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Walking SpiritWise ©

By

Irene A. Masiello

Inevitably, being spiritual has little to do with whether one attends regular religious services but rather with attitudes, beliefs & perceptions about some higher purpose of our existence and the application of those beliefs in walking the path of spirituality.

A recent Gallop poll suggests that most Americans are spiritual with 72 percent of those surveyed saying their lives, because of their faith, have purpose and meaning. This study was conducted by the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Research on Religion & Urban Civil Society. While many believers attempt to link their faith to everyday life, many admit there is a gap between what they believe and how they act.

Of those polled 77 percent expressed that the overall health of the nation depends a great deal on its national spiritual health. However, only 44 percent said the notion that "God calls me to be involved in the lives of the poor and suffering" applies completely to them.

Acting in accordance with one’s belief system can be challenging. However, that is the difference between talking religious ideologies and living them. Many can talk a good game yet cannot apply their beliefs by walking that talk. We have certainly seen many church leaders speak of their religious convictions yet live less than exemplary lives with a “do as I say but not what I do” life style. Hypocrisy whether it comes in the form of religion, politics, education, medicine or law is responsible for many of our woes as a people and a nation.

True spirituality translates by taking ideology and living it in actions; it isn’t about the “talk” for we have all heard the expression “talk is cheap.” True spirituality is about the WALK.

We can plainly see from the Gallop poll that talking and acting are two different matters. Perhaps most believe that is necessary to get involved with the poor and suffering to make spirituality come alive for us. More simply put spirituality can be the application of the Golden Rule: “do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” With that kind of mind set operational picking up a loaf of bread or a quart of milk or a newspaper for an elderly neighbor on a rainy day, sharing homemade soup, holding a door open, yielding the right of way in your car, saying a kind word and being nonjudgmental are simple acts we all can do to walk the talk of spirituality.

Moreover, reaching towards a more spiritual lifestyle doesn’t mean abandoning one’s lifestyle and volunteering to live as Mother Theresa did. As actualizing & awaking humans our primary responsibility is to start with ourselves; “the kingdom of God is within you.” We are a microcosm of the planet we live on. If each of us took responsibility for our own issues and established a level of inner peace we’d be encapsulating the “let it begin with me” school of thought.

How can it begin with us? It can begin when we consciously own our individual issues and do our psychological homework. “Psyche” means soul and while the split between psychology and spirituality isn’t clear can be a place to start by opening our minds, spirits and hearts. Science acknowledges that there may be no split between the body, mind and spirit. Freud said “bad biology is bad psychology” and, therefore, we see the basic foundations of our being are all interconnected.

Words and thoughts are things. Pay close attention to how you program your body with linguistics like “what a pain in the neck.” Your unconscious hears every word you say. Expending your consciousness with awareness can start you moving in the right direction.

Physicists tell us that their thoughts create the presence of measurable sub-atomic particles where none existed. Think about the implications that thoughts create! Serious science implies serious thoughts here.

Please avoid negative “self-talk” and use positive affirmations for in the non-tangible world of spirit you may be what you think, say and believe.

Copyright © April, 2005 Irene A. Masiello – all rights reserved. Do not reprint without permission of the author.