A Soul Between Two Worlds: Religion & Spirituality

@fikaandfindings

What if faith is meant to be a question, not an answer?

A couple of months ago I went to the beach with my family. I was so excited because I was going to spend three days in one of my favorite places with my favorite people. Over the years some of my family members and I have had our ups and downs, but we've reached a point where they've become some of my favorite people in the world (well… most of them 😉). I believe it was the first night we were staying over that my mom, sis, grandma, and I started talking about religion and spirituality.

This topic we have discussed in the past several times and I always end the conversation with a sense of safety and comprehension of my feelings and point of view, but even though it was not the exception this time, I ended the conversation with a lot of anxiety—and most importantly, a deep sense of wonder.

I believe I was raised with the two faces of the coin really clearly, a side of religion and spirituality that I truly admire and feel drawn to. Two sides I must say that I will love in my future to co-exist within me without fighting, and learning how they can add to each other. On my father's side they tend to go more religious, going to church whenever they can, some of them every Sunday, or every day, having God as the example of the highest and most divine love. Of course, my dad grew up with those beliefs engraved in him but aside from how his family took the journey of religion, he took it to the extreme, and in his way of seeing it, I differ greatly. So when I say I like to follow the religious side or views of my dad's side of the family, I truly mean ONLY my dad's family NOT my dad's, which is a whole extensive topic. That main debate—between family members and even within ourselves—about the “good” or “bad” sides of different beliefs is something many of us go through, and I think that having an understanding with ourselves as we learn how to draw our line between them it can change the journey for us greatly, maybe the gray side of the spectrum, not to black or white.

On the other hand, my mom's family is still religious in their own way, some of them lean more toward the spiritual side of things. They still believe in God and Jesus and sometimes go to church but they also believe in auras, chakras, the power of the energy and vibes around us and within us. The meaning behind the colors of each chakra, that we tend to have a beautiful and powerful aura around us that reflects our true feelings and energy inside of our soul. I think that is the most beautiful as well as powerful thing ever!!

Growing up with both views was helpful in understanding that there is more than one way to view things in this world, but it also created a huge debate in my daily life once I started experiencing groups of people that will tell me only one side is the right one or that to live a beautiful, peaceful and balanced life you must choose only one of this views. To be honest I completely disagree with these two statements, but how to explain my different reasons or even points of view in this complicated and extensive matter if I can barely understand it myself?

I recently watched a video where Robert Thurman explores the topic of spirituality versus religion, and he explains, “ Spirituality is love and compassion. Is not being stock in what your body is wired to do. In spirituality, you are going into a dipper area of your mind.”

We’ve been raised in a society that often sees spirituality as either extreme or less beneficial than religion—a system that, over the centuries, has sometimes become more of a control mechanism than a source of connection, spirituality is letting go, not holding on to something.

“When you let go of self-protective and defensive controls, what you tap into is the nature of the Universe, the flow of energy interconnecting” (Thurman).

Spirituality is the constant reminder that the fear of the unknown is what is important, is what makes you grow as a human. The freedom that spirituality offers allows your thoughts to grow beyond the limits they’re often kept within—limits that religion, at times (though not always), can impose. The religion that each person will choose to go into will have its own independent and personal journeys for each individual and not always be reflected by the opinions and beliefs of the society they are raised into. Thurman explained that while Religion can also be love and compassion it brings this certain more controlled belief, “Unfortunately religion has this other component , is a pattern maintenance activity and it becomes a tool of the state, the society and the conventional culture to control people.” (Thurman)

Sometimes we feel that depending on the religion we are in we are instantly set into a box, one that is really hard to get out of. Harder when you are in a family environment that doesn't allow you the opportunity to expand your view of the world and welcome different traditions. I am so lucky that i was raised and grew up with a family that despite having different views that might contradict each other they always welcome my questions and thoughts of each point of view, your beliefs and ideas early in life often reflect the way the people around you see the world, until you are old enough to create those thoughts and views for yourself.

“The higher self that is God made us with a choice—with free will. He made us both good and bad, with both poles of existence.” (The Welcome Mat)

I tend to differ with people who believe that if you’re not following a specific religion, then God (their version of God) will punish you for not doing things a certain way. If you don't follow and the book rule that he created that you will sooner or later be doomed for life, but I honestly believe that if a God exists, he wouldn’t care about how you look, your background, or even sexuality, he is a loving and caring God that loves,respect, and values you no matter what. “Spirituality is more free-form—it’s more personal. It’s a journey of the self and how the self connects to the collective…” (The Welcome Mat) I believe that if a God exists he will lean more into the spiritual side, the compassionate and open side. The one that lets you free and that encourages you to find your own way and path in life, that wants you to embrace.both the most wholesome and the most wild parts of who you are.

In the amazing and wise words of Andre in the podcast The Welcome Mat “I don't think it is fair for God to judge us for how he made us.” “...if God knows everything and sees everything he had to know all this was going to happen. Either that or he made a mistake… Why do I have to be punished for the way I was made?”

We are all fantastic and unique individuals, trying to find our ways in a world that might not understand our ways most of the time and that wants to put us in a box the moment we are born. Depending on which family or country we’re born into, we often feel immediate pressure to follow the same path, and the questioning part we will have to experience later on in life finding ourselves the answers to all of our questions to finally realize that for the most part answers don't exist.

As humans we are in the constant adventure to find a higher connection, something or someone that explains to us why we are here? What is our purpose in this life? and the most important to me, what road are we supposed to take to find the peace not only within us but around us as well? These are questions that since the Earth was created (which create the other question, how was earth created and who created it?!) Humans have been asking themselves. Proven over the centuries that when life gets confusing and lonely and we find ourselves with no clear explanation, we long to feel comforted by something greater—something that reassures us that not everything is in our hands. Finding constant ways to find connection in something bigger and that makes us feel profound and the definition of what we are or why we are here. One thing that religion and spirituality have in common is rituals, that moment that as humans we try to find our ways to what we find divine and lean into that like a hug. Religion follows rituals religiously, they tend to carry out these specific practices to show and prove what they have decided to worship as a community and their specific ways to worship this higher self. They tend to worship what the religion has decided to manifest as the higher being. A more powerful source than humans. On the other hand, certain rituals that people that feel more connected to spirituality are journaling, recharging crystals or even manifesting. They tend to use different roads to recharge ourselves, our energies and create a bigger connection to ourselves and souls.

As soon as people hear the word spirituality, they often associate it with religion, but they are so different in their own ways. It's true they both help humans feel care and compassion in moments that we need the most but they are unique in their own ways. “Religion has also brought prejudice. There are religious leaders who believe they have the right to decide what religion is and how it should be practiced. They think their way is the only way and only they know the truth. The seed of such authoritarianism is fear, which arises from the concept of an angry God, ready to punish at the drop of a hat.” (Gurudev)

So, if you’re still figuring out what you believe in… same. If you change your mind every few months, or you believe a mix of things that “don’t make sense together,” or you just don’t know how to explain it to other people—that’s totally okay. These are big, messy, beautiful questions, and we’re not supposed to have perfect answers. What matters is that whatever you believe, it makes you feel like you. Loved. Safe. Free. At peace. You don’t owe anyone a neat label or a clear explanation—just keep following what brings you closer to your heart.

Whether through religion, spirituality, or something entirely our own, the real goal is connection—to ourselves, to each other, to whatever helps us feel more grounded, more seen,more whole. Through it all it's okay to not have the right words to explain it to anyone. What matters most is not how certain we sound—it's how deeply we care. If what you believe brings peace, love, and a feeling of being more at home in your own skin, then you’re on the right path. That path is yours.

From my heart to your screen—
Same time, same place, next Thursday. 💋📖🌙

Love always, Ghini

— — —

Works Cited

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. “Spirituality vs. Religion: How One Can Overcome the Problems of the Other.” The Art of Living, 2020, https://www.artofliving.org/spirituality-vs-religion.

“Spirituality vs. Religion.” The Welcome Mat, PBS, 2021, https://www.pbs.org/video/the-welcome-mat-spirituality-vs-religion/.

Thurman, Robert. “Spirituality vs. Religion.” Big Think, 6 June 2018, https://bigthink.com/videos/spirituality-vs-religion/.