Quote:
Originally Posted by dragonfly2
I don't necessarily think this is the case. While there have certainly been times when my spirituality was centered around deities, both Christian and Pagan, there have been many more times when my focus would be simply on a higher plane of existence. Meditation and chakra work is highly spiritual, yet not particularly deity-focused. Connecting with animal or nature spirits is another situation that can be, but is not necessarily, deity-related. I believe there is a definite difference between being "spiritual" and being 'religious".
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Thanks, that helps. Let me follow on with that for a sec and then maybe back to the original topic. Or what I think is the topic?
I don't know if we have the same concept of spirituality but in my concept there is no deity. To me deity implies creator. In the only religion I'm familiar with, the ultimate goal seems to me to be gaining acceptance from the deity in order to spend eternity singing the praises of the deity. I have a problem seeing that as a satisfactory end result of spiritual growth.
Back OT...as someone has pointed out already, there doesn't seem to be a conflict between believing a condition is organic/genetic and believing that spirituality and chemistry can both be used to treat the condition.
Seeing the possibility for spiritual and character growth in learning to cope with the condition or overcome it seems optimistic and wise.
Seeing it as a blessing from a deity as an opportunity to grow spiritually seems like something other than optimistic.
BTW I'd be interested in hearing something about these astral projections and how they may have helped.
And to VenusHalley: if I've misunderstood your point or steered this thread off the track you intended feel free to say so and I'll back off.