Spirit/Spirituality

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Eupsychia Institute
PO Box 151960
Austin, TX 78715-1960

(800) 546-2795
Local (512) 327-2795
Fax (512) 327-6043

This word spirituality has been so confused with the word religion, its working definition used in this book deserves a moment of our attention. For us, spirituality connotes "an inner refining process." We adopt physicist John Hitchcock's definition that our spirituality is "an internal shaping force." Our spirituality is an immaterial "sprightliness." When we are filled with spirit, we feel that God is living us and we are living God. Spirituality is not an outcome; it is a process, one of becoming more likened unto our inner god-Image. To use our consciousness to become Self-aware (soul-dominated) is what we mean by spirituality. For me, becoming conscious and becoming spiritual are synonymous terms. I've seen that our spiritual life enlarges as we move continually toward a newer and greater morality, taking hold of our process of evolution and participating consciously.

Spirituality is not about being religious. A religion is an outer form that our spiritual lives can take, where we identify with or are fascinated by the traditions or theological beliefs that belong to a particular culture or group. The original meaning of the word religion was "to link back." Unfortunately, many religious people have lost this universal sense of the word and apply it only to their specific version of God and the nature of the universe.

People who seek spirituality through an inner pathway become knowers. This is what the word gnostic means, "the desire to know." People who seek spirituality in the outer world become theologians; they are believers. The latter often study about spirituality, but they may not have direct experiences with it. God is a concept to contemplate or study, not necessarily to experience. During an interview Carl Jung was asked, "Dr. Jung, do you believe in God?" And he answered, "No, I don't believe in God; I know God."

When people begin making the shift from believing, based on others' doctrines, to knowing, based on personal numinous inner spiritual experience, they often do not know if it is safe to speak out loud about this. And caution, is prudent. For, indeed, there are many people today who adhere to rigid beliefs and label all inner searching to be "of the devil." Great religious scholars have been excommunicated and silenced for bringing knowledge of the path of direct experience to others. Yet, in the Holy Bible, Jesus said to his disciples. "Ye shall do greater things than I." And St. Paul said that it is through the transformed mind that we will find spirit. Revelations states: "We shall all be changed in the twinkling of an eye."

ŠChrist told us over and over that we should walk the Way of the Christ, to unfold our own divinity as He modeled for us. So it would seem that it is biblical to say that we are all sons and daughters of God, and that we each have "our part" to do by becoming fully aware of our divinity while we are here in human form.

We've got to do some work to catch up to what the Self already knows about our nature. To begin, try to intuit the difference between being spiritual and being religious. If you will put this out to your Higher Self, you will begin to receive your answers about this important subject for the God-within. [excerpt from EMBODYING SPIRIT, pg. 96-98]

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