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Spirituality may include belief in supernatural powers, as in
religion, but the emphasis is on experience. What is referred to as "religion" and
what is referred to as "spirituality" are often the same. In recent years, "spirituality" has often carried connotations of the
believer's faith being more personal, less dogmatic, more open to new ideas and myriad
influences, and more pluralistic than the faiths of established religions. Those given to speaking of "spirituality" rather
than "religion" are apt to believe that there are many "spiritual paths" and that there is no objective truth about which is the best path to follow.
Others hold that spirituality is not religion, per se, but the active and vital connection to a force, power, or
sense of the deep self.
Some proponents of spirituality believe that the goal of 'being spiritual' is to simultaneously improve one's wisdom, willpower and communion with God/universe, which necessitates the removal of illusions
at the sensory, feeling and thinking aspectes of a person. The 'Plato's cave' analogy in
book VII of The Republic is one of the most well known descriptions of the spiritual development process.
Other spiritual proponents point out that that spirituality is a two-stroke process. The upward stroke relates to inner growth
and the downward stroke relates towards manifesting improvements in the world/reality around us as a result of the inward
change.
The rule of thumb when evaluating any spiritual approach is that six months of diligent, proper practice should manifest
noticeable improvement in one's life. If not, then the usual advice is to pick an approach that is more likely to assist you in
achieving your specific goals.
Spiritual communities
See also
External links
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