This is perhaps the best post, in terms of helping with real growth and a realization of what truth really means I've seen on this board since I first came here. And everyone's perspective has some facet of great truth associated with it. Good work Intro, you've struck a goldmine with this one.
Here's my take on this, and obviously this is largely a matter of definition of terms.
To me the majority of people are motivated by and are members of the religions of tradition and fear (do what we say, or we'll kick you out and your family won't speak to you; or do what we say or you'll burn forever; or do what we say because we've been saying it for two thousand years AND you'll burn in hell).
So people who believe in similar things in similar ways join the same church, religion. This definition says that religions are social phenomena. We believe alike, thus we get together to celebrate our common beliefs; we have picnics on the lawn; we make rules for your behavior; we make rules about what you can and cannot believe.
In my opinion "spiritual" growth can be discovered in the foundation of organized religion, but, the riverbed is NOT the river.
The "river" in my opinion is the infinitely flowing spirit of God that courses through each and every one of his children ("the kingdom of heaven is within you."). And when we are led by this spirit, then we really are the children of God.
And therein lies the trick. How does one tap into that spirit, how does one hear what it says in order to follow its leading and thus become spiritual children of the Father. How do we sip from that "river"? The spirit doesn't after all, exactly shout in your ear does it?
I think that's where so many humans miss the mark, especially in the west. We miss the point of The Master's stories, parables. We insist on making of them allegories, making them literal; insist on the concept of the "kingdom" and miss the concept of the "family." Children are part of a family, not of a kingdom.
It's very, very hard to grow a spiritual nature following external rules. Especially the nonsense flowing from the WTBTS. And that's exactly what Jesus meant when he said that he came to put a sword between brothers. When you've heard the faint echo of the spirit, and compare it to what is being spewed from Brooklyn, there's no way you can stay a part of that pig swill and so you leave. And there's the sword between you and your brother - and it's called truth.
Here is how it's been put to me. The left brain, the seat of logic, and the ego, is loud, noisy, demanding attention, certain of its importance. While the right brain is the seat of intuition, free-flowing association, egoless, quiet, perhaps even it's the seat of the spirit that's within you.
How can you hear the small, still voice of the spirit with the left brain riot going on all the time? Some people can't even drift off to sleep because the left brain won't shaddup. Also, even if the left brain can be quieted, how can the right-brain spirit act if the stage upon which it is to perform is already occupied by anger, resentments, grudges, lusts, envies, and other functions of the human left brain?
Thus becoming more spiritual becomes something that you GIVE UP doing as opposed to something that you start doing. That's precisely why the Master said that his yoke was easy and his load was light. The seeker must give up being human in order to concentrate on liberating the pre-existing inner spirit. And it is to that pearl of great price that Jesus spent so much time attempting to instruct us on how to reach.
Each of us have this brilliant spiritual light pre-existing within. And we're so busy being religious, we don't have time to become spiritual, or even time to learn what that MEANS.
And that's all I can say right now. I might not even have an audience for this. And there's no point in rattling on when no one's listening.
Peace and Light to you all,
Francois
