Seeking the Sacred

Have I always been a "spiritual" person? I'd like to think so. It suits me better than the word "religious", yet these words are often so intertwined. My quest and blog content is currently forming and already shifting, but I am going to try to narrow it down to a few key points. I want to find out what other people think about the difference between being spiritual and and being religious. Why do they believe what they believe, and have they ever questioned it? Has it shifted over the years as much as it has for me? I have a feeling that posing this question to others will help me have a deeper understanding.

I want to experience other religions more in depth. Isn't part of the human experience to be more spiritual, or is part of the divine experience to be human? Is it both?

I will approach this sacred subject with the utmost respect and consideration in the coming months. I currently don't subscribe to any one religion, but I find that there is some truth for me in most every religion. My goal is not to find the religion, but truly find what deeply personal truths exist. Maybe I already know the answers, but they are not clearly defined. Perhaps this is more of a Siddhartha journey for me. I expect it will all unfold in time.

I am going to start my journey by defining the difference between Spirituality and Religion, according to the Webster dictionary. Spirituality is:

1 : 1)something that in ecclesiastical law belongs to the church or to a cleric as such
2 : clergy
3 : sensitivity or attachment to religious values
4 : the quality or state of being spiritual

This did not give me the answers I was really looking for. It seems that the definition of spiritual was better:

1 : of, relating to, consisting of, or affecting the spirit : incorporeal
2 a : of or relating to sacred matters b : ecclesiastical rather than lay or temporal
3 : concerned with religious values
4 : related or joined in spirit
5 a : of or relating to supernatural beings or phenomena b : of, relating to, or involving spiritualism : spiritualistic

Religion is defined by:

1 a : the state of a religious b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) :commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
3 archaic : scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness
4 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

So take the journey with me, as I explore different churches, religions and views on what it means to be spiritual. I am here to observe and report as I experience it and it turn; share it.

Education is key. We are expected to be tolerant of so many world religions. How can we do that if we know so little about them?