![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/81\/2013\/02\/pilgrim-seeing-through.jpeg\" "\\"pilgrim")
<\/a>\nNow don\u2019t get me wrong, I have problems with the term. For one, etymologically it makes no sense, the terms are for all practical purposes synonyms. For another, using the word \u201cspiritual\u201d to stand for the good stuff in religion and \u201creligious\u201d to stand for the yucky, hierarchical, bullshit parts of religion begs the question of which really is which.<\/p>\n
And so I\u2019ve been known to say I\u2019m religious but not spiritual. Stir the pot a little.<\/p>\n
Still\u2026<\/p>\n
There are sufficient problems with religions, organized and otherwise, that trying to sort the wheat from the chaff is a worthy project.<\/p>\n
Or, it could be put that there are sufficient worthy parts of religions, organized and otherwise, that trying to sort the wheat from the chaff is a worthy project.<\/p>\n
So, how can one be spiritual but not religious? Spiritual but not religious in a meaningful way\u2026<\/p>\n
First, what\u2019s the problem? Nice to know that before going too far after the fix.<\/p>\n
Shunryu Suzuki once observed how \u201clife is like stepping onto a boat that is about to sail out to sea and sink.\u201d I want my religion to deal with that reality. I suggest you might want to, as well.<\/p>\n
We look out into the world we live in and the folk in leadership in our local religions are the main one\u2019s claiming to know what\u2019s what. Here\u2019s a bit of spiritual but not religious advice:<\/p>\n
People parading around as authorities need to be viewed with utmost suspicion. Here\u2019s a simple rule of thumb, nothing anyone does or title they get makes them other than human. <\/p>\n
We don\u2019t need no stinking badges. <\/p>\n
Or, rather, badges aren\u2019t enough. At best what they say is that the person wearing them has been at the project a long time and someone thought they deserved the badge \u2013 excepting, of course, those who found one in a cracker jacks box.<\/p>\n
Sometimes it isn\u2019t a person, but a book. Now, I try not to mock people who put their faith blindly in books of ancient or modern authority for no better reason than someone or a lot of people claim it to be the word of God, but I\u2019m not going to join their club. There have to be real reasons the book is supposed to be a guide, and the person selling it should be able to explain it in a way that doesn\u2019t offend reason or compassion.<\/p>\n
This is all commonly understood among the spiritual but not religious. And good on them for not being tricked. <\/p>\n
Although people and books in their naked presence can be pointers for us, and that shouldn\u2019t be missed, either.<\/p>\n
But, let\u2019s focus, kids. Dumping bishops and synods and holy books isn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n
For instance, lots and lots of people who are critical about organized religion let their critical faculties drop when it comes to health. And they call it spiritual.<\/p>\n
Personally I have no interest in spiritualities that are intended to replace science or nutrition or medicine. I\u2019ll take double blind testing in those realms over any number of anecdotes about, well, to go into much more detail will offend too many of my friends. This is one of the bigger traps for the spiritual but not religious. If it is spiritual it is supposed to be beyond testing. Ain\u2019t no such thing. These medical\/nutritional\/medical assertions stand or fall on efficacy, and efficacy can be tested. To make a health claim as spiritual and then waltz into a song and dance referencing to string theory or some other jumbled up confusion about physics is just more of the religion that spiritual should replace.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t be fooled.<\/p>\n
Focus.<\/p>\n
Want to be spiritual without being religious? Well, here\u2019s the deal.<\/p>\n
Life is like stepping onto a boat that is about to sail out to sea and sink.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a ton of stuff in spirituality and religion that attempts to deal with this issue. <\/p>\n
And some of it is worthy.<\/p>\n
So, if we\u2019re not bowing to authority, and we\u2019re not being sidetracked, how do we figure out what\u2019s what?<\/p>\n
I think we can do some pre-sorting. Reason is a wonderful thing. Just be sure to question your premises before going too far into it.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve also telegraphed another pointer that\u2019s worked for me. And it might for you.<\/p>\n
Henry Thoreau was on his deathbed and was being badgered by a loved one about his faith and his belief in a hereafter.<\/p>\n
His response is a rule of thumb for the spiritual but not religious:<\/p>\n
One world at a time.<\/p>\n
If all they can offer is the sweet by and bye, I suggest it isn\u2019t worth the time.<\/p>\n
So ask.<\/p>\n
Is what is on offer of use here and now? Or, at least, in this lifetime? I\u2019m not talking immediate gratification. I\u2019ve noticed disciplines are often critical on the way \u2013 for me that regular sitting down, shutting up, and paying attention has been a universal solvent, cutting through all sorts of stuff and bother.<\/p>\n
But the payoff should be in this lifetime, the one that\u2019s sailing out to sea in a boat that is going to sink.<\/p>\n
So, for me, with all that said, here\u2019s a way of life for the spiritual but not religious:<\/p>\n
rule one: question authority. And the number one authority to question is \u201cme.\u201d You know. The thing behind your eyes that thinks its in charge.<\/p>\n
And that leads directly to<\/p>\n
Rule two: don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n
Not I don\u2019t know and I don\u2019t care. Rather, I don\u2019t know and I\u2019m really, really curious.<\/p>\n
Oh, this also involves <\/p>\n
Rule three: open your heart.<\/p>\n
Let it be full when it is full, let it break when it breaks. But don\u2019t turn away, open your heart.<\/p>\n
Do these things and you can be spiritual without being religious in a meaningful sense.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll enjoy the ride.<\/p>\n
And when the boat sinks, you\u2019ll know where you\u2019re going\u2026<\/p>\n