  Spiritual
This week: Edited by: Puditat  
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Spiritual: relating to the spirit or soul and not to physical matter; intangible. Collins Dictionary and Thesaurus
This newsletter explores ideas of the spiritual nature that exists in each and every one of us in an open and non-judgemental manner.
Each editor brings to the newsletter their own backgrounds, experiences, beliefs and opinions. Whether you disagree, agree, doubt or applaud the views expressed, let us all show respect to each other. Together we can learn something about the many varied aspects of the spiritual self and enjoy our differences in true meaning of the Spirit of Community.
Enjoy! 
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 Spiritual Beings
"I'm a spiritual person" is a term you will hear a lot of in today's world. It is used by anybody, anywhere, regardless of which faith they profess to, or whether they profess one at all. Spirituality is not about religion or about which church or ceremony you attend. It is not about evidence, facts, or acts.
So what then, does it mean to be a spiritual being?
Firstly, every single person is a spiritual being. Whether one acknowledges and embraces their spiritual self or not, it is intrinsic to our existence, just as God comprises the Holy Spirit. Atheist, witch, Christian, or Muslim ... painter, prisoner, priest, or philanthropist ... we are all spiritual beings. We all have a spirit - the intangible aspect of life.
The body can be contaminated by pollution, bad eating, disease, and injury. Contaminants for the mind include perverted imagery, wrong teachings, and lies. Just as the mind and body can be contaminated, our spirits are also vulnerable to attack. Actions or words which deliberately seek to negate our faith, life events that make us doubt what we know in and by our spirit (not in our mind), and confusion which looks to make our spirit weaker.
To be a spiritual being means we consider an aspect of ourselves that carries deeper meaning than to just live, eat, and die. It promotes an obligation to examine the moral aspects of decisions we make, as well as rasing the question of what happens after death.
There are numerous 'spirits'. A spirit of peace, one of deception, a spirit of love and kindness and a spirit of fear. Not all spirits are created equal -- there are good ones and bad ones.
Take the example of one who is terrified of spiders. It is not a body response, nor can it be easily alleviated with an argument of the mind that people are much bigger than a spider. No, the fear arrives from the spirit - an intangible, seemingly unreasonable fear of arachnids. Healing of this phobia may only be completely and everlastingly dealt with by addressing the spirit of fear with a countering spirit of peace. Retraining the mind would be the equivalent of sticking a bandaid over a broken bone, while simply removing the spirit of fear would leave a hollow for some other potentially harmful spirit to occupy.
Once we recognise our spiritual self we are then drawn to connect with others who share the same spiritual identity. Have you walked into a room and been drawn to a particular person, though you've never seen them before? After a while of conversing you discover you both share the same faith ('faith' being what arises from your spiritual center). Similarly this can happen in reverse, where you feel there's something 'not right' about someone. In both cases it is called discernment and it happens within the spirit.
Having said this, it is possible for a spirit to be deceived. We can believe someone is our best friend, only to later be betrayed by them. We can believe one thing to be the absolute truth and find out at the end of our days that our faith was drastically misplaced. I believe that in today's world, more than any other period in history, it is very difficult for people to sort out what is true and what is false. There are as many 'religions' and 'faiths' as people who think everyone else is missing the mark on what's 'real'. That is to say, there are people strong enough to create a 'faith' (some of which are cults) tailored to what they believe is the right spiritual path. Some are good and have sound bases, many are not.
In this environment and culture, how then is it possible to have 100% certainty that your spiritual path is the right one? Some will argue that it's the 'right one' because I like it, or it suits me. For others the answer would equate to cultural heritage. Yet another answer might be because it seems to be the only one that makes sense.
I hold absolute certainty about the one God and the way to Him being through Jesus Christ who died on the cross in atonement for my sins.
What do others feel though? How do they come to see their faith as the right way? What is it about a spiritual life course that attracts people?
Perhaps you would like to take my survey on this subject. I will possibly use the results as a basis for my next Spiritual Newsletter.
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Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognise the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
1 John 4:1-3
Till next time:
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 That's a good point you've raised there Puditat, definitely something to think about. When driven by passion, one can find it so hard to see and think clearly. I think drafts so written should be shelved for a time until one has calmed down, then he can reread and rethink his idea of publishing his work.
LILY
Distancing from a recent piece of written work is highly recommended before tackling it again. Even when it is not inflammatory in style, some time away from it allows us to see it more clearly. Thus, flaws and errors are more easily spotted.
About inflammatory writing... The answer is: put it to music. Something heavy, grungy, and you can't go wrong. You'll be considered a visionary, risk-taking hero. (I wish I were truly joking)
Big Mike 2humble2bragbut...
 An interesting suggestion and I expect you are quite right. Though it is probably still inadvisable to share it with the subject of the anger.
I know there's good in almost all forms of religions. I try to absorb the good aspects of all religions that could provide it, and dismiss the negative aspects of it. Open minded thinking is a metaphor and it's not going to physically make your brain fall out like someone claimed in last week's Spiritual Newsletter.
Keep it real.
Hidley Boxn
I agree with you. There is good and bad everywhere, be it in a religion or person. Unfortunately the 'good' part of things is what often attracts people into things which are not actually good/moral/safe.
Thanks for your excellent article on inflammatory writing. I wonder how often, when people post things like that, are they aware how insulting and/or hurtful their words are. Is it arrogance, or are they hoping for a good word battle?
Wren
Short answer is -- both. Some do it because they like verbal interplay. Sparking off against an opponent can bring some people a high. For others they are so outraged they are compelled to voice it and writing is a safer way to do it than face to face. And yes, some are arrogant and likely to loudly proclaim their views. 
As a former political blogger, I really enjoyed your comments on inflammatory writing, which is all too common in the blogosphere.
I can offer a bit of insight into this, since I've described blogging as "a full contact sport, not for the faint of heart."
Bloggers use inflammatory writing because they truly are passionate about their beliefs. They are amateurs - and the root of amateur in 'amor' which is Latin for "love." They do what they do for the love of it.
And inflammatory, controversial writing brings them more readers. Many of those readers also are commenters, who are equally inflammatory. It's why some people read blogs. For the conroversy and emotion.
But in the end, the best bloggers, like the best writers, in general, try to keep the anger, passion, and inflammatory writing to a miniumn. They strive for reasoned and fact-based posts. Those are the ones who get read and quoted the most.
Karen F. Duncan
Thank you for the interesting and useful comments. I particularly like your description of blogging. 
I have a theory about inflammatory writing. What you state is interesting, taken a step further - the internet (esp. blogs) is a clear reflection of Jung's collective unconscious. What we are seeing through it, is the spiritual madness that has always existed, but remained invisible. Now it is very easy for any human ego to express their 'inner considering' in relative safety. We are now seeing externally the way we exhibit madness inside our own minds.
Great article. Thanks!
peteranthony
You're welcome.  I think you've hit the nail on the proverbial head. People feel safe when committing something to paper, whether true or just perceived. This safety is definitely not there when confronting someone or an issue in person.
Hello. I enjoyed your newsletter this month; you have some great links. I was interested in the difference between 'inflammatory' and 'persuasive' writing. Very interesting.
johnmcc
Glad you enjoyed it. 
That was a good quote about how sending a post card is different than an Internet response. Thanks Puditat . Food for thought there. I have a cousin who types an immediate, rapid response to something that causes his emotions to rise up, then puts it in a draft folder to send the next day. Most often, he either deletes the item or softens it the next day. Perhaps more of us should try that.
Kenzie 
What a great idea. An email 'filter'. That might save a whole lot of broken friendships, misunderstandings and other such incidents we generally come to regret. |
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Spiritual: March 14, 2007 Issue [#1595]
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