Although they’re often mistaken for each other, spirituality and religion are quite different and knowing the difference can help you get closer to finding your soulmate.
The differences between spirituality and religion aren’t always obvious. There are often some blurred lines between the two. Although the terms are often used interchangeably, there is a distinct difference between spirituality and religion. Someone spiritual might not consider themselves religious, and someone religious might not come across as particularly spiritual, despite devout service to their religion.
Were you born into a religious cult?
To break it down to the basics, religion is based on the lives, teachings, and beliefs of historical or archetypal figures such as Jesus Christ, Buddha, Moses, Krishna, and Muhammed. Their lives are recounted through written scriptures and these figures are worshiped and form the foundations of religious practices.
Religion is usually objective and focused on externals such as places of worship, scriptures, and so on. It is a structured and rule-based organization that governs the behavior of its members through morals, law, and doctrines. Religions are also usually rooted in tradition to preserve the essence of their teachings.
At its core, religion is about faith and believing in something based on the religion’s teachings. There are several major religious groups in the world, the five main ones being Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.
Religion teaches to have faith in God and religious teachings as the ultimate truth. Ultimate salvation is found through surrendering to the divine.
If we take the core concept of religion as absolute faith, then certain lifestyles can also be interpreted as a form of religious belief system, with a similar framework of total devotion. This can be seen in themes such as consumerism and capitalism, communism, and nationalism, among others. It can also be seen in anything that requires belief without questioning the norm, along with unconditional acceptance of the religion, cult, or lifestyle’s teachings.
All of the above can be considered religions because they are doctrines on how we are supposed to live based on belief and faith in a higher power, whether that be a supreme leader, money, or pop culture.
The real quest for answers to life’s biggest questions
Trying to understand the truth of our existence has been pondered for millennia and we still ask ourselves these fundamental questions today.
Who am I?
Where are we?
What is the meaning of life?
We all want answers to these questions, even if we don’t follow a particular religion or think about spirituality. Historically, these questions have been pursued through either religion or spirituality. While religion answers these questions through worship and following religious teachings, spirituality considers them by looking within and connecting to something larger than ourselves, which knows no religious boundaries.
Rather than following in the footsteps of spiritual leaders, spirituality encourages individuals to seek out the same truths. It’s an inward journey that involves shifting awareness and inner understanding, rather than outward worship.
Someone on a spiritual journey is on a path to self-discovery. They aren’t following a set of established rules, but rather their inner voice. This journey leads us into a more expanded state of being through spiritual practices such as meditation, yoga, or contemplation. It allows us to experience for ourselves, rather than taking the word of another on faith.
Spiritual religions
Several religions are more closely linked to spirituality than many of the more mainstream religions. Some of these more spiritual religions are Buddhism, Taoism, Shinto, and Hinduism.
These spiritual religions tend to teach about our connection to nature and connecting to and being in tune with the world around us. Rather than following a rigid set of beliefs and concepts, they teach how the mind works and how we can seek inner peace through training our minds. They teach us to observe nature and the nature of being human to be free of the usual trappings of religion.
Letting go is hard work!
Starting a spiritual journey and becoming spiritual involves a lot of letting go. Letting go of any attachments, fears, or needs, freeing up your mind to live in the present and just be. Although it might not sound like it, letting go involves a lot of hard work at the beginning. It could even take a lifetime to truly achieve spiritual freedom.
To truly let go, we need to allow ourselves to operate on intuition, rather than being controlled by thoughts and beliefs. We often get so caught up in our minds that we are ruled by them. Therefore learning to quieten our minds and seek out our intuition takes a lot of time and patience.
Death of the old self
The process of letting go can often be emotional and traumatic because we are essentially causing the death of a part of ourselves with material attachments. This can be painful as you are detaching from your ego and basically losing your identity and everything you thought you knew about yourself. But by doing so, you allow space for your intuition. It’s tough because we have to be vigilant with our own minds.
Taming the monkey mind
In Hinduism, characters are used in stories to illustrate human behaviors. Hanuman, the monkey god, represents the monkey mind. If you’ve ever watched monkeys, you’ll already understand why it’s called this. It’s from monkeys’ inability to focus on anything for more than a moment, together with their penchant for mischief. Just like our chattering minds that are constantly distracted and pulling our attention away onto something new. However, Hanuman was able to master his mind through training it with effort, patience, and perseverance.
Through the practice of becoming more spiritual and learning spiritual practices, you’ll slowly learn to tap into your intuition more easily. This will help you along your path to finding soulmate spiritual connections in your life, including true love.
By quieting your monkey mind and following your intuition, you’ll be able to trust the signs that lead you on the path toward finding your soulmate.
Reveal your next soulmate with a soulmate sketch
It’s through this spiritual work that I work on intuition to develop soulmate sketches. When ordering your soulmate sketch, you’ll receive a sketch of someone that might already be in your life, or it could be your next long-term romantic soulmate. Perhaps it will show you someone that you’ll meet briefly but that will be just as intense.
If you have a sketch of that person, you’ll be ready when your intuition starts showing you the signs.
