I’ve been guided to go back to the roots of my column and write more about spirituality and the difference between spirituality and religion. It’s amazing how when you put ‘stuff’ out there…ideas, wants, dreams, desires…they come back and are answered for you. Well just like that, it happened to me tonight as I sat down to write my article. I’ve been thinking about it all day. I even stopped at the labyrinth on my way home and walked it for guidance and ideas. Low and behold, just as I was sitting down to ‘think’ about my article in front of my computer, I clicked on Facebook and a message came up that Wendy Joy was going to be on John Fortuna’s Facets of Enlightenment online radio program which highlights Bellesprit’s Diamond Psychics. I’m ashamed to say that I had never tuned in to this particular show until tonight. Now, as I don’t believe in coincidences, I have to believe that I was completely guided to this 2 hour program, which just so happened to discuss the differences between spirituality and religion.

I was frantically making notes and without going back to listen to the show again, I’m not sure just who said what, but you’ll get the gist of where this is going. Essentially spirituality is personal evolvement; it’s what is right for you. Religion, on the other hand, as I’m guided to explain, offers a specific set of beliefs and structures to help people attune to their innate spirituality. Spirituality offers no right or wrong, it’s individualistic. Each individual comes here with their own set of gifts and offerings in order to be of service to others, and it’s based on experiences, from this life and all previous incarnations.

Religion can be seen as a pathway that leads to God. The pathway is not God, but in the best and highest intentions it would lead people closer to God. All true religious paths and teachings came into existence through divine inspiration and revelation, the spark of God’s love and light that opens a pathway for God’s presence to be seen and felt more directly. Spirituality is a more general term that includes religion but that also encompasses the general human impulse to reach out towards the greater whole of which we all are a part. Spirituality is not a clear path; you begin to see things differently, and it will come when you are ready.

Spirituality is also the faith that things will be taken care of and balancing your place in the Universe. Religion has faith but there is such a dogma to it all. There are rules and things that must be understood. Everything has its place and everything has its time, but when you think of religion, what feelings do you get? With me, I was baptized under the United Presbyterian and Methodist Ministry (in my small village, they combined due to decreasing congregation sizes). First word that comes to mind is stuffy. There were always rules…stand at the beginning of a hymn, sit during a sermon, don’t fall asleep, sit up straight, don’t fidget, and don’t forget who’s sitting next to whom or eyeing whom because you never know who’s sleeping with whom. Ok, so it wasn’t quite that bad, but it was a room full of judgment. Those casual looks, stares down the bridge of the nose, looks and peers over the spectacles. People who are spiritual don’t do that, or at least they try not to because they know that it won’t get them further on their path. God is the only one who can judge. No one else has the right to. We all have to go through certain lessons to get to where we are destined to be so it’s unfair to judge others or for others to judge us. I’ve always said, “You can’t judge anyone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes”.

In order to achieve the growth needed for each of us to ascend to our enlightenment, our number one goal should be to make as much growth as possible. Our biggest soul growth comes from overcoming fears. Around a full moon is the perfect time to release those fears. You can read more about techniques to do this in my June article, Forgiveness Is a Gift You Give Yourself. If you are involved in or are a member of a certain religion or religious group and when you sit quietly and think about that religion…..think Christianity….think Catholicism…think Judaism….whatever the case may be, if when you think about your religion you get a tightness in your body, like a wound, it’s most likely an energy block that you need to look into, look underneath it, what’s causing it, and then you need to clear it. Often times it’s necessary to see a healer for this kind of work.

If you’re one of those people searching for answers and you go from one psychic to the next and you’re getting the same reading, it’s because your energy is stuck. You need to clear your ‘channel.’ It’s like your own wavelength that leads you directly to God. Bag up your old belief systems, bag up the things that have blinded you for so long, bag up those energy blocks, clear it out and make room for your purpose. Once you clear your channel and let go of your ‘stuff’ amazing things will happen. Fear keeps you stuck, love lets you live.

Whenever you do not understand what’s happening in your life, just close your eyes, take a deep breath and say God, I know it’s your plan, just help me through it. ~Alberto Casing

It often helps when you’re feeling stuck to clean out your closet…literally. Go through your closet, your basement, your attic. If you’ve got clothes that you haven’t worn in awhile or you’re trying to lose a few pounds to get back into that perfect outfit, get rid of them. Give them to good will, a friend in need, or have a yard sale and make some extra cash. Let me tell you, it’s an awesome feeling!! I just moved in July. I’d been in the same place for 3 years prior to that. As I unpacked, if I hadn’t seen it or used it or wore it in 3 years it went in the sale. It was extremely successful and what a weight I felt lifted from my shoulders.

God has a reason for allowing things to happen. We may never understand His wisdom, but we simply have to trust His will. ~ Unknown

Cleaning out the clutter that you live with daily will help you clear out the clutter of your soul. Through our many life experiences we have baggage that we’ve collected. Clearing this out will help you move forward on your spiritual path to your destiny. As I have done this, I have had the ‘weight of the world’ lifted off my shoulders. I am able to concentrate more and focus more. I receive messages from my guides and angels more frequently and readily because I’ve cleared that channel to God, and I meditate more…spending that quiet time to just be…part of the Oneness. All of this has also allowed me to open my heart to give love and spread the light that I have been blessed with.

Love is all that matters. It is the essence of your soul. ~ Gannon Carr

May you overcome every darkness you face in your life with the light of your soul. ~ Prem Tihan

As I was trying to bring this article to culmination, searching for the right words, I came across this lovely quote on Facebook…

You are more beautiful than any mirror could every show you, more loved than you could ever imagine, more respected than you realize, more precious than gold, and your soul is as endless as infinity, and all of life’s mysteries dwell in your imagination. You are as unique as your fingerprint. God made only one of you, why then do you ever doubt yourself? You are a living miracle. Believe all of this and all that you desire will be yours…..just believe. ~ Glenn Gannon

Have faith…have faith that you are loved, that you are deserving of all the wonderments of being a child of God, created in his likeness, to be, do, and have everything that you have ever dreamed of having, and to be everything that you have ever wanted to be.

Below is a prayer that I also found on Facebook that I want to share with you.

So until next time, all my light and love. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to send me a message on Facebook or drop me an email.

Email: magictouchhealing@gmail.com
Web Site: www.magictouchhealing.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MagicTouchHealing
Find out more about my sources for this article below:
Bellesprit Facets of Enlightenment:
http://achieveradio.com/bellesprit/
Wendy Joy:
http://www.facebook.com/wendyjoyauthor

Are Your Spiritual Beliefs Structured Or Free Flowing by Lisa Smith-McCready Read about it in Bellesprit Magazine goo.gl/Ibur4

— BellespritMagazine (@BellespritMagaz) September 9, 2012