Spirituality and Religion

"The difference between religion and spirituality is religion is a heart led by the mind whereas spirituality is a mind led by the heart."

As we progress on this spiritual path, we see that this is a journey from the mind to the heart.  We can say that we try to operate out of the heart-mind rather than the ego-mind.  Religion is a form that was set up to take you into the Formless.  Religion consists of methods and all methods are traps.

If we get caught up in a method, even a spiritual practice, we miss the point and are trapped.  The point is to go beyond the method and learn to operate directly from your Self.  We learn there is not anything to do, that it is the ceasing of doing that brings us to God.

The paradox is that we need a method to give us a taste of the Divine.  The best thing that can happen is for us to immerse ourselves in that method and then for that method to fail us.  Then, we can abandon the method altogether if we wish and realize that the method itself is not needed.  Religion is a tool to bring us to God.  Yet it is not religion itself that brings us to God; it is God Herself.

That Spark of divinity within you instantly recognizes the Truth.  This realization comes from the heart, not the mind.  Of course, we can then participate in religion, if we wish, realizing it is but a tool we can use if we desire.  This is also not to say that spiritual people do not think.  Rather, our mind is a tool like religion that we may use if we desire.  We operate out of a place of feeling and expansiveness, of pure Love.

Religion attempts to give form to the Formless.  This is a necessary endeavor to attempt.  However, we must realize this.  We must not allow our minds to cling to the forms of religion and arise above it to connect directly to the One that is above all religions. 

Illusion of Control

"Once you learn to operate from your Self, your heart-mind, you are inside the will of God as, in this space, you are merged with the Divinity."

We have a tendency to think that we are in control in life. In fact, this is an illusion we are not. As with most truths in life, there is a paradox here. On one seeming end of the spectrum, there are those who say that life arises purely from our thoughts. Positive thought is like prayer and attracts positive things to us. On the other end, there are those who say we are subject only to the will of God. God alone has control and we must surrender to that. The truth is that both of these things are true.

However, it is easier to look at things from the side of our ego as, when we talk about control in life, we are usually talking about the ego. When I talk of the ego, I am talking about the mind. You are not in control of your life. The you in this case is your self (lower case "s"). To say you have control over your life, is to say that you can predict the future when, of course, you cannot. You do not know what the next second will bring as there are external circumstances that you are not in control of.

The fact that we are not in control of our lives is both frightening and liberating at the same time. We should give control of our life to the Unseen, because we are not in control anyways. Consciously giving up control is admitting that we are not in control.

Once that control has been given up, you are then ready to get it back. It was never lost anyways. Giving your control to the Unseen is also giving control back to your Self. It is from your Self, your heart-mind, that the positive thoughts arise. The affirmations, faith, positivity, and love all come from your Self.

The clencher is that we wait around for the will of God. Yet, do you not see that God is waiting for You? Once you learn to operate from your Self, your heart-mind, you are inside the will of God as, in this space, you are merged with the Divinity. Your purpose in life is then that which makes You happy, the dreams that You have that you gave up long ago. You know you are operating from a centered, eternal perspective when your focus is on co-creating and you are not attached to the outcome. You positively expect that the Universe will grant your every wish yet do not get attached if this does not happen.