package that is me, and used what resonated and expanded my connection and released the rest. To this day, I am exploring. I know how to chant, work with crystals, move energy through my hands, visualize, use affirmations, and direct qi energy. Along my personal spiritual journey, I have learned many ways to deepen my spirituality. I explore whatever calls to me. I keep what works and discard the rest. I adapt, I tweak, I repurpose. I experiment. I change my spiritual practice as I change and grow and develop new needs.

It’s scary to question the religion of your birth. However, it is the religion of your parents. Ultimately, your spiritual path is your personal choice. You have the opportunity to encourage your own spiritual evolution as you continue to find new ways to deepen your connection with your inner self.

“Being different is what makes you who you are. It means you’re daring to live your own life, on your terms, with your values. It means you have courage to stand out from the mainstream. It means you’re interesting. Hug those differences, be grateful for them, own them. Be proud of them. “ Leo Babtua, www.zenhabits,com .

Make silence a cornerstone of your spiritual practice

We are Tao. All we need do to experience Tao is open ourselves to it. We do that through silence.That eternal connection is always there waiting to guide and inspire us. We simply need to learn to listen. Silence opens the connection to your inner wisdom. Silence is how you learn to interpret what you find there. Silence may mean meditation, or prayer, reading spiritually uplifting words or writing. It may mean being in nature. The purpose of all spiritual practice is to reach in and touch the power that resides within you. Allow your inner wisdom to guide you in creating your personal spiritual practice. Begin the shaping of your personal spiritual journey with regular periods of contemplative silence. Take time to sit in silence and simply be.

Be

Let go of your mind. Your mind encourages duality and separation. Move into that serene space where you are one with the Tao, the Universe, the All-That-Is, whatever you call it. 

Listen to your intuition, that sudden understanding of a situation, that insight, that ah-ha moment   Learn to interpret your urges, that unexpected desire to turn left instead of right, or go up instead of down. Begin to live more deeply by following the guidance from the voice within.

My relationships have changed since I began listening more attentively to what people are saying, and using my intuition to hear what is unsaid. Being present helps me make certain my responses are appropriate for that particular moment. Mindful eating, mindful action and mindful listening are powerful catalysts for simply being. . Be present. Be aware Be compassionate.  Be.

Reflect

Your inner world is one of extraordinary perceptiveness. It is there that you receive insights that seem to come from nowhere; where you suddenly view circumstances from an unexpected perspective. The insights you receive are yours alone. They are for your singular interpretation, your personal use. Whether you journal, write poetry, paint, compose music, walk in nature, or sit in the sun, time spent in reflection is precious. Take time to question your beliefs. Why do you believe what you do? Do you still believe that? What values are important at this point in your life?  Reflection helps you become more self-aware.

Create specific times for reflection in your spiritual practice. Avoid distractions. As I simplify my life, it is easier for me to increase my spiritual awareness. It can be lonely, this journey of self. There is no one who is building his or her own spiritual path exactly like yours. Those who want to sing a deeper song are in a constant state of exploration, discovery and receptivity to change. A simple idea you develop or a phrase you explore can become major turning points in your life. Learn to dwell in the nothingness within, and let the response you find there guide you.

Shape your personal practice

Shape a spiritual practice that nurtures you.How you practice your self-cultivation is very personal. My spiritual path and personal growth have increased rapidly now that I am retired and can spend more time in self-cultivation. A new mudra deeepended my meditaion . A book taught me the form of Qi Gong I practice (The Way of Energy: Mastering the Chinese Art of Internal Strength with Chi Kung Exercise (A Gaia Original))., The poetry of Rumi and Gibran (The Prophet) have offered up insights that guide my life. I am inspired by Emerson’s Essay on Self-Reliance.   The Stephen Mitchell translation of the Tao Te Ching now shapes many of my life choices. I am guided by the books of Deng Ming-Dao. 365 Tao: Daily Meditations  Whatever works for you – do it. Combine a bit of study with meditation or journaling. Add moving meditation that opens your communication with your body. Write to figure things out for yourself. Shape your personal spiritual practice to fit your needs and your desire to deepen your song.

Develop perseverance and flexibility

Keep experimenting. Try different things at different times of the day. Try different versions of a concept. Journal your subtle progress.  Notice what works  Replace anything that doesn’t work. Cultivate patience,  planning and timing. Be aware of what shows up and use that experience as the ultimate teacher, creating and adjusting as you continually move forward. We need to nourish what we set in motion and adjust our course as needed.

Be Open

When we live mindfully in the present moment, we embrace the best of what each day offers. We stand tall on our spiritual path. We personally select all the beliefs, attitudes, responses and reactions that color and shape our lives. Whatever you do, do it to the fullest. Embrace it fully. Then go within and become aware of what you learned and how it helped you grow and what you want to do next.

Filed Under: Self Awareness, Self Cultivation Tagged With: personal growth, self-awareness, Spirituality

Another Name for God

September 19, 2013 By Cara Lumen

“There was something formless and perfect before the universe was born. It is serene. Empty. Solitary. Unchanging. Infinite. Eternally present. It is the mother of the universe. For lack of a better name, I call it Tao. It flows through all things, inside and outside, and returns to the origin of all things.” Thus begins verse 25 of the Tao Te Ching as translated by Stephen Mitchell.

It is impossible to name the “nameless” but what we call it influences how we see it.

“Tao” works for me. I do not picture a form. It actually means:”the Way.” All religions know that there is something unknowable at the core of it all.

However, the word “God” is limiting. It brings to mind an old man in the sky, or if you are a contemporary thinker, a woman. Although I have used this word most of life, the danger here is that we see God as a person with all the limitations that we know people to have. He may be a great person, but even than fact that it is “he” not “she” limits the concept. “God” is unlimited. Can we find other words to express the infinite vastness?

Words cannot describe God

The Tao Te Ching refers to Absolute One. I’ve used All-that-is, Source, Universal Mind – they are all human words and they limit our perception of the Infinite Unknown. To use a word to describe it is to separate us from knowing it. “Be aware of your own divine nature through direct connection with it,” says Master Ni, Hua-Ching in the Hua Hu Ching,

Where is God?

My comparative religion class my senior year in college was an eye-opener for me. I only knew Christianity. Suddenly I learned about other prevent religions in the world:, Buddhism, Confucianism Hinduism, Mohamadism, Judiasm and the many others like the Baha’i faith, Jainism, Sikhism, Shintoism, Taoism and Zoroastrianism, to mention just a few. And let’s not forget the religion of Native Americans. Chinese folk religions and Australian aboriginal religions No wonder I wondered why I thought my version of religion was “right.”

I always believed that God was within me and once I asked a former priest, “If you believe God is within and you get in trouble, what do you do? He said, “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.” Thus began a lifetime of self-responsibility. I’m not alone, I am a vessel of Source, but I am responsible for my thoughts, my words, and my actions.

I found many ways to understand my connection with this Infinite Source. I learned Transcendental Meditation, I mastered energy techniques like Reiki, I used Bach Flower Remedies. I found the work of Thomas Troward through the Center for Spiritual Living. He had identified the common concepts among the world’s great religions. What I read made sense to me. I became a spiritual practitioner, I taught, I embraced the self-responsibility for what my words and thoughts attracted.

And then I found Tao

Because “Tao” has no English meaning for me, it is a good word for me to use when contemplating the energy that is All-There-Is. You can see Tao in nature, the natural, inevitable cycles of birth and death, growth and harvest. It is the inner voice I find within and the smile on the face of a passing stranger.

In Deng Ming-Dao’s 365 Tao Meditation he says, “Tao has no definition, no limit, no personal or individual consciousness. Tao is great. Tao is eternal. Anything limited and small – even worship – disappears in it. One can only enter Tao to become a part of its limitlessness.”

We are Tao. We just have to understand that we are Tao.

See Tao in everyday life

Deng Ming-Dao tells the story of the flag outside of the general’s tent. If the general chooses to look, he would see the movement of the Tao in the movement of the flag. I began to look for Tao in the movement of the birch tree outside my window and the birds at my feeder. I see evidence of Tao as my cat follows his own rhythm of life. I become more aware of my actions. I practice mindfulness. I read and study.

Rumi’s description of Tao brought tears:

Only love.
Only the holder the flag fits into,
and wind. No flag.

Reside in your higher self

Your higher self is ever-present. You may seek silence in order to experience it. You may find your higher self in your love of another or the excitement of creativity. It may be in a sunset. Deng Ming-Dao says, “Only that master, who is your own higher self, can adequately answer all questions. Stephen Mitchell m in his translation of the Tao Te Ching (67) says, “Simple in actions and in thoughts, you return to the source of being.”

Where are you looking for God?

Begin by recognizing everything you experience is the work of this unnamable energy. Don’t try to name it. Words limit. Words can go no further than the boundaries of the human mind. This life force, this All-That-Is, this Tao is not human, it is infinite. Even the word “infinite” puts a human boundary on our perception. The Tao is everywhere, in everything – every rock, every drop of water, every plant, every animal, every person. It is in everything. The Tao is. Just as you are.

Deng Ming-Dao explains, “That which is absolute is formless. The Tao is nameless and faceless. We use the word Tao to refer to a deep mystery. We must leave the diversity of existence and find the formless absolute to reach the Tao.”

You must find your own path

Don’t follow what others have decided is right. Don’t do a ritual unless you have created it from your own heart. In his essay on Self-Reliance Emerson says, “Be it knows unto you that henceforward I obey no law less than the eternal law. I must be myself. I will so trust that what is deep is holy, that I will do strongly before the sun and moon whatever inly rejoices me and the heart appoints.”

Dare to be different. Dare to embrace what speaks to you. When you read something take only what resonates with you. When you discover something, adapt it to your inner longing. Create your own spiritual practice. Experiment. Explore. Be self-aware. Be mindful and compassionate. The Tao is always present within you. Release all concepts of self. Embrace the profound emptiness and silence within. Stay at the center of the circle and let all things take their course

Deng Ming-Dao in 365 Tao Daily Meditations says, “Those who follow the Tao seek to know themselves well. They believe that the outside world is only known in relation to an inner point of view. They would therefore establish self-knowledge before they tried to know others. Self cultivation is the basis for knowing the Tao.”

Words and labels separate us from oneness

Move your concept of God into a mystical perception. God is. God is everywhere. What can you call it that will bring it closer to your heart? Can you find another word for God?

In my search I am reading:

Tao Te Ching: A New English Version (Perennial Classics) Steven Mitchell translation

The Complete Works of Lao Tzu: Tao Teh Ching & Hua Hu Ching translated by Taoist Master, Ni, Hua-Ching.

The Second Book of the Tao, Stephen Mitchell

365 Tao: Daily Meditations Deng Ming-Dao

Everyday Tao: Living with Balance and Harmony, Deng Ming-Dao

The Living I Ching: Using Ancient Chinese Wisdom to Shape Your Life Deng Ming-Dao

Filed Under: Self Awareness, Spiritual Expansion Tagged With: personal growth, Self Mastery, self-awareness, Spirituality

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