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\u2018Spiritually independent.\u2019 That\u2019s what a man called himself in response to my article about dropping the \u2018not religious\u2019 label<\/a>.<\/p>\n My first reaction was to nod in agreement.<\/p>\n Yeah,<\/em> I thought, instead of being \u2018spiritual but not religious,\u2019 declaring spiritual independence makes sense. Standing outside of institutions, thinking for yourself, choosing passages to live by, rejecting outdated teachings\u2026 all of those are hallmarks of independence.<\/em><\/p>\n Since I read Thinking, Fast and Slow<\/em> by Daniel Kahneman, I\u2019ve trained myself to take my initial reactions with a grain of salt. Those are my \u2018fast\u2019 responses, based on mental shortcuts and predetermined ways of thinking. In contrast, thinking \u2018slow\u2019 allows me to examine ideas from more than one perspective.<\/p>\n Often, I\u2019ll agree with my initial reactions; other times, I\u2019ll reconsider.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s what I did in this case.<\/p>\n The more I thought about what it meant to be spiritually independent, the less it made sense to me.<\/p>\n It goes back to why I dropped the \u2018not religious\u2019<\/a> label in the first place.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t because I was running back into the churches and temples, not because I embraced the institutions or the politics that came with those, nor because of my extreme need for conformity.<\/p>\n No.<\/p>\n I dropped the \u2018not religious\u2019<\/a> label because I realized that without preservation<\/em>, only a few of the spiritual truths I hold dear today would have entered my consciousness. I realized that I am indebted to scriptures and oral traditions alike. Without them, I would not be where I am today.<\/p>\n Spirituality is a personal journey, an inner exploration of sorts, but it is highly influenced by ideas and beliefs.<\/p>\n For example, why would someone go into a cave for twelve years unless they believed that doing so might reveal something?<\/p>\n There are beliefs and ideas behind every spiritual practice and ritual; if you do this, then this. This means that, even though a person is on an individual journey, they are most likely following a map or trying something because they heard, saw, or read about it somewhere.<\/p>\n One of the misconceptions we labored under in the New Age movement was that we were doing something new. In fact, we were mostly borrowing from other traditions. My extensive research has corroborated this. Everything we are doing today in the spiritual realm, even though the combinations may be different, has been done in some form in the past.<\/p>\n Sidenote: What irked me most about New Age teachers was when they presented me with their ideas as new truths and paradigms; then, I found out later that they were merely rephrasing ideas from ancient scriptures or oral traditions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Isaac Newton famously said: \u201cIf I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.\u201d<\/em> Granted, he was writing about the evolution of science, not spirituality, but the same principle applies.<\/p>\n Without laborious notes from spiritual explorers, especially in the mystical traditions of Yoga (Hinduism), Sufism (Islam), Kabbalism (Judaism), and Mysticism (Christianity), we would not have the same spiritual understanding that we have today.<\/p>\n What sets the present age apart from other times is that we have unprecedented access to everything that has come before. We can study ideas and traditions from every part of the world and every age, truly standing on the shoulders of giants.<\/p>\n My conclusion is that we are more spiritually interdependent than independent.<\/p>\n Take language, for example. As I sit here thinking and typing, I am using a socially constructed tool. I did not create language, yet I cannot think without it. My thinking is interdependent.<\/p>\n And the more I think (interdependently), the more I realize that all spirituality is interdependent in one way or another. Humans are communal beings. We cannot help but be influenced by each other.<\/p>\n Look. I get it. I come from a small island originally inhabited by Vikings seeking their independence. Being fiercely independent is a part of my DNA. All my life, I have sought spiritual autonomy. It pains me to have to admit that I am interdependent, but I can\u2019t unsee what I\u2019ve seen through this contemplation. The cat is out of the bag.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a realization that adds to my list of spiritual paradoxes. We are simultaneously independent and interdependent beings. In our aloneness, we are together, and when we are together, we are alone.<\/p>\n Acknowledging interdependence<\/em> leaves room for independent<\/em> thoughts and experiences, but it\u2019s more like cooking than 3-D printing. In cooking, we use the ingredients we already have access to creatively, whereas 3-D printing allows us to create anything from scratch.\u00a0In spirituality, we have the ingredients of body, mind, spirit, language, and the thoughts, insights, and beliefs that have come before. Being spiritually independent means using those interdependent ingredients independently.<\/p>\n Plus, our experiences will always be our own.<\/p>\n Gudjon Bergmann Recommended books:<\/p>\n Picture: CC0 License<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u2018Spiritually independent.\u2019 That\u2019s what a man called himself in response to my article about dropping the \u2018not religious\u2019 label. My first reaction was to nod in agreement. Yeah, I thought, instead of being \u2018spiritual but not religious,\u2019 declaring spiritual independence makes sense. Standing outside of institutions, thinking for yourself, choosing passages to live by, rejecting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3046,"featured_media":2293,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,11],"tags":[793,799,802],"class_list":["post-2290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spiritual-practice","category-spirituality","tag-spiritual-but-not-religious","tag-spiritually-independent","tag-spiritually-interdependent"],"yoast_head":"\nNot So Fast<\/h2>\n
Why I Dropped the \u2018Not Religious\u2019 Label<\/h2>\n
A Personal Journey<\/h2>\n
Nothing New Under the Sun<\/h2>\n
Standing On the Shoulder of Giants<\/h2>\n
We Are Interdependent<\/h2>\n
Spiritual Paradox<\/h2>\n
\n<\/em>Author and Mindfulness Teacher
\nAmazon Author Profile<\/a><\/p>\n\n