RELIGION OR SPIRITUALITY?

I would say I lean towards the non religious aspects of Spirituality. For me 'religion' means a group of people who agree on most of the terms and expressions and rituals and holidays of said religion. In a Religion there seems to always be someone in a leadership position who in many cases relays to 'the people' and laity what their version of the DIVINE has to say to the group as a whole and most often he and their god is male. It seems to me that the people involved in an Organized Religion spends much of their time debating their beliefs with everyone trying to push their beliefs on others as if ours are not worthy to be mentioned or to keep. I find that one's spirituality is such a personal expression of one's self that there is no room for debating who is wrong or right because the nature of it is that your spirituality is only right for you and mine is right for me and lets agree with that. 

When and if we have a spiritual experience of the Sacred 'other' it will , or at least it should mean something only to the person who has it ,because it was your experience and not everyone else. Various religion's scriptures are stories and myths of the authors experiences with the sacred and the Divine and it is OK to tell someone about those experiences as long as you know that they only   mean something to the one who experienced it and the message you may have gotten from the Divine is for you only and no one else ,because each of us should have our own experience with the sacred and Divine and should not take it from someone else because it does not apply to anyone but the one who personally receives it. I believe that we are all capable of hearing from the Divine and the Sacred if that is what we desire, and we are all capable of our own personal experience and expression of our own personal spirituality.

I do not need for any person to tell me what the DIVINE has said to me,who they are and what they want me to do. I believe that I and you are quite capable of getting our own messages and having our own sacred experiences. The Divine knows where I am at and I am quite sure that if they have a message for me they will get it to me some way or fashion . It seems arrogant and narcissistic to me that a person or a religion   thinks that they are the only ones who has the market on Truth. That they are the only one's who are hearing from spirit. There are thousands and thousands of religions and expressions of spirituality in our world, and folks no one has all of the Truth , you may have some but not all.

I have noticed that each country, culture or tribe seems to emulate the Gods they worship, you can find out a lot about a particular religion's gods by the people who worship them. Those that cruel, who love to war and take from others and force their beliefs on everyone else tends to have a Warrior god and it will most often be male or they may be atheist. Those people who love justice, who care for others  and choose not to war with others and who believe in equality will have gods and goddesses that they worship who are like minded, or  they will be secular or atheist for the most part as well. If the people are more into sexual areas their gods will tend to be sexual.Apparently either we are emulating our gods or we are making our gods into our images.

Right now there is a stink about whether or not Islam ,Jews and Christians worship the same God.Here I would have to say at least half of all of them do and that God is a mean ,warrior and vengeful God. The other half seems to have a more loving tolerant and caring God . But why the debate in the first place? If that is what this lady believes, then cut her some slack, that is her beliefs that she is expressing.
I have found that people who do not claim a religion but consider themselves as 'spiritual' are more likely to be tolerant of all religions and can care less what you do or don't believe, as long as you don't bother someone else with it. And those who are in a religion will be more likely to think their's is the true or right one and most likely to be intolerant of anyone's beliefs if they are different from their own. Why is that so often the case? I am not saying it is true in all cases but it tends to be that way at times.
I have tried countless times to enter into a religion but it does not seem to stick because I do not want to be associated with what I see within that religion. I rather go it alone as a solitary and experience the Divine personally without being told what to think or believe and how to live. I  think I am old enough to handle that on my own.
for what it was worth,
in light and love
PATC