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Religion is for the religious, not for the spiritually-inclined. It is for those who are more interested in carrying out religious rituals and rites, and looking good in the eyes of others, than in having a one-on-one relationship with the infinite intelligence of the universe, which we know as God. To be religious, all a person must do is acquire a superficial understanding of any man-made religion (and all religion is, of course, man-made) to fit in. Such understanding by sanctimonious individuals will never lead beyond a superficial knowledge and understanding of religion, much less to a true knowledge and understanding of a loving God.

Men start wars in the name of religion. The Crusades of the Middle Ages were started in the name of religion; so was the war (or jihad, a holy war undertaken as a sacred duty by Muslims) waged by al-Qaeda against America. How can any religion that starts wars have any connection to God? That is absurd and ludicrous.

The spiritual is for those who seek the truth. It is for those who are troubled by religious dogma; for those who find holes, contradictions, and problems with such religious and fanatical teachings. The spiritual is for those who constantly ask "why." Why doesn't this religious teaching sound right to me? Why are there contradictions in this teaching? Why do I feel uncomfortable with what I am hearing? Why doesn't this make sense to me? Such questions will the spiritually-inclined person ask. Such person will question established religious dogma, and, in doing so, will start on the path of spiritual enlightenment.

To be spiritual, one must have a desire to know the truth. "Know the truth and the truth will set you free," the good book reads. But, what is the truth? The truth is, to meet, we require no mediator between us and God. We need not religion to lead us to God. What we need is a burning desire to know God - and it is that burning desire which will lead us directly to God. Why do we not truly know God now? Because religion has actually worked toward pulling us away from God, rather than bringing us closer to God.

Furthermore, to be spiritual, one must be willing to step off the beaten path of religious dogma in search of the truth. It takes courage to undertake this journey. But do this we must if we are to ever truly understand God, and if we want to know what God really is. If we truly desire to know God, then we must undertake that journey. God is not a white bearded man up in the heavens. In fact,

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