Spiritual Life is Not About Following Rules

There are people who believe in following the rules.

They are convinced each rule is there for a reason. They are certain following rules will keep us safe. They may not know who made the rules, or how they became rules, but they are there to be followed. Following the rules is the right way to play the game.

When we do not follow the rules, who knows what could happen?

There are people who have rules about spiritual life. Spiritual life may require they talk or dress or behave in certain ways. For some people, spiritual life needs to be primarily intellectual. For some people, spiritual life is mostly emotional. Spiritual life may demand some people spend certain times in special places, doing particular things.

Those are the rules of spiritual life. That is just the way it is. It is almost as if they believe we need to earn spiritual life.

There have been times when I believed rules were important, especially when it came to spiritual life. Rules were how I could understand when spiritual life was right, and when it was wrong.

Spiritual life is different for me now. Spiritual life is essentially about relationship, and rules have faded into the fuzzy distance.

The turning point came for me in recognizing we do not need to be protected from spiritual life, nor it from us.

Spiritual life has a way of breaking or transcending the rules. There is very little room for “always” or “never” in spiritual life.

Spiritual life draws me in, introducing me to interesting people, sacred beliefs, authentic ways of living. Spiritual life flows, carrying me past the limits I have set for myself into deeper truths.

What are the rules spiritual life follows for you?

Who decides which rules are important and which are made to be broken?

[Image by somjuan]