ECOTRAIN QUESTION OF THE WEEK SEASON 9: WHAT DOES SPIRITUALITY MEAN?

I'm happy to be participating in the first Ecotrain Question of the Week for this year which happens to be a great topic - SPIRITUALITY.

A large number of people often use the words "spirituality" and "religion" interchangeably, but they are different concepts. The reason for using them interchangeably may be because the most popular form of spirituality that is well-known in the world is that which is from religion.

Photo by Jared Rice from Unsplash

Spirituality have to do with one's soul and inner self. Whereas religion is associated with a larger group of people. Spirituality can be practiced in isolation because it has to do with embracing one's personal belief while in the quest of understanding one's life purpose. On the other hand, religion have to do with an institution that consists of a larger group of people with a set of beliefs and practices that is often passed from one set of people to another over the years. In Christianity, for instance, there are rules and regulations that guides the actions, thoughts and behavior of Christians which are documented in the Bible.

Spirituality as a concept is different from persons to persons due to the fact that we have different personal experiences and we react to them through self-reflection in different ways. The main aim of the concept of spirituality is to discover the inner strength, power and energy to fight all the challenges of life and to be in sync that which is greater than oneself. You can belong to a religious group and not be spiritual, and you can belong to a religious group and be spiritual. Spirituality in religion has to do with your personalized experience and interconnectedness with the being that is greater than you.

Spirituality is a wider scope than religion. In other words, religion is a concept that is under spirituality. It is easy to understand the rudiments of religion because it is well defined. Religion has guidelines that must be followed and there are religious leaders who ensure the smooth flow of the practices and also adherence to all the rules and regulations. The leaders also ensure the observance of the religious practices such as presiding over church services for Christians on Sunday, Muslims on Friday and so on.

Meanwhile, spirituality is practiced by oneself without the inclusion of any group of people as evident in religious practices. This is the reason why some people practice their spirituality through Yoga, and spending time with nature among others. These practices enable a person to get deep into their thoughts and understand the deeper meaning of things. A spiritual person who is also religious at the same time can select the values that they believe from what religion have to offer to create their own set of beliefs that they follow in life.

One good thing about spirituality is that there is no limitation or restrictions to one's beliefs. A spiritual person develops day by day as they learn more about their spiritual through quiet moments in the comfort of their houses or with nature or during yoga sessions. Spirituality opens the inner eyes of people to see different ways of doing things and encourages people to listen to their inner voice on new ways to live a great life. There are no set of rules or guidelines that binds a spiritual person because they develop themselves through their personal experiences in life.