Spirituality
Far be it for us or anyone to tell you what your spiritual life should be like. You may belong to one of the world's major or minor religions, no reliegion, a cult, or be an atheist or agnostic. A great quote on religion comes from Abraham Lincoln:
I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it. ~Abraham Lincoln
Mark Twain also had some interesting things to say:
Man is the religious animal. He is the only religious animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion –- several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat, if his theology isn't straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother's path to happiness and heaven. ~Mark Twain
Everyone seems to have a different view on the subject of religion. Tolerance for other people's views and beliefs should be a starting point for any religion, and that fanaticism and fundamentalism more often than not lead away from spirituality. Killing people who don't believe in the same things as you do does not seem to be spiritual to me, no matter which doctrine you use to justify it. That being said, there are core values that should be the starting point for any sense of spiritual connection, and that most religions can offer some guidance on these.
1) Love is the highest value, and what we all need to strive for. Love of God, the Universe, the world and all its life including other human, animals, insects, plants and other natural resources. We are supposed to take care of nature, not dominate, control and destroy it.
2) Compassion and kindness, which follows closely behind love.
3) Truth
4) Service to others
5) Tolerance and respect for all living beings and natural resources
This is a great starting point for any moral, ethical or religious code or philosophy.
Any of the world's great religious institutions may be appropriate for you, and you need to make the right personal decision for yourself, possibly in spite of your upbringing. We can all learn from studying other religious traditions and philosophies. We invite you to investigate the principles of all religions and philosophical traditions.
Remember to use your intellectual capacity for evaluating any approach, as cults and cult like organizations often prey on people who are searching or going through major life challenges, and use many powerful and subversive techniques to suck you in. Read a book or review a website on combatting cults and mind control/brainwashing if you are at all unsure, particularly if you are experiencing any form of physical, mental or emotional crisis. Always beware if people in the organization want you to make large donations of your time, money or if there is any inappropriate physical contact or sexual advances. It may seem like common sense, but people in crisis are often most vulnerable and may not be relying on their common sense. At a minimum, go to google and look up cults, to see which ones seem to come up most frequently. If you are aware of someone in danger of being recruited into a cult, there are many excellent resources for intervention. A good starting point is Combatting Cult Mind Control by Stephen Hassan.
To start educating yourself about the variety of major world releigions, read Huston Smith's The World's Religions for an excellent overview. Then dig into whatever you are most curious about. The world's major religions in alphabetical order:
Buddhism, including Zen
Christianity, including Christian mysticism, the Quakers, and Christian Science
Confucianism
Hinduism including yoga, meditation, etc.
Islam
Jainism
Judaism, including Kabbalah
Tribal religions, (which generally show great respect to the earth and environment)
Sufism
Taoism
Zoroastrianism
We apologize if we have left anyone out. Feel free to e-mail me your suggestions for additional major religions.