Spirituality
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Introduction

For most people, personal growth involves spiritual development. The varieties of religious experience are enormous. Each individual’s faith is unique. Apart from the language we use, however, we need to respect all spiritual paths, encourage believers to refrain from claiming that their tradition is the one true religion, find common ground in universal truths that transcend particular traditions, and support one another’s striving to reach higher levels of spiritual awareness. Even those who do not think of themselves as religious or spiritual recognize the value of certain non-material realities and experiences that are difficult if not impossible to explain, including:

• Feeling amazed and humbled by the vastness of the universe.
• Feeling at one with the world and all humanity.
• Sensing that everyone shares a common source (the “Big Bang” or “God”).
• Sensing that all life shares a common structure or order.
• Being awe-struck by beauty and joy.
• Feeling the “life force” coursing through one’s body.
• Feeling that life is fundamentally good.
• Being a participant, or co-creator, in the mysterious process of natural and human evolution.
• Being aware of how one’s mind, or soul, cannot be measured or touched because it is more than one’s body.
• Fully appreciating the many non-material realities that give life meaning.

These experiences are generally considered “spiritual.” Regardless of nomenclature, however, they are experiences that we need to cultivate, for they can provide a solid foundation for our life and work.

The resources in this Section reflect this perspective.

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