So religion usually provides a structure in the form of buildings,
A community,
A holy book or a doctrine,
And is connected often to a spiritual practice,
Meaning prayer.
Certain forms of prayers that are given by the holy book,
There are holy days,
Sometimes there's certain clothing that's connected to it,
Certain rules and rituals.
Divinity per se is less strictly defined,
The divine is not necessarily connected to a person,
But to a universe,
To a great spirit,
To creation,
And sometimes to a field of potentiality which is not manifest,
Versus a creator which may have a particular name.
There is a beautiful quote by the Japanese poet Matsuo Basho,
And he says,
Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise,
Seek what they sought.
And that basically means don't follow a person or a particular religion or structure,
But seek what they are teaching.
Follow the teachings,
Follow the guidelines and the philosophy of what they offer.
Because people will always let you down.
Even spiritual leaders,
Even people who seem to have their stuff together,
At some point they will behave a certain way or say certain things that are not aligned with your values,
And then you feel let down.
So in order to have that full experience,
This poet advises to follow the teachings rather than the teachers.
Of course,
Human beings will too always provide lessons,
So it's okay to have a spiritual leader and it's okay to feel let down to a degree if they completely demoralize you,
And it's clearly not your person.
But human failings,
To whatever degree is tolerable to you,
Is human and is normal in spiritual teachers as well.
Another aspect of religion versus spirituality is that in religion the divine is often sought outside of the self,
In the form of God or goddess,
Whereas in spirituality the divine is a part of yourself.
You have a part within you that some traditions call soul or the larger self that is divine already and cannot be destroyed.
And another definition in religion versus spirituality is that there's often prayer.
In religion there are certain prayers,
And in spirituality there is an intention that is being set.
We set the intention that we want to manifest a certain thing,
So it is much more self-driven,
Much more coming from the power center of the individual that then connects to the greater field of interconnectedness.
What all traditions,
Spiritual or religious,
Have in common is that love,
Acceptance,
And compassion is the major premise.
And everyone is invited to let go of control and to allow the divine to have a more prominent role in your life.
So that brings us to our meditation.
I invite you to get into a relaxed position and close your eyes and begin to breathe deeply.
Notice your body,
How does your body feel today?
Notice your mind,
What kind of thoughts are running through your mind right now?
And tap into your heart space,
How does it feel to become aware of heart and to be accepting of everything your body,
Mind,
And heart is presenting at this moment?
And now become aware of Source,
Your Source.
What does it look like?
What does it feel like to be in its presence?
What does the exchange feel like between Source and yourself?
How do you relate to it?
And really feel the energy coming from Source,
Filling your entire body and consciousness.
And really feel Source energy expanding in your body and around your entire body.
And for a moment ask yourself,
How does your relationship to the world around you,
To people and nature look like when you are in connection with Source?
What do you want this connection to Source,
This connection to the people and nature around you?
What do you want it to be?
And become aware,
What is your most important principle of life?
What is the most important thing you want to create for it to come into being?
Where do you want to focus your prayers,
Your energy to manifest?
Express gratitude to Source and everything that feeds and nurtures you.
Take a couple of long,
Deep breaths and when you're ready,
Open your eyes.
