spirituality in the Advent season

Traditionally, religions have regarded spirituality as an integral aspect of religious experience and have long claimed that secular (non-religious) people cannot experience "true" spirituality.

Many do still equate spirituality with religion, but declining membership of organized religions and the growth of secularism in the western world has given rise to a broader view of spirituality.

Secular spirituality carries connotations of an individual having a spiritual outlook which is more personalized, less structured, more open to new ideas/influences, and more pluralistic than that of the doctrinal faiths of organized religions.

For some, spirituality includes introspection, and the development of an individual's inner life through practices such as meditation, prayer and contemplation.

For a Christian, to refer to him or herself as "more spiritual than religious" may (but not always) imply relative deprecation of rules, rituals, and tradition while preferring an intimate relationship with God.

The basis for this belief is that Jesus Christ came to free humankind from those rules, rituals, and traditions, giving humankind the ability to "walk in the spirit" thus maintaining a "Christian" lifestyle through that one-to-one relationship with God.

During this Advent season, all is invited to reflect, and meditate on the coming of the Redeemer in the midst of our busy- preoccupied lives!