| Religion can loosely be described as the formalized | | | | indeed connected to God. This is a personal |
| ideas held by a group of people to define their | | | | relationship to God and an insight that you don't need |
| understanding of God and their relationship to the | | | | to go to a special building to find God, but that you |
| creator and creation. In some shape or form, religion | | | | simply have to look deep within yourself. It means |
| has been present in human civilizations since the | | | | that you don't need some special person with a |
| beginning of time. Throughout history cultural | | | | college education to lead you to God, but that you |
| development has been inextricably linked to people's | | | | simply have to turn inwards to find divine guidance. |
| view of the world and their relationship to the | | | | It's been said that you can't get wet from the word |
| mysterious and the unknown dimension of life that | | | | water and however strange the idea is, it is very |
| we've come to call God. Religion has taken on many | | | | true for many people's spiritual journeys. Until and |
| different forms and many different views in many | | | | unless you dive in and make personal contact with |
| different cultures. The one common idea is that the | | | | God by turning inwards and following your inner |
| religion will collectively value, uphold and even impose | | | | guidance your life will always be dictated by other |
| a set of beliefs which they consider the path to God | | | | people's ideas - ideas that are mostly designed to |
| and 'the truth' about this mysterious, yet ever | | | | keep you thinking and acting like everybody else. |
| present force of life. | | | | True freedom comes from this personal relationship |
| Along with religion, came a certain level of power - | | | | to God and knowing that you don't need to be |
| especially for those who 'made the rules' and who | | | | saved, that you are in fact born a good person and |
| were believed to be appointed by God to rule the | | | | that God cares about you regardless of whether you |
| people. In the early Christian church, the religious | | | | comply to some religion's rules. Spirituality will lead you |
| leaders were also the politicians and they ruled by | | | | to the realization that you are whole, complete and |
| fear, violently imposing their ideas upon the people. | | | | magnificent in every possible way and that you are |
| You were told what to believe and how to behave in | | | | unique and special with your own grand mission in life. |
| virtually every aspect of life. There was absolutely no | | | | Your purpose in life in not to live up to the |
| room for really getting to know God, because those | | | | expectations of other in order to be a good person, |
| who claimed to know God were the only one who | | | | but rather to live up to the expectations of your |
| can speak to God, and be spoken to by God. | | | | Self, your spirit (or your soul) and to become, in |
| Some of the earliest meaning of the word religion | | | | form, the kind of person you were destined to be. |
| comes from a Latin interpretation that means 'to | | | | You can get to know God for yourself. It will lead |
| bind' - an bind it did, keeping people tied to silly ideas | | | | you to the realization that you are in fact "God' - you |
| for centuries. Religious ideas have been developed | | | | are a part of God and contain within you a portion of |
| and refined for centuries and is almost exclusively | | | | this Divine force that makes up the very essence of |
| designed to keep people from stepping out of line | | | | life. Listen to other people, hear them out and |
| and 'being different'. The fundamental difference | | | | discover their view of God, but then go within and |
| between spirituality and religion is that religion is based | | | | find God for yourself. This is where all the power is. |
| on knowing ABOUT God, while spirituality is based on | | | | This is where the freedom lies and if you need a |
| KNOWING God on a personal level. | | | | religion to help you develop your understanding of |
| There's a big difference between knowing about God | | | | God, then practice it! Remember to keep and open |
| and knowing God. Knowing about God is about | | | | mind and don't just focus only on what you are told |
| intellectual knowledge and relying on the testimonials | | | | about God but rather what you feel to be true deep |
| and experiences of others, while knowing God is a | | | | down inside. |
| deeply personal and 'inner knowing' that you are | | | | |