what does spirituality mean to you?

Now there's a provocative question, and one which has been argued for millennia. Can you have spirituality without religion, or vice versa?

My own feeling is that religion acts for some people as a framework for their spirituality, ​a pattern or structure. One is not dependent on the other - one can be spiritual without needing or wanting the framework. And one is not wrong and the other right.

I know deeply spiritual people who choose a very structured spirituality, with strictly observed rituals and often, dogma. And I know deeply religious people who do not require much of the structure, but enjoy the rituals associated with their chosen religion.

I often wonder about those who strictly follow a particular religion because it's "what they do." I used to work with a woman whose church was undergoing major upheaval in their doctrine. One day she told me that "now we believe this instead of that." I never understood that - she was told what to believe by an outside authority, rather than by her own relationship with the God of her choice.

In my own spiritual life, I am deeply spiritual, with a very deep relationship with my God and Spirit, with no interest in ritual or structure. I follow my own path, appreciating and understanding aspects of several faiths. I remember that same woman once questioning me about that, saying, "You can't just pick and choose what to believe." I beg to differ!

Whatever beliefs or tenets you follow, or you don't follow, I encourage you to think and explore for yourself, for what feels right to you. The God-In-You knows what is best for you.