What Would Jesus Say About Your Spirituality?

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March 10, 2015|7:25 am

Perhaps you are someone who says, "I am spiritual, but not religious." OK. What else? What are the core doctrines and principles of your spirituality? And most importantly, what would Jesus say about your spirituality?

Let's assume you treat others with kindness. And let's also assume you try to be honest in your dealings with others. What do you think Jesus would say about those traits, especially as it relates to your soul?

Spirituality after all deals with matters of the soul, right? Outward actions are a reflection of our soul, but they don't tell the whole story. In order to get those details, we must listen to what a person says about his or her spirituality. Such communication often reveals the "well" from which the individual is drawing their spiritual resources.

Some people are big proponents of meditation. But here again, what is the source of the meditation? Where does a person look to find a proper starting point to meditate? And if you are a person who practices some meditation yourself, what would Jesus say about your meditation?

In order for a particular brand of spirituality to be acceptable to God, it must have a stamp of approval from Jesus. He knows the kind of spirituality which is helpful, as well as the kinds that are harmful. All spirituality is not created equal, just like all prophets are not created equal. And there is even one prophet who was never created because He has always existed. Guess who?

True spirituality not only connects you to your Creator, but it also produces good fruit in your life. It makes you a better person. Jesus knows all about true spirituality. He knows what is inside man, and He knows what man needs in order to succeed spiritually.

One must look at the life and death of Jesus if one is going to understand true spirituality. And by "true spirituality," I am not suggesting that those who practice "false spirituality" are being disingenuous. Those folks are just as sincere, even though the well from which they draw their spiritual resources is much different than the well Jesus sent into the world after His resurrection and ascension into heaven.

Jesus sent His children a source of power. But not just some impersonal source of power. Instead, Jesus sent a Person. Guess who? The Holy Spirit is just as much a Person as Jesus. Along with the Father, they make up the Trinity. And so true spirituality must by definition be connected to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. If it isn't, then it is false spirituality. It's sincere, but it doesn't draw from God's well.

Jesus never approved any form of spirituality which keeps a person outside His family. Instead, Jesus teaches us the true nature of man, and the true nature of salvation. While man is good at devising various types of spirituality, man isn't so good at aligning himself with the kind of spirituality which draws from God's well. After all, there is only one well, and there is only one wellspring of living water. (see John 7:38,39)

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What Would Jesus Say About Your Spirituality?

Aim of Well for the Journey is to quench thirst for spirituality

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A sunny yellow-colored house in West Towson has served for the last two years as an oasis for those thirsting to deepen their spiritual life.

Some come to Well for the Journey for a sip before continuing on their journey. Others come regularly to drink in the lessons, the conversations and the reflection that goes on here. Some consider Lent, which begins Wednesday, as a time to deepen their spirituality. At Well for the Journey, that's the goal every day.

"At the well you fill up. You take what you need," said Mabeth Hudson, co-founder of Well for the Journey.

Kathy Baker, of Seminary Overlook, has always been a regular church-goer. But in 2004, she came to Well for the Journey looking for something more. "Sometimes church speaks to me and sometimes it doesn't," she said.

She found what she was looking for: An original curriculum that used both scriptures and contemporary writers to help her deepen her spirituality.

"Well for the Journey has allowed me to develop a more relational experience with God," Baker said. She took a nine-month program called Crossroads Companions and continued taking classes and, in fact, now leads them, both at the Well and at her church.

"It has been a powerful force in my life," Baker said.

Now, when Baker attends services at her church, Woodbrook Baptist, she brings a deeper faith. "My perspective has changed. I see God as a bigger entity that is in every part of my life," she said.

About 85 to 100 come to the Well each month for classes, spiritual direction or special programs. Some 1,200 receive quote-of-the-day emails. Hudson said the email blast was started to reach those who cannot attend programs. "A lot of people have said that changed their lives," said Hudson, who collects quotes for the daily email blast.

Hudson, a Sparks resident, was a partner in a law firm in 2001 when she felt called to start a community for those seeking to develop their spirituality. She designed Women at the Well specifically for women at first. It wasn't long before other journeyers, including men, wanted more, Hudson said.

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Aim of Well for the Journey is to quench thirst for spirituality

Can intensive mindfulness training improve depression?

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IMAGE:The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine is a monthly peer-reviewed journal published online with Open Access options and in print. The Journal provides observational, clinical, and scientific... view more

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, March 10, 2015--Depression affects about 350 million people worldwide and is the leading cause of disability. Mindfulness training is a promising approach to decreasing depressive symptoms. The success of an intensive mindfulness meditation program on reducing depression, and how factors such as age, gender, and spirituality affect an individual's response to training are presented in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine website until April 10, 2015.

Jeffrey Greeson, PhD, Duke University Medical Center (Durham, NC) and University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine (Philadelphia), and coauthors, also from McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada), Broadleaf Health (Guelph, Ontario, Canada), and University of Southampton (U.K.), compared how individual differences in religious beliefs, spirituality, the ability to achieve mindfulness, gender, and age affect levels of depressive symptoms after completing an 8-week course in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).

In the article "Decreased Symptoms of Depression after Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: Potential Moderating Effects of Religiosity, Spirituality, Trait Mindfulness, Sex, and Age," the authors report that overall, depressive symptoms decreased substantially for nearly all of the subgroups of participants, and they suggest that MBSR can be helpful whether its use is intended by the individual as a secular or spiritual practice.

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Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Complementary & Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K99AT004945. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

About the Journal

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine is a monthly peer-reviewed journal published online with Open Access options and in print. The Journal provides observational, clinical, and scientific reports and commentary intended to help healthcare professionals and scientists evaluate and integrate therapies into patient care protocols and research strategies. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine website.

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Can intensive mindfulness training improve depression?

Spiritual Enlightenment – Part 2 – Understanding The Conceptualized Self – Video

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Spiritual Enlightenment - Part 2 - Understanding The Conceptualized Self
Spiritual Enlightenment - How your mind creates a false identification with the body and thoughts via conceptualization. http://www.actualized.org Leo #39;s Top ...

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Spiritual Enlightenment - Part 2 - Understanding The Conceptualized Self - Video

Andrew Keegan Preaches "High Vibes" as New Age Spiritual Leader

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Andrew Keegan has traded in his scripts for a particularly out-there world of scripture. Once the leading man in teen rom-coms like 10 Things I Hate About You, the actor, 36, is now one of the leaders of a nontraditional California-based congregation called Full Circle, and regularly preaching the church's benefits.

"Full Circle is an experiential environment that aims to elevate the individual while connecting us with each other," Keegan says in a release on the organization's official website. "Much spiritual development is inner-focused. We certainly offer that, but people are also looking for a way to authentically connect with others around a higher purpose. We operate according to a co-creative model, encouraging individuals to seek individual enlightenment while aligning their talents with forces larger than themselves."

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New York magazine caught up with Keegan and profiled his unexpected second act from Venice, Calif., where the Independence Day star spends his days. Keegan recalled his early days with a spiritual group called the Source, as well as his ensuing exit following his realization that the religion's beliefs were "not in alignment" with his own.

The introduction started Keegan on a path toward Full Circle, setting up the community in a decades-old former Hare Krishna church. "I was clear that if there was ever an appropriate time to be in the service of the temple, I would be," he told the magazine.

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Keegan's "experiential environment" is far from a traditional temple, however. According to New York, the services open with Keegan telling the 50-some congregants, "Hi, I'm Andrew," to which they respond, "We love you, Andrew!" He then tells the group, "I love you all too; today, Im here to activate high vibes," and leads them all in a declaration of the words, "And so it is."

Amid the chanting and call-and-response affirmations, a Full Circle service includes music from a didgeridoo, hand-holding, references to the spiritual power of quartzes, and one of Keegan's fellow believers, who preaches, "If a mosquito bites you, that mosquito was meant to bite you. If a fly lands on your arm, its there as a messenger." Keegan tosses around the word "flow" to describe particularly offbeat moments in the church.

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While Keegan is still booking small acting gigs, his on-screen career has taken a bit of a backseat to his spiritual endeavors with Full Circle. His church may be his main focus, but fans continue to recognize him as the heartthrob from their teenage days.

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Andrew Keegan Preaches "High Vibes" as New Age Spiritual Leader

Space Station Enters Fight Against Alzheimer’s Disease | Video – Video

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Space Station Enters Fight Against Alzheimer #39;s Disease | Video
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station will attempt to grow the fibrous plaque (amyloids) that are the root cause of the brain disease. Comparing results of this microgravity experiment...

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A new space race emerges as NASA prepares to award contract to ferry supplies to space station

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Lugging groceries and supplies to the astronauts on the International Space Station may not be as cool as ferrying the astronauts themselves into orbit. But the NASA contract to fly cargo to the station in unmanned rocket ships has attracted bids from high-profilecompanies in what analysts say is another indication of commercial spaceflights recent renaissance.

It appears that at least five space firms have submitted proposals for the work, including giants such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which didn't bother to bidon the work the last time. In a new sort of space race, the contract has touched off an intense competition between stalwart defense contractors and new space start-ups that have, in just a few years, shown they can compete.

Years ago, NASA implemented a plan to outsource transportation to the space station in low Earth orbit, saying that, with a tight budget, it needed to be focused on bigger targets, such as Mars.

Some members of Congress and others criticized the decision, saying that private industry could not be trusted with such high-stakes work and that the business of spaceflight should be left to NASA. But in the years since, NASAs decision to rely on commercial companies helped ignite the commercial space industry, which, backed by new infusions of cash and with more launches to its credit, has grown more robust.

For the past few years, two companies have been resupplying the space station, taking supplies and experiments to the orbital laboratory. Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musks SpaceX won a $1.6 billion contract, and so far has had five successful trips, and is scheduled for a sixth in April.

On Jan. 10, SpaceXs Falcon 9 was launched from Florida's Cape Canaveral to deliver more than two tons of supplies and science experiments to the Expedition 42 crew aboard the International Space Station. (NASA)

The other company to win the cargo contract, Orbital Sciences, now Orbital ATK, had its unmanned rocket explode shortly after takeofflast year.That raised questions about whether NASA should be relying on the commercial sector so heavily.

But at NASA, the explosion did not dampen enthusiasm for outsourcing the work. Thats in part because of SpaceXs success. But also because given the NASAs tight budgets, it doesnt really have a choice but to hire contractors to do the work for it, analysts said.

The private space industryhas been buoyed by billionaires, such as Musk, Richard Branson, who owns Virgin Galactic, and Jeff Bezos, the Amazon.com founder who owns Blue Origin (as well as the Washington Post).

But now others are looking to invest in space as well. On a recent trip to Silicon Valley, Eric Stallmer, the president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, said many other investors had a palpable fear-of-missing-out vibe.

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A new space race emerges as NASA prepares to award contract to ferry supplies to space station

Space station preps for 'space taxis'

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It will also permit NASA to increase the size of the American crew on the station, and double the amount of scientific research that the team can perform, according NASA spokesperson Stephanie Schierholz.

NASA awarded Boeing a $4.2 billion contract in September to develop a transportation capable of carrying human passengers, according to Kelly Kaplan, a spokesperson for Boeing. Other reports indicate Space X received $2.6 billion for manned space missions at the same time.

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Both companies, along with others, have other space contracts with NASA.

The commercial crew program is expected to improve the quality of the research being done on the station, by getting research samples from space to scientists on the ground faster; under the terms of the contract, crew have to be returned within an hour of landing and critical cargo have to be retrieved within two hours.

"The longer you have something from microgravity sitting in gravity," said NASA's Shierholz, "the more degradation there is, and the tougher it is to study it as it would be in space."

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Space station preps for 'space taxis'

Deep Space Flight and Communications: Exploiting the Sun …

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The majority of books dealing with prospects for interstellar flight tackle the problem of the propulsion systems that will be needed to send a craft on an interstellar trajectory. The proposed book looks at two other, equally important aspects of such space missions, and each forms half of this two part book.

Part 1 looks at the ways in which it is possible to exploit the focusing effect of the Sun as a gravitational lens for scientific missions to distances of 550 AU and beyond into interstellar space. The author explains the mechanism of the Sun as a gravitational lens, the scientific investigations which may be carried out along the way to a distance of 550 AU (and at the 550 AU sphere itself), the requirements for exiting the Solar System at the highest speed and a range of project ideas for missions entering interstellar space.

Part 2 of the book deals with the problems of communicating between an interstellar spaceship and the Earth, especially at very high speeds. Here the author assesses a range of mathematical tools relating to the Karhunen-Love Transform (KLT) for optimal telecommunications, technical topics that may one day enable humans flying around the Galaxy to keep in contact with the Earth. This part of the book opens with a summary of the authors 2003 Peek Lecture presented at the IAC in Bremen, which introduces the concept of KLT for engineers and newcomers to the subject. It is planned to include a DVD containing the full mathematical derivations of the KLT for those interested in this important mathematical tool whilst the text itself will contain the various results without outlines of the mathematical proofs. Astronautical engineers will thus be able to see the application of the results without getting bogged down in the mathematics.

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Deep Space Flight and Communications: Exploiting the Sun ...