Effective Spirituality

Here we discuss the ways and means of developing effective and functional relationships with the Divine. Have you ever felt spiritually abandoned? Does obtaining faith in God seem like a lost cause? Do your most heart felt prayers get no response? Let's look at why some people get in touch with the divine and others do not. If you already feel God working in your life; great! Here we will look at ways to increase that relationship with the divine.

Self-Evident Truths

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  So starts the Declaration of Independence.  The phrase: ‘Truths to be self-evident’ has been bouncing around my mind for the past two weeks.   To me there are some spiritual truths that are self-evident. (I understand that others will perceive a whole different set of self-evident truths.) When I set aside all the religious doctrines I was taught growing up and simply look at what my heart regards as the highest spiritual truths; I find a number of self-evident simple truths of spirituality:

  1. The Divine is real and God (or Allah or whatever appellation one wishes to use) is the greatest member of the Divine.
  2. We are greatly loved by the Divine.
  3. The Divine is very involved in our lives.
  4.  Approaching the Divine is a simple process though success for most has been elusive due to the usual selfish desires and clouds of religious misinformation.
  5. No one is spiritually closer to the divine than another due to membership or leadership in a particular organization or adherence to a certain belief system.
  6. Closeness to the Divine first begins by obedience to, and love of divine principles.
  7. Once real and passionate obedience to divine principles is achieved; contact with the Divine is assured. Respect and obedience to such communications help develop a relationship with the Divine.
  8. Belief in, and passionate obedience to a belief system is frequently confused with passionate obedience to the divine. But they are nothing alike. There are many worldly rewards in the first; but little or none in the second. In fact, often there are terrible hardships attached to the second.
  9. Most belief systems teach divine truths. But then, because of worldly needs, mix and minimize them with self-serving doctrines and requirements.
  10. There is divine purpose in this.  It filters out those who learn to listen to the Divine and the truth inside their hearts from those who prioritize listening outside: to their belief system doctrine and leaders.

It’s unusual for a person to require others to jump through hoops, require a form of obeisance or believe something peculiar, or practice some exclusion.