THE DIVERSITY OF SPIRITUALITY

by Jackie Woods

     Most people would say they are spiritual, but very few of those people's definitions would fall in the same category. Churches label themselves spiritual. So do many psychics. Metaphysical followers also claim spirituality. Is there a thread that connects all of these, or do they stand alone?

     The wonder of spirituality is in its diversity. In the world of Spirit, all the colors of the spectrum exist in their great diversity of shades. Cornering spirituality and giving it a label is like calling facial tissues by the brand name Kleenex. Every living thing has the Creator's spirit of life at its core.

     To claim your thinking is big enough to cover all of the Spirits of all living things is pretty presumptuous also. Yet some people do that by saying their brand of spirituality is all that exists of Spirit. In fact, all too often spirituality has become a belief system rather than a way of life.

     To believe that the Spirit of mankind is a fixed energy is also limiting. The beauty of spirituality is its graceful movement. Since growth and change seem to be difficult for so many people, they falsely try to hold spirituality as a constant. They want desperately to "arrive" at some pinnacle of perfection rather than live the diversity of Spirit. Since spirituality is diversity then a static life cannot be part of its picture.

     If you are still reading, then you are probably one of those few people who are open to the diversity of spirituality. A person's Spirit (animals and plants are included here) is the life line that is hooked directly to the creative life source of our universe. In people, it takes the shape of qualities of Spirit or heart qualities, as many call them. These qualities are able to make their way through our thinking and feelings all the way into our physical actions. This flow happens when we are open to allowing our qualities of Spirit the necessary freedom and transformation that they need in order to create.

     If movement and change are key elements of spirituality, then spiritual growth requires accepting new ways of 'being in' and 'living through' life. True spirituality is not what you believe, but who you are in process of metamorphosis. It is about becoming all the diversity that you are able to see around you in the present, while at the same time remaining open to all the diversity that might be in the future. The thread that runs between all brands of spirituality is this creative force of all living things.

Copyright © 2004 by Jackie Woods