Can Spirituality Get Damaged?

I perceive some negative news through the media. I read things like “Spiritualism is damaged by this. It will be much more difficult now.”

What I would like to ask those who write these headlines, as well as those who agree with them, is what they think about when they say spiritualism?

For me, spirituality is a journey of exploring myself and coming to know myself. I then share the self I have discovered with people who want to listen. Those who wish can learn from my experience and incorporate it into their own lives, or they can simply tell me to get lost.

Spirituality is the effort to know oneself, and it’s been going on since the first humans. It’s always been there, even before the oldest person alive today, and it will always be here long after we are all dead. It is a person’s own inner journey. If you think of spirituality as a brand or a commodity, and if you think negative news hurts it, then you may well be having some difficulty understanding the nature of this issue.

Louise Hay said something very inspirational about the subject: “I’m not trying to sell anything or convince people about something. I talk about my own path, anyone who wishes can benefit from it, as they like.” The journey of knowing yourself is like this—you discover and you share. You are not trying to convince anyone about anything, nor should you try to do so. Spirituality is not a religion that requires missionaries to go out and spread the word. It is every person’s individual journey. Whatever you do, you do it for yourself. Sure, you can benefit from hearing about other people’s journeys. You can also read books, meditate, or even just make fun of it all. Maybe you can find yourself through ways that no one else has even dreamed of yet.

This is an important point. We assume that reaching the “truth” can only be achieved by following a certain path, and there is no other way. There are as many paths as there are people living on this planet. Some may have wavered from their path or taken a break from it, but it’s not for us to put them back on it. If a person wants to be inspired, he or she will ask you for it. When I think about my own guides, none of them ever came to me saying, “Come on! I’ll teach you this and that.” I saw the light in them and ran after them, asking them to teach me about the source of their light…

One thing leads to another, but I’d like to talk about when people say, “Put aside spirituality and come to the real world.” I have even heard many “spiritual” guides say this. If you think you can separate the world into its spiritual and “real” dimensions, though, you may be missing the gist of it. Everything is “spiritual.” Spiritual means the inner, the soul, and everything is about the soul. Point to anything in this world and you’re pointing to its soul. To express it more scientifically, we can say energy instead of soul. You cannot talk about how an individual creates its own reality and then turn around and say, “Okay, let’s now put spirituality aside.” You simply can’t! Sure, you can gossip, work, and hang out with the greatest scientific minds, but you should do it knowing that it is all a part of the soul. Spirituality is the journey itself. The distinction between the worldly and the spiritual exists only in our minds. They are one in the same. I have seen “worldly” people who are deeper than the most “spiritual,” and I have seen “spiritual” people with a better grasp of reality than the most “worldly.”

In short, spirituality can never be damaged, harmed, or broken, and it will never become outdated. For as long as people exist, this journey will always be available to them to unburden their hearts.

This river will always flow…