We come into this world as a spiritual being, but we also learn about and develop ourselves along life�s journey.

Is Spirituality Inherent or Learned?

Please read my latest article on the Spirituality site. Feedback is always welcome!

Great article. I agree with you that our spirituality has always existed within us. It is what we are very essence is made of, in my humble opinion!

Thanks for the reminder. When we live in a physical world with physical bodies, we often forget who we really are.

Thank you for reading my article, Lori. I am glad you liked it.

It is indeed easy to forget who we really are in the physical world, with our sometimes chaotic shedules and numerous responsibilities. It is important to take the time we need to connect with our spiritual selves, because that is where our true identity resides.

Your article brought up some good points. Abraham, Issac, and Jacob didn't have bibles and they got to know God very well. :-)

Awesome article. Really liked this article. I also believe that spirituality has existed in us.

Thank you for reading my article, ladies, and for your comments.

I think most people have a sense of the Divine, but how it is expressed is usually down to the family and culture they grow up in. Most of the time this is through the local religion, or religious community and this doesn't suit everyone.

When I was a visiting Pagan Chaplain at the local jails I met a lot of people who were brought up in spiritual systems that didn't suit them. They were fascinated when I explained how they could find one right for them and there was no 'ultimate system'. The idea of supplanting morals with standards was particularly popular with psychopaths, who just didn't 'get' morals, but could understand the idea of standards. They found 'I could do this, but chose not to' approach powerful and easier to follow than "x is wrong",

I've always compared different Spiritual paths to martial arts. You have the 'hard', approach systems "Don't think but do" which covers Fundamentalist Islam, Christianity, Ritual Magick, and Buddhism. The soft systems "Learn from the Divine, others, and your own experience" which Paganism, moderate Islam, Christianity, Ritual Magick, Buddhism, and Taoism tend to belong to. Finally the eclectic "use what works" systems; Shamanism, TechnoPagans, Psionics, Voodun, and Chaos Magick.

By no means a complete list, but it gives you some idea of this approach

I agree.

Religious control if you're in something like that is the exact OPPOSITE of the Human Spirit.

One man's dictate couldn't be further from sincere Faith and Spirituality which IS the Truth.

I can't take a look out my own window and see control in anything natural. It all comes together, all of it disease, cure, storms, regrowth and develops, mixed and all. And anything you see as a whole breaks down into pieces of what you see, like a rainbow for instance.

I think you start out learning what you're introduced to and the Spirit within grows to exceed those boundaries.

Ian and Elleise.......great points you've brought up, thank you. I too agree that we first learn what we are exposed to, and as we mature we discover more about our inner spirit and go from there to make our own decisions about what rings true for us and what works best for us.

Must be the great priests in my church, because I don't feel restricted at all being of Roman Catholic faith. They encourage freedom and peace, loving all people, and giving. I feel good when I leave there.

My belief system goes beyond just my religious beliefs. I find my life richer for it and I am more at peace.

As always, great article Debbie!