Step by Step
Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023
Today, religious vs. spiritual experience. “We are taught religion, but we are born of the spirit.” In recovery, considering a spiritual awakening, am I supposed to entrust my recovery to a religion if I have none? Not at all. A religious conversion means only that I have embraced a set of beliefs and canons that have been defined by the founders of an organized religion. This does not mean I live by their standard, however. A spiritual awakening, on the other hand, can be something as simple as seeing a truth about myself that I never saw before. I may not even realize I have had a spiritual awakening until I see, one day, that I have given up my character defects in favor of selflessness and release from resentments, anger and fear. Today, I can understand that religion and spiritual maturity are parallel train tracks that never intersect, that one can have both religion and spirituality, or religion without spirituality and spirituality without religion. Unlike my religious development, my spiritual awareness comes from within, not from without. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023
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