I've finally realized something important about spirituality. Want to be spiritual? Be yourself. I've been taught that my self is bad and to be spiritual I have to be all these good things that I'm not.

I'm finding out though that I can just be myself and nothing bad happens. I still love people and they still love me. I think it's really the "work" of "becoming" spiritual that is the problem.

I saw a comedy sketch of a psychiatrist that's only method of therapy was to yell at his patient "Well QUIT IT!" I sometimes think I need him for a therapist.

i agree that i'm not sure that it means you have to be all these good things, i mean, i guess the bible will say you have to be all these good things, but to me it is more about trying to be good, and if being yourself encompasses this, then i agree with what you say, it is about being good to yourself, and not at the expense of others. Even further, it is about helping others without any benefit to yourself.

Sometimes, you must not also only look at the bad things that people do in their lives (not to say that you should look at the good things, and not to say that you should release them of guilt) but also look at intention, now intention, in an immediate respect, can mostly be sinful is the outcome is bad, but the picture of intention, reaction, can differ extremely. One of the books i read, speaker for the dead, takes this approach to looking at the lives of people, i found it fascinating to see how the writer Orson Scott Card looked at the things people do, and how people can look at these things in order to quench that internal turmoil that exists.

Of course everyone has their own definition of spirituality, but I don't see being virtuous as being spiritual by it's self. I think a person can be very virtuous but still dead inside because they are so caught up in trying to be something..like John What's his nose...John..I'll think of it in a minute John...hmm well whatever his last name was he said something about being a "human doing instead of a human being."

I can really see that happening to me..and to others in my life as well. Then too, I also think a lot of what is considered evil in the world is stuff that deadens you spiritually..I think hurting others is in that category and being hateful.

I definitely believe there is a direct correlation between spirituality and love. The people who seem to me the most spiritual are always the most loving people.

"To Thine own self be true"

ah, a quote from one of the gnostic gospels.... how refreshing!

ron

You said it dking!..or the gospel of Thomas did. There may be a nice place for us to go when we die, but only we can learn to be happy within ourselves. Nice places are just nice places..no matter how nice.