Spirituality, Religion & Metaphysics

Recorded during Mary Teresa’s meditation class. A talk about Spirituality vs Religion. A discussion about understanding the differences between outward seeking beliefs and the inward journey of self-discovery and collective compassion. Join Mary in seeking an understanding of these terms as well as the world of Metaphysics.

Transcript

So for today's class,

We'll be talking about religion versus spirituality in our quest for our stillness.

And I wanted to talk about these two things today because it's something we really want to compare and when we take a look at it,

We can really see what makes most sense for us.

For thousands and thousands of years,

Humanity has always pursued what the truth is,

With a capital T,

The ultimate answers to life and to the universe.

This knowledge constitutes the answers of what we often call our soul questions,

Like questions like,

Who am I,

What do I want,

What's my purpose and what's the meaning of everything.

Historically,

From this perspective of the soul,

There have been two foundational roots to discover these truths,

Religion and spirituality.

Although they have many similarities,

There are differences between religion and spirituality.

So by definition,

Religion is a personal set of institutionalized systems of religious attitudes.

We want to talk about attitudes,

Beliefs,

Practices,

The service and the worship of a god or a supernatural,

Something beyond or out there.

Spirituality,

On the other hand,

Is really the experience of connection to something larger than us,

Something living everyday life in a reverent and sacred matter.

It could be something that we always take a look at what our connectedness is to the moment,

The moment right now,

To self,

To others,

To natures,

But it's that connection that we have that makes everything so significant.

So what are the origins of religions and spirituality?

Religion are most based on the lives,

Teachings and beliefs of historical and larger figures like Christ,

Buddha,

Moses,

Krishna,

Mohammed.

The details of their lives are holy and highly evolved beings have been carried to us across the mists of time through the oral tradition and written sculptures.

These figures are the subject of worship and devotion and the form of foundation and religious practices and rituals.

Spirituality is really often more based on the practical application of those founders' teachings,

Spiritual people who aspire to be Christ-like,

Buddha-like,

Want to move into what they're thinking about as far as their deep beliefs in spirituality and how they connect with others.

Sometimes these lines blur,

These definitions get kind of different and they cross over each other.

You may know people who consider themselves spiritual but not religious.

And you might also know individuals who are devoutly religious but aren't very spiritual at all.

So let's take a look at these two things from an objective and subjective experience.

Religion on the whole,

A formal religion,

Is often an objective experience.

In other words,

There is usually a greater focus on the external.

External is the house of worship such as churches and buildings that we're looking at.

Books of scripture want to take a look at what they're reading.

External rituals and observances of certain times of year and holidays,

Those kind of things.

This is the equivalent of object referral in which your attention is placed upon the objects in your experience,

So outwardly.

Spirituality,

However,

Leans more to self-referral or the internalization of your awareness of your soul.

Spirituality is an inward journey that involves a shift in awareness rather than from an external activity.

And so spirituality is much more about inner understanding,

What's going on inside of us.

It's not to say that worship is not a part of spirituality.

It's just that it's a matter of devotion and worship and how they are directed.

So one is the external practice and one goes to your soul,

Higher self,

Or divinity within.

So religion can be organized.

One of the hallmarks of religion is its organization,

How it's structured and frequently rule-based and to some degree governs the behavior of its members.

Moral rules,

Laws,

Doctrines,

As well as specific codes,

Criteria,

Dogma,

That kind of thing.

That's what we really see in religion belief system.

It isn't really a bad thing.

In previous more uncertain time,

The rules really helped organize people and give society a sense of certainty and really did help them guide and comfort these people where faith was actually lacking.

Spirituality though breaks free from the restrictions and the rigid structures sometimes associated with traditional religion.

The spiritual person working for that greater gift recognizes that he or she is on a pathless path of self-discovery.

They are following not a self of outward external rules,

But their own inner calling to spirit.

And in this way,

Spirituality can sometimes feel like a rebellious act,

Sometimes solo.

And you might sometimes feel like you're leaving a tribe or leaving people behind.

So it can be difficult.

The traditional versus the evolutionary approach.

Religion due to their centuries and old,

Old religious histories by nature are often rooted deeply in tradition,

Ritual,

Creed,

That kind of thing.

Religious institutions conservatively guard their practices and values,

Holding rightly to the past and the original interpretations of the founder's teaching.

Of course,

This is understandable in that all religions wish to preserve the essence of the teachings so that they may accurately be remembered throughout history.

Spirituality by comparison is often less focused on the right traditional approach and often favors an evolutionary mentality.

This refers to both a more flexible and adaptive mindset towards core teaching and the great wisdom traditions,

But also reflects the understanding that,

As the name implies,

Spiritual growth is an evolutionary process.

Spirituality embraces change and the evolution of consciousness.

With spiritual practice,

Ideas and interpretations change as individuals,

Societies,

And the world move forward.

Let us continue to take a look at the traditional religion belief systems.

They're sometimes rather rigid.

Their key teachings can create an exclusive worldview that isolates those who may not share those views or interpretation.

And sometimes there's the religious in-group kind of idea versus the exclusion,

And that could be of maybe some minorities,

Some people not in their group.

While spirituality really doesn't make any distinctions,

Instead spirituality is inclusive of all people and all recognized in the pure spirit that is unifying force,

So no one is left out.

You are a part of that universal good,

Anyone,

Gods,

Goddesses,

All people.

You are a part of everything when we talk about spirituality.

In other words,

A form of spiritual perspective.

No one has a monopoly on the truth,

And we are always open for more.

Religion at its core is about faith.

So the belief in something based upon unconditional acceptance of religious teachings is what we're looking for.

Unlike scientific worldview,

Religions don't require evidence to validate their claim.

Through religion,

You are taught to have faith in God or the Scriptures as being the infallible and ultimate truth of reality.

Acceptance and surrender to the divine are taught as the path that leads to ultimate salvation.

Spirituality doesn't dismiss faith.

However,

It often leans more heavily on direct experience of the soul or divinity.

Practices such as meditation,

Yoga,

Silence,

Stillness,

Contemplation allow us to make a conscious contact with more expanded states of that consciousness,

Thus helping us all to experience and validate these teachings rather than accepting them just on faith alone.

So fear versus love.

Despite the best intentions,

Religion can sometimes contain a subtle,

Or maybe not so subtle,

Undercurrent of fear woven into their teachings.

The concepts of original sin,

Divine judgment,

God's wrath,

Or eternal punishment could create a mental environment burdened in worry and anxiety over your worthiness and whether your actions will result in divine retribution or will you go to heaven.

Your fate is in the afterlife,

Can loom like a specter in the back of your mind.

We don't want to go there.

Spirituality by contrast typically discards these vestiges of fear and worry in favor of a more loving,

Compassionate approach to life and death.

Spirituality embraces a consciousness-based worldview that supports all being on their path to awakening in unconditional love.

Your choices and behavior are guided not by fear of punishment,

But rather by a desire to end suffering and create a peaceful and loving world for all.

And as you can see,

There are noticeable distinctions between spirituality and religion.

However,

These comparisons aren't meant to be absolute or an attempt to polarize one against the other.

Practice and spiritual beliefs differ in ways in which they are practiced.

However,

Each practice serves as a vehicle to lead you closer to your truth,

The truth that you are seeking.

Whichever path or combination of the two you follow is very personal and very subjective to your journey of awakening.

I want to quote that this was inspired by Adam Brady of Chopra.

Com.

Wonderful words about religion and spirituality.

I also wanted to today go over what metaphysics is.

We in New Thought and in the Unity Movement work with metaphysics.

And I thought that comparing both religion and spirituality,

It would be a really good idea to bring up what metaphysics is within New Thought.

And this comes from Wikipedia.

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the fundamental nature of reality,

Including the relationship between mind and matter,

Between substance and attribute,

And between potentially and actuality.

The word metaphysics really comes from two Greek words that together literally mean after or behind or among.

And it may have been coined,

They're pretty sure that it was coined in the first century by people in the selections of what Aristotle was working on at the time.

And it was called after physics,

Actually.

So I always have thought,

You know,

My simple definition of metaphysics was just whatever is beyond the physical.

And I thought it was interesting when I was doing some research and got this from the University of Sedona talks about metaphysics.

And I think this is an excellent recap of this.

Metaphysics acknowledges and respects the beauty of all of God's creation,

Whatever you consider God to be.

Metaphysics is a religion without dogma.

So that's interesting when we talk about religion and its rules,

Rights,

And those kind of things.

Metaphysics does not explore religious beliefs and laws created by man,

But rather it explores the immutable laws of nature set by the creator,

God,

Universal presence,

Whatever you want to call.

I love the term universe.

Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that studies the ultimate nature of existence,

Reality,

And experience without being bound to any one theological doctrine or dogma.

It also includes all religions and transcends none of them.

Oh,

Excuse me.

It includes all religions but transcends them all.

Metaphysics is also the study of the ultimate cause of the universe.

And metaphysics is the only science capable of inquiring beyond physical and human science.

So in today's world,

The word metaphysics has become a description of many fields of interest.

When one expresses an interest in metaphysics,

That interest may be in any one or a combination of the following of some of these subjects.

Could be religion,

Philosophy,

Mysticism,

Yoga,

The study of dreams,

Transpersonal,

Theology,

Astrology,

Meditation,

Self-help guides,

Positive thinking,

Life after death,

Mysticism,

And even reincarnation.

But the common denominator of these and all similar subjects,

Of course,

Deal with the exploration of reality and in the idealistic sense how such knowledge may benefit human life on this earth,

Both individually and collectively.

If then this is the aim of such interest,

It is why most professional metaphysical practitioners regard metaphysics as a spiritual philosophy or way of life.

And I like to consider our stillness a way of life.

So in today's understanding of religion,

Spirituality,

And metaphysics,

May you understand and may you contemplate these things to take it into yourself and let yourself understand,

Seek,

And resonate with whatever works for you.

We thank the universe and I thank you today.

Reviews

Thanks! So helpful for me to have this clear explanation. 💗🙏

Good explanation

I appreciate that

Thank you 💚

Excellent explanation of the religion and spiritualty. Thank you.💖🙏