The
Outer Approach to Religion,
and the Inner Approach to Spirituality
Any inner conflict springs from an unanswered question. The only way
to heal the wound caused by the inner conflict is to find a sensible
answer to the question.
By Kim Michaels
You can take an outer
or an inner approach to finding answers to your questions
about the spiritual side of life.
Many people take the outer
approach and seek to find answers from a source outside themselves,
such as a formal religion, a doctrine or a belief system. There are
numerous belief systems that claim to have the answers to spiritual
questions. These answers are often presented as formal doctrines that
are seen as complete, perhaps even infallible. The outer approach has
a couple of limitations:
- If you accept an outer
doctrine as complete, how do you deal with questions that are not
answered by the doctrine? Many people find that no outer doctrine
can answer all of their questions about the spiritual side of life.
This often leads to an inner conflict and a feeling that God simply
doesn't make sense.
- If you accept an outer
doctrine as infallible, then all different or conflicting doctrines
must be false. This often leads to an outer conflict between groups
of religious people. It is a sad, but undeniable, fact that religious
conflict has caused more bloodshed than any other single factor.
If the outer approach is
no longer working for you, perhaps it is time to look for a different
approach?
The inner approach to spirituality
Many people are losing
faith in a particular religion or even in all religion. This does not
mean that such people no longer care about the spiritual side of life.
On the contrary, people often become disappointed with formal religions
because they are not getting answers to their questions. The questions
demonstrate that such people do care about spirituality.
What if the real cause of
this disappointment is the outer approach to religion? What if there
really are plausible and sensible answers to your questions about spiritual
topics? What if the key to finding such answers is to go beyond the
outer approach to religion?
Instead of seeking standard
answers from an outer doctrine, you can seek personal answers from a
source inside yourself. This inner, mystical or spiritual approach has
been practiced by people from every walk of life and from every religion.
For example, Christianity has had its share of mystics. One might argue
that Christianity was started by a person who did not accept the standard
answers given by the Jewish religion.
A
journey of discovery
Adopting the inner
approach to spirituality does not mean that you have to abandon an outer
religion. In every religious tradition you can find many people who
practice the inner approach to spirituality within the context and culture
of the outer religion. However, when you take the inner approach, you
realize that the outer religion serves as a foundation, a stepping stone,
for your personal quest for answers. The outer religion must never become
a cage that prevents you from looking for answers outside a certain
framework.
When you take the inner approach
to spirituality, you realize that the spiritual side of life is a complex
and vast topic. Most religions teach that God is beyond this world.
This world is a finite world, and God might be infinite. How could a
finite doctrine possibly give a complete description of an infinite
God? So if you truly want to understand the spiritual side of life,
is it wise to believe that one organization or doctrine can give you
all the answers?
When you open your mind to
the inner approach to spirituality, your life takes a new turn. You
now realize that life is a journey of discovery, and the journey is
ongoing. The purpose of the journey is to attain a higher understanding,
but not an ultimate or absolute understanding.
After all, the central idea
of all spirituality is that there is a spiritual realm beyond the material
world. Perhaps it will never be possible to attain an ultimate understanding
of the spiritual side of life while we are still here in the material
world? Therefore, why argue over which outer doctrine is the only right
one? Why not simply continue to seek for a higher understanding of life?
The need for a higher understanding
Today, humankind knows
a lot more about the natural world than people did in the past. Therefore,
we can now ask questions about atoms that no one would have thought
about 2,000 years ago. One might say that humankind is engaged in a
process of gradually increasing our understanding of every aspect of
life. Consequently, we can now ask more questions about life, including
the spiritual side of life, than in the past.
If we accept that humankind
is engaged in a process of increasing our understanding of life, how
can we expect that a religious teaching, formulated thousands of years
ago, can answer all of the questions about spirituality we could ever
ask?
It is a simple fact that
the only constant in this world is constant change. If you look at the
past, you will see that many religions have vanished, because they could
not adapt to the changing needs of their followers. Why do so many religions
tend to become rigid?
When you take the outer approach
to religion, you see a particular religious doctrine as complete and
infallible. If the doctrine is complete and infallible, how could it
ever need to change? Therefore so many religions refuse to change and
continue to claim that their doctrine can give you all the answers you
need (or are allowed to have).
The result of the outer approach
to religion is that more and more people realize that the religion in
which they grew up can no longer meet their spiritual needs or answer
their questions. How can you best deal with that situation?
Some people become angry
and feel cheated or manipulated. Others become disappointed and they
either give up on all religion or a particular religion. Some people
reason that their questions must be wrong, and they stop thinking about
spiritual topics. While such reactions are very understandable, they
seldom lead to a true resolution of people's inner conflicts about spirituality.
Is there an alternative?
What if the real problem is not a particular religious organization
or doctrine? What if the real problem is that the outer approach to
religion prevents you from finding answers to your questions about spirituality?
What if you could simply look beyond that outer approach? What if you
could become a seeker of truth instead of a follower of doctrine?
Answers must come from within
What can you do to
find personal answers to your questions about the spiritual side of
life? You can begin by recognizing where such answers must come from.
The only way to resolve
your inner conflicts about spirituality is through answers that come
from a source inside yourself!
Millions of people have sought
answers through outer doctrines. While such standard answers might suppress
your inner conflicts, they can never resolve your conflicts. True resolution
comes from internalizing outer knowledge so that it becomes personal,
inner understanding. With all thy getting, get this inner understanding!
Obviously, many people have
been conditioned against accepting the inner approach to spirituality.
When you take the outer approach to religion, you must reason that only
an outer authority can define a true doctrine. Only a particular religious
figure, such as Jesus or a church hierarchy, can define a true religious
doctrine. How could you possibly know what is true?
The answer is that every
human being has an inherent ability to recognize truth. This is the
open door which no human can shut.
To apply this ability, you
need to adopt the inner approach to spirituality. To learn why it is
so important to apply this approach, read Why
do I need to change my approach to religion?
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Copyright
© 2005 by Kim Michaels |
