by Mark Bearing

Created on: February 07, 2010   Last Updated: February 22, 2010

Spirituality is the feeling that there is something out there that is bigger than us and that it has some measure of control in our lives. Therefore, this "spirit" deserves some respect. Being spiritual means accepting that there is something more than humans and creatures and plants on Earth and that we might be able to live more fulfilling and less disastrous lives if we can become more in tune with this spirit. 

This may sound like an opinion, but it is really just a way to open up the reasons for the different manifestations of spirituality that are seen around the world. Some people feel that to become more spiritual we must do whatever we can do reduce our impact on this planet and live "green". Some believe that spirituality is best achieved through respecting their bodies and living as healthy as possible. Others feel that giving back to their communities after achieving fortune is the best way to become in tune with whatever encompassing force exists in their life.

It is important to mention religion when talking about spirituality. This is because many that consider themselves religious look down upon those calling themselves spiritual. These people either do not believe that there is a difference between the two or maybe they just don't believe that there is anything other than religion. Religion, for clarification, is, at its core, about building safe and prosperous communities through structure and honestly...fear. "Follow the rules and life will go your way, break the rules and you might be on your own". In most religions, gods and spirits are manifested as humans or in some human form. It helps religious followers to know that the gods they pray to were once one of them, or at least in their most perfect form, would be one of them. It helps us all to have role models that we have something in common with.

Returning to spirituality though, the respect mentioned earlier is extremely important. All true believers in spirituality believe in someway that there is some greater purpose. And if there is some "greater being", some omnipotent, omniscient force out there that can affect our lives, we have an obligation to do our best to make sure that it is acting in our favor. So we live our lives as best we know we can to show respect to whatever is out there and make an effort to do what we believe is right. In this way we might achieve some kind of balance in our lives and not be such a contributing factor to all the negative events taking place all over everyday.

So call yourself religious or agnostic or whatever in between, you can still be spiritual and not become dependent on either or any of those labels. Spirituality is just about believing that the choices we make and the actions we take today can lay the foundation for a better tomorrow.

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