 Spiritual: March 15, 2017 Issue [#8175] |
  Spiritual
This week: Daily Devotions Edited by: Shannon  
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Welcome to the Spiritual Newsletter. My name is Shannon and I'm your editor this week. |
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"Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life." ~ Buddha
When I was a kid, most of the adults in my very Southern Baptist circle of family and friends practiced daily devotions. Each day's lesson only took a few minutes, and it was a popular way to start (or end) the day.
By my late teens, I'd walked away from the organized religion of my youth, and it wasn't until 2011 when I was in my early forties that I once again felt an urge to nurture my spirituality. This time, I gravitated toward a slightly different approach: I felt (and still feel) a sense of oneness, sameness, connectedness with humanity and all living things. I believe in one Creator--one God to whom all paths lead. Let me explain it this way: we Americans call baked dough "bread" while Croatians call it kruh, the Finnish call it leipä, and Maori call it taro. The point is, regardless of what each group calls it, it's still bread. Likewise, regardless of what we mortals choose to call the Creator, there is still only one God to whom all spiritual paths lead--like spokes on a wheel, but sometimes we get stymied by semantics.
I wanted to explore this idea further, so I dove in with both feet, devouring every spiritual text I could get my hands on from the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary to the King James version of the New Testament (red letter edition) to The Path of a Christian Witch. I read about Paganism, Christianity, and Zen Buddhism. I learned about meditation and exorcisms, chakras and energy healing, Reiki and tantric sexuality. Anything in the spiritual section at my local Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com was fair game: life after death, reincarnation, polytheism, herbalism, spirit guides, even balancing the body with crystals and gemstones. I read it all.
The comprehensive spiritual immersion continues to this day.
I'm not looking for anything in particular as far as adopting a new religion goes, I'm just gathering knowledge--absorbing as much information as I can. We fear what we don't understand, and educating myself about other religions, cultures, and spiritual practices has been eye opening, mind blowing, and one of the best experiences of my life.
"Change begins with understanding and understanding begins by identifying oneself with another person: in a word, empathy. The arts enable us to put ourselves in the minds, eyes, ears and hearts of other human beings." ~ Richard Eyre
Right now I'm reading my way through A Course in Miracles. Like daily devotions, it's a spiritual text designed to be completed in one year's time. The book contains the text, a workbook for students, a manual for teachers, and additional supplemental materials. In many ways, it's unlike anything I've read so far, but like every other spiritual volume I've consumed over the past six years, it opens my mind and heart.
Here are a few more traditional sources of daily spiritual reading material:
 Our Daily Bread
Our Daily Journey
Guideposts
Daily Word
Daily Hope Devotional
Just for Today Meditation
Blessed is She
Do you practice daily devotions? Do you set aside fifteen mintues every morning (or evening) for spiritual reading? What are you reading right now? Respond to this newsletter and I will include your thoughts and comments in next month's edition.
"I think a spiritual journey is not so much a journey of discovery, it's a journey of recovery.
It's a journey of uncovering your own inner nature. It's already there." ~ Billy Corgan
Peace and blessings.
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I hope you enjoy this week's featured selections. I occasionally feature static items by members who are no longer with us; some have passed away, while others simply aren't active members. Their absence doesn't render their work any less relevant, and if it fits the week's topic I will include it.
Thank you, and have a great week!
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I love mindfulness. It can turn even the mundane into something beautiful. ~ ruwth
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The following is in response to "Love Is in the Air" :
Zeke  writes: We must keep in mind that St. Valentine was a Catholic priest. Not a lover. Yes, indeed! Chaucer is responsible for the evolution of Valentine's Day--him and his 14th-century romantic "Valentines" poetry. Writers! 
Quick-Quill  writes: In a response to your response I make one personal note. As a child, I was never taught color made a difference. However, I never saw black and whites together. When I did I thought it was odd. It didn't bother me, it was unusual. I think sometimes the unknown can become shunned or belittled. I grew up in Alaska in the 70s, and at that time we had one black man in our tiny town. My mom tells me the first time I saw him (I was very young, maybe four or five), I said, "Look, Mommy! Just like on Mod Squad!" I was a baby, and the man looked like a celebrity to me. I agree with you 100%.  |
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