One who is born in the Spirit and who therefore lives by love is liberated from all the narrow claims of sectarian prejudice, nationalism, legalism, and from every division that breeds hatred and conflict.
The word of God is then able to prove itself by its transforming power which brings love, unity, peace, understanding and freedom where there were prejudice, conflict, hatred, division and greed. ~ Thomas Merton, Christian monk, author, lecturer
The key elements of spirit consist of the following:
- Source (the creator, first cause, and essence of being)
- Dependency (food, shelter, and safety)
- Relationship (with self, family, community, and worldview)
The spirit expresses the will of being, acting on the environment in which it lives. It is the domain of the super-natural and immaterial entities it deals with Spiritualism. It is incorporeal substance and energy of the mind that serves to develop the understanding, reason, intelligence, imagination and ingenuity. It is the impulse that leads the believer to perform acts and rituals or that which is thought to be sacred or meant to honor the source.
Spirituality has been a part of everyone's life, long before Churches commercialized it. It was practiced everyday ceremoniously in small tribes and groups and in interpersonal relationships--it was instinctive that we knew we were part of something bigger, and part of the environment we lived in. It wasn't until organized religion came along and positioned its doctrine in between the spirit and us, that we turned away from our true nature.
We are all spiritual, it's our nature. We are all connected to each other and our environment. Know this and never forget again, you are here to create. ~ Roy E. Klienwachter author Walking the Spiritual Path
Jon Dunnemann
