Religion and Spirituality. Is There a Difference with Marc Lainhart

Air Date - 10 July 2024

Join Inspired Living Host Marc Lainhart – The Intuitive Prospector™ this “Wisdom Wednesday” as Marc goes “Prospecting” deeper to discuss the many differences and perspectives of religion and spirituality. Is there a difference? Although the terms are often used interchangeably, it’s important to note that these distinctions are generalizations. There is a wide range of diversity within both religion and spirituality, and the choice between the two is a deeply personal one and varies from person to person.

“In the service of the Truth, religious teachings represent signposts or maps left behind by awakened humans to assist you in spiritual awakening, that is to say, in becoming free of identification with form.” — Eckhart Tolle.

#Religion #Spirituality #InspiredLiving #MarcLainhart 

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Episode Transcript

(00:16):
Welcome to Inspired Living with Mark Lainhart, The Intuitive Prospector. Every Wednesday,
Mark, along with his special guests, will explore thought provoking topics and ideas
that promote creativity, self help,healing, happiness and well being to inspire
you on your spiritual journey. Eachweek, Mark will discuss different paths to

(00:36):
achieving a more spiritual, balanced,happy, and healthy lifestyle. Topics will
elevate consciousness and range from metaphysics,to the human and social experience and all
things spiritual. Welcome to an inspiredcommunity that offers support, encouragement, and
new ways of thinking. Mark isa tested, certified and professional spiritual medium,

(00:56):
metaphysical teacher, healer, and spiritualadviser with which this spiritual practice based
in Seattle, Washington. You arethe inspired and the inspiration and good morning,
good afternoon, and good evening whereveryou may be in this magical,

(01:17):
magnanimous, magnificent, majestic, marvelous, metaphysical, miraculuous, mind awakening,
mind blogging and mind blowing plant ofours. This is Inspired Living Radio and
podcast. I am your host,Mark Laineheart, the Intuitive Prospector, where
we like to say you are theinspired and inspiration. So let's be inspired,

(01:37):
let's inspire others, and let's inspirebefore we expire. We're gonna have
another fabulous episode today. I willbe the host and the guest as I
have a topic I want to discussand something that has been coming up lately
through my meditations. I've seen itin reality, you know, the difference
of you know, is there adifference between religion and spirituality? Like to

(02:00):
say religion versus spirituality. I don'treally make it a competition. I just
want to share with you on thisepisode the difference is and go through some
of the breakdowns of what the religiouspathway looks like something I had in the
first half of my life, andwhat the spiritual pathway looks like what I've
enjoyed the second half of my life. So we're going to discuss this on

(02:21):
today's episode, and we're going toprospect and discover the many diamonds that are
in each and every one of us, and the many gems in our world
that have yet to be revealed.So get comfortable, grab your favorite drink,
tea or coffee, kick back,sit back, or even lie back,
and just take a nice, deep, healing, cleansing breath. Breathing

(02:43):
in what you want, exhaling whatyou don't, and let's learn together.
As we discussed today's topic religion andspirituality, is there a difference and the
journey and the many pathways of lifeto dream, discover, and explore and
experience through the mind, the body, the spirit. For another inspiring,
uplifting and educational episode here of InspiredLiving, I want to give a big

(03:06):
shout out, as I always doto our listeners, those of you that
find us on the many different channelswherever you get your favorite podcasting shows,
but we want to always say thankyou to the inspired listeners from around the
globe, the universe and beyond.My team and I here at Inspired Living
are always so grateful, humbled,and you know, just thankful for you

(03:29):
listening, downloading, subscribing, leavingreviews and you voted based on your downloads.
Based on the data feed Source hasmade Inspired Living a rated best inspirational
and best in spiritual show to followand listen to. As like I said,
sourced by fees Spot, and there'sthousands of podcasts out there, so
anytime we get any kind of recognitionon the show, we really appreciate it

(03:53):
and we really appreciate you so thankyou, thank you, thank you for
listening to the live broadcast today orcatching the encore shows throughout the weak,
or catching the podcast again wherever youget your favorite podcasts. If you have
not yet subscribed, liked, orfollowed the show, there is always time
to do so over on our mainsocial media platforms. The main ones right
now are Facebook. You just lookfor Inspired Living Radio and Podcast Community Group

(04:15):
and you can join the listeners fromall around the globe. We're also on
Instagram and ex formerly known as Twitter. Just look for Inspired for Us.
That is the number four Inspired forUs. Or you can go over to
our YouTube channel through Home Times lookfor Inspired Living Radio and we are now
streaming as well through Audible, andyou can, like I said, you
can get your favorite podcast on whereveryou listen to your podcast, whatever platform

(04:41):
that is, or you can simplysay, if you have an Alexa,
you can simply say Alexa open upInspired Living Podcasts to play this latest episode.
So I always like to say,it's a new day, a new
opportunity, a day we've not seenbefore, to use our intuition to prospect
this wonderful world around us. Arewe ready to go prospecting. I know
that. I so let's do this. So today's episode, Like I said,

(05:06):
I love how consciousness, how signsymbol, synergy, synchronicities work if
you pay attention to the pattern ofthree. It's something I long paid attention
to, long before I started downthe spiritual pathway as a retired firefighter first
Responder EMT, and we'd always seethings happen in threes and along the line

(05:29):
in my spiritual pathway, I wouldnotice these synchronicities or coincidences happening in a
three time pattern. You'd either seeit on TV, or you read it
in a book, or somebody istalking about it. And it was just
interesting because I kept seeing that.You know, is there a difference between
religion and spirituality because they're often usedinterchangeably, but there are distinct differences between

(05:51):
the two. And this has comeup throughout the week and I'm like,
Okay, let's I hear your universe, I hear your spirit I'll do an
episode, you know, help inspireand educate those that may not know the
difference of religion and Spirituoby and Iwould be one of those. When I
started on this path almost two decadesago down the spiritual pathway. I was

(06:12):
actually raised in a religious, verystaunch Catholicism household, where you had to
go to church, you had onSunday mornings, had to get up and
watch religious television, and really kindof force fed the religious doctrine of Catholicism.
And I just want to point outin today's episode there's never any disrespect

(06:34):
to any of the religions around theworld. There's over five thousand different religions
around the globe. I have takenthe liberty through my own prospecting journey and
that with my spiritual development group onlineand my students, we've actually studied in
detail the top ten religions around theglobe. And when you do that,
and I would recommend you do thatto start off this show today is look

(06:57):
at the locations that religion and thereare many similarities to the religions around the
world, especially the top ten religions. Now, each religion, you know,
does different, you know, aspeople do, right, as thoughts
do. But for today's show,I want to really just break down the
religious pathway versus the spiritual pathway,because again I hear them often used interchangeably,

(07:21):
but there are distinct differences and evenoffer you a step by step breakdown
on how religion is quite different fromspirituality. So with that, let's just
start as I like to do.I like to start with the definition of
words. Why do we say thethings that we do in today's age?
You know, why are these wordsused? What's the definition and so the

(07:43):
definition of religion if we were toactually look just at religion, religion refers
to a specific set of organized beliefs, practices, rituals, and dogmas that
are shared by a community and oran institution. So we have include institutions
as part of the religious conversation.Now, so it often includes a system

(08:07):
of worship and the adherence to aparticular faith tradition. That is the definition
of religion. Now, if wewere to give a different perspective, because
that's what we like to do.As a spiritualist, we always say our
strength is our ability to shift perspectives. The definition of spirituality, on the
other hand, is a broader andmore personal concept. What it does is

(08:28):
involves the search for meaning, purpose, and connection to something greater than ourselves.
It's often characterized by individual experiences,beliefs, and practices, and what
I love about my spiritual pathway thatI started, like I said, two
decades ago, it really created theconcept of the intuitive prospector. Now that's

(08:52):
my business name, that's trademarked theIntuitive Prospector, but it's a concept.
It's more of, not so muchmy business. It's a concept of helping
people to use their intuition, becauseI firmly believe that everybody has intuition,
whether they choose to use or not. That's always true free will and choice.
But if you are intuitive prospector asa concept, the prospector goes out

(09:15):
in a world that he or shemay not know, searching, exploring,
discovering through hard work too. Youknow, it takes you know, if
you've ever been out prospecting on anythingin a river basin up in the hills,
it's quite labor intensive. If you'redigging a lot, and it takes
time and patience, and you're digginginto unknown areas and sometimes you discover,

(09:35):
you know, the riches of theEarth, because if you think about all
the riches, most of them,almost all of them come from the planet
Earth. Of what we use inyou know, commodity and exchange and capitalism,
including money, which is you know, paper cut down from trees.
So if you're an intuitive prospector,it's using your intuition to find what's right
for you. And that's how Ireally coined my spiritual pathway was the intuitive

(10:00):
prospector and now helping other people findnot just the diamonds that are out there
all around the world, because there'sa lot this world offers, the unknown,
the metaphysics, the paranormal, thephenomenon. We can go on and
on about the mysteries of the ofthe planet, the universe, space and
time. But here we also havethat diamond within. And we know that

(10:22):
under extreme stress and pressures that diamondsare created. And maybe some of you
think that diamonds sparkle, Actually theyreflect, they don't actually sparkle, But
in society it's you know, shinebright like a diamond. And so that
I help people through the intuitive prospector concept to explore their world around them

(10:43):
and also to explore within them theirgifts, their abilities, who they are,
to know thyself, because if youcan find that diamond within and reveal
that your life can change. Andthat's what I found through spirituality. So
again the definitions between religion is referringto us a cific set of organized belief
practices, rituals, and dogmas thatare shared by a community or institution and

(11:05):
may have been for you know,thousands of years. Some of these religions
are very old. But in spirituality, it's a more broader, impersonal concept,
and it involves the search for meaning, purpose and connection to something greater
than oneself, and it's often characterizedby individual experiences, beliefs, and practices.
There's a saying that I had onceheard when I was starting to shift

(11:28):
from my religious pathways and beliefs andfollowing to my spiritual pathway. And it's
when you have that personal experience,that belief, that vision, that phenomenon
that takes place. Many people insociety call you crazy. But if you
read about somebody in a book thathad the same experience thing you did,

(11:48):
maybe it was one hundred years ago, three thousand years ago, we call
that religion. And a lot ofpeople write about their personal experiences. And
so I always kind of laughed atthat because I've had, you know,
in my journey of going down thepath, I've had a lot of amazing
experience. I've had an ND whichis a near death experience. I've had
an OBE, which is an outof body experience. I've been an experiencer

(12:09):
with UFOs and in what we nowcall today unidentified aerial phenomenon. I've also
had experiences now with nature and plantmedicine, and have really gone down the
spiritual rabbit hole to know myself andrealize that we have so much to offer
if we're willing to be the intuitiveprospector and explore our world around us and
the many gifts and abilities that liewithin each of us. So, as

(12:33):
we move down on the difference ofreligion and spirituality, is there a difference?
I find that the religion is basedon structure and beliefs, and religions
have organized structures Like I said,they also have hierarchies and established dogmas or
doctrines that outline specific beliefs and practices. They often have religious texts. They
also have clergy or prescribed rituals.The difference from religion to a spiritual structure

(12:58):
and belief if the spirituality is moreflexible in individualistic. What it does it
doesn't necessarily follow a specific structure orset of beliefs. What it does it
allows us as individuals and as afull member spiritualist of this Spiritual National Union
over in the UK. It allowsus to explore our own beliefs, our

(13:20):
experiences and a connection to the divineor a higher power in a way that
resonates with us personally. And whatthat has found for me when we talk
about the divine in religion, thedivine was it was very masculine, to
be honest with you. The onlywoman that we ever really talked about was
Mother Mary and Catholicism, but everythingelse was based on a male perspective and

(13:43):
very misogynist. And when I openedup to my spiritual pathway, I found
that the divine, feminine, MotherDivine was actually part of this hierarchy in
conjunction with Father God but also theGreat Spirit world. So I really kind
of break it down back to thatthree things have and threes Father, God,
Mother, Divinity, the Great Spirit. Some may know it as the

(14:05):
Father Son, the Holy Ghost.And you know, different religions have different
formats, but it's usually that threeword phrase that refers to something bigger than
ourselves. So when it comes todivinity, I make that very broad.
Whatever Divinity is for you, whateverGod is for you, whether you're a
believer in God great, whether you'reagnostic, which at times I have been,

(14:26):
where you want proof of God great, or you're an atheist and you
believe that the end of this physicaljourney, this vibrational matter fleshoot that we
were ends and you go into theground and that's it. That's okay too.
That is your personal belief, andthat's your choice. Free will and
choice will always dictate where we go. But I can tell you since my
journey of going down the spiritual pathwayhas unlocked many, many unbelievable things that

(14:50):
seeing is believing, but also feelingis believing. And I prefer the structure
and belief of that of a spiritualpathway versus a religious str true belief pathway.
Now, another difference between the tworeligion when it comes to community.
Religion often emphasizes on community and thecollective experience of worship and practice, which

(15:11):
is great. I've been a parteven in a spiritual pathway. I've been
part of a community. I've doneworship, I've done drum circles, I've
done rituals and ceremonials, very verypowerful as a community. But at the
same time I also witnessed in thatcommunity through religion, a lot of backbiting,
a lot of backstabbing, a lotof gossip, and that's not something
that I ever resonated with. Infact, some of my most disturbing memories

(15:33):
come from my religious days working inthe church and seeing behind the scenes with
senior leadership and the lack of moralityand ethics that would take place, and
that for me was very hard towitness and watch. But at the same
time learn, you know, youpull that curtain back. It's kind of

(15:54):
like the Wizard of Oz, youknow. But what I found was in
religion, it's often emphasized on communityand that collective experience of worship and practice,
and it provides a sense of belonging. There is a purpose too that
I get that there's a sense ofbelonging and an id identity within a specific
religious group, but also with thatcommunity versus individuality. Community a lot of

(16:18):
time can impress upon us to havethat group think follow the herd, be
be the sheeple, don't think foryourself, and that can be a very
dangerous place. That's how cults areborn, right, that's you know,
you just do what you're told,do as I say, not as I
do kind of format. And that'syou know, if you ever run into
that, make that a red flagand be like, is this really the
community I want to be in?And you have to decide that right where

(16:41):
spirituality the difference there is spirituality isgoing to be again more focused on that
individual experience in personal growth. AndI find through the personal growth that I've
had over these last few years fromchanging career, semi retirement, a major
back surgery, I have really grownpersonally in my spiritual pathway more than I

(17:03):
ever thought I would. And youknow it's out all that is, be
careful what you asked for because alot of times the universe, the spirit
world, those on the other sidewill deliver that for you. And what
it encourages though in the spiritual pathwayin a community versus individual format, it
encourages self reflection. It encourages introspectionand the development of a personal relationship again

(17:26):
with the divine or higher power,whatever you choose that to be. But
if you think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration, I can tell
you that energy never dies. Manypeople have talked about this for centuries.
Scientists included gurus, profits that energyis always everything is energy, and energy

(17:47):
always has to go somewhere. Eventhe laws of physics define it. That
energy doesn't see it just ceased toexist. And so when you connect with
this energy, whether you call itthe divine, whether you call father,
God, mother, divine, thegreat spirit, world, the afterlife,
summerland, they have many different definitions. But what you're doing is you're developing
a personal relationship with something bigger thanyourself and even you know, Tesla talked

(18:11):
about this back in the eighteen hundreds. If you want to unlock the secrets
of the universe, you start thinkingin terms of energy, frequency and vibration.
For example, when we were born, we were put into this physical
fleshit at a very low vibration,and as we grow and reage through education,
we gain knowledge and wisdom, butour vibration also changes, it increases,

(18:33):
it speeds up, it gets alittle bit, you know, different
than when we're first born, andthat's part of that pathway of development,
personal relationship and connection with the higherpower or divine, whatever that may be.
So, you know, people askme all the time, as a
professional psychic, as a professional mediumwho has done thousands of readings all around

(18:56):
the world. People say mark whereis Heaven. I have to remind them
that, you know, in ourmindset that Einstein talked about all the time,
our brain, which is one ofthe most it's a three pound complexity
and complexicity that we don't fully understand. It's one of the most complex organisms
in the entire Solar system, isour brain. But when we think in

(19:17):
terms of up or down in inyou know, a three D format of
what we see is the planet Earth. Yeah, we think Heaven is being
up because a lot of times people, including my experience, I send it
out of my body going up lookingback at my body. So we think
that Heaven is up, and youknow the alternative as hell, which is
down. But I always remind peoplethat we're on a round planet, going

(19:38):
around a big ball of fire ina universe that's mathematically uncomprehensible. So it's
it's metaphysically impossible to go up andor down on something that's round. And
so what I teach people, andwhat I tell people is that Heaven isn't
a location. Heaven is a vibration, the same vibration that's in your heart,
the same energy as your heart,and when that changes, that's when

(19:59):
it reveals itself, the veil,the spiritual veil, the spiritual world,
death, whatever you want to callthat. But it's Heaven isn't a location,
It's a vibration. And that's whatTesla was talking about. If you
want to unlock the secrets of theuniverse, you got to think in terms
of energy, frequency and vibration,because our vibration is much different than when
we were first born. Your vibrationwas even different when you were in the

(20:21):
womb. Think about it, breathingliquid for nine months and then you incarnate
into a physical matter at a vibrationof this flesh that you start breathing air,
and then at some point that vibrationis going to change in your heart
and the energy and your heart theenergy has to go somewhere. So in
a sense, you do have thecommunity if you know how to look for
it. Just because we don't seeit doesn't mean it's not here. Science

(20:45):
has shown us that through the telescope, the microscope, the James Webb,
the hubble. There are many toolsthat have been introduced, and there's going
to be more tools during our rowingtwenties that will introduce us to things that
are not seen with the human eye. But just because we don't see it
doesn't mean it's not here. Soif you want to think in your spirit
the pathway as not only just bean individual, but start to lift that

(21:06):
veil, that there is a communitythat's just the thought away, and that's
called the etheric world, the spiritworld, heaven, after life, summerland.
That's where your friends, your family, your fur babies that have gone
through death reside. And if youthink about it again, and I'll read
something from a book passage a littlebit later here in the show, but
if they're only ever a thought away, and you ask, you believe,

(21:30):
you take a deep breath because breathis the connection to what is seen and
what is unseen, right, becauseyou need your breath, and you can't
see your breath going and out,but we know we need it. Just
like wind and gravity. We seethe effects of the wind. We know
that if the tree's moving, weknow the wind's moving it, but we
don't see it right with our eyes. Or if I go and jump off
a diving board into a pool,you know that you're going to land one

(21:51):
hundred percent in the water because gravityis existent on our planet, but we
don't see that. So there arethree things right there, breath, wind,
and gravity that we use every singleday of our lives. But if
you take that breath in, youask, believe, take the divine breath
in, receive and perceive, becauseyou're going to receive through many different faculties
of the human body, including theskin, which is the largest organ on

(22:12):
the body. But you're going toalso perceive based off your learned experiences,
based on your learned behaviors. Maybeyou were raised in religion like I was,
and so those will actually be partof your perception. But if you
think about it through the breath,through the reflection and introspection and meditation,
you become aware of something bigger thanyourself. And for some of you listening

(22:37):
today, so that could be avery uncomfortable place to be. It goes
against status quo. It may goagainst your learned behaviors or doctrines or dogmas
that you've been you know, raisedin, and you know it can be
quite intimidating and quite you know,that's why some people shy away from that.
You know, what are other's goingto think? I know that I
went through that many times, butyou know the price we pay for the

(23:00):
the piece the veil is not beingable to show others what we see,
because again, it's your own personalexperience, it's your own personal perspective,
it's your own prospecting, and that'sthe price we pay to pierce that veil.
And when you pierce it and youdon't get to go back, it's
like being unplugged for the matrix whenyou pierce that veil, not being able

(23:21):
to show you what I'm talking aboutof what we see, that can be
quite difficult, and so we haveto allow people in the spiritual pathway to
reach that journey for themselves through freewill and through choice. I always reminded
from my teachers, my mentors thata teacher doesn't teach you what to see.
They show you the pathway and unfoldthat pathway through the education, and

(23:44):
then you decide what it is thatyou see from the teachings, through the
guidance, through the readings, throughthe meditations, through the mantras, whatever
that may be. So that leadsme into my next category before our first
break, and that's ritual and practices. Religions have specific rituals, a lot
of ceremonies and practices that are prescribedand followed by their followers. These rituals

(24:07):
often have symbolic meanings and are performedcollectively. I can tell you my days
of growing up in Catholicism going tochurch. There was a lot of up,
down, kneeling, stand, sit, kneeling, stand, sit,
kneeling, A lot of that Icould still recite to this day. As
a confirmed adult in the Catholic Church, I could still go take communion and
still do all of those rituals andpractices and known because it was ingrained into

(24:32):
me from an early childhood. Butover my course of my spirituality, I
don't practice that anymore. I'm nota practice Catholic anymore, but I still
wouldn't know those rituals when I foundwhen I moved to spirituality. This can
involve various practices, and I aminvolved in various practices even to this day,

(24:52):
not only including prayer, which isthought going or I'm sorry, meditation,
which is thoughts Let me let merephrase that prayer which is thoughts going
out. Meditation is listening back tothe thoughts and impressions that you've sent out
to the universe. Mindfulness yoga.I practiced chigong, which is the study
of life force energy and moving yourbody to move energy. It's a very

(25:15):
ancient form of tai chi. It'sthe mother of tai chi, and it's
called chigong, which is a studyof our own energy. Things that I
use. There's over five thousand differentpractice practical movements that you can do.
So that's part of my rituals andpractices, vibrational chants, mandras. It's
really just depending on your individual preference. And these practices are often chosen based

(25:36):
on our ability to remote our innerpiece, our connection, that vibration,
our personal growth, whatever that connectionmay be. So when it comes to
religion, the rituals and practices canbe quite different. Religion, like I
said, is very repetitive, veryancient, and prescribed by following those rules
if you're a follower, and they'revery like I said, usually have symbolic

(25:59):
meanings in our performed on a collectedbasis. Where in spirituality it involves various
practices. You become this intuitive prospectorprospecting on many different things and you'll find
the one if you search for it. You will find those practices to incorporate
into your spiritual toolbox. If youwill many different things that you may use

(26:19):
one day, you may use yoga. You know, every day, I
try to meditate, I try topray, I try to exercise and connect
with nature. These are the thingsthat are in my toolbox. But those
are my personal individual preferences based onfollowing the spiritual path. So that's the
rituals and practices and the difference ofthose two between religion and spirituality. And

(26:41):
we're going to go to our breakand when we come back, we're going
to pick this up and continue totalk about religion and spirituality. Is there
a difference? And we'll be rightback here in just a few minutes.
You're listening to Inspired Living radio andpodcasts, and we'll be right back.

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beautiful planet, the life and energyall around us, the spiritual world,
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the Intuitive Prospector, is the spiritualconnection you have been prospecting for. Internationally.
Known as a tested and professional clairvoyantmedium and spiritual advisor, Mark's work

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Today's episode, we are talking religionand spirituality. Is there a difference?

(30:07):
So before the break we were talkingabout a few things. We talked
about the definition of religion versus spirituality. We talked about the structures and belief
between the two community versus individuality,rituals and practices. The other thing I
want to pick up on the otherside of the commercial break here is organized
institution and what I found with religions, they're often associated with organized institutions such

(30:30):
as churches, moss temples, orsynagogues. These institutions provide a framework for
religious teaching, ceremonies, and communitygatherings. The difference I found from the
spiritual pathway is spirituality can be practicedindividually or within formal groups or communities.
It doesn't necessarily require a formal institutionand or membership. So I just want

(30:55):
you to remember that your spiritual pathwayis really becoming your own divinity, becoming
your own church. Where some peoplemight find that, you know, you
know blasphemis you know, how dareyou talk about that you're a God?
Well, and a lot of jesusIs writing. I've read a lot of
different books outside of not just scripture, but writings about Jesus talked about this
a lot. He's one of manygreat prophets in many different religions. But

(31:19):
he talked about the God within,the connection of the divinity within, not
necessarily out in the external world.So that you know that can create debates
and you know, conflict based onif you don't believe what I believe,
then you're wrong. And that's theproblem with today's religions. You see a
lot of that, a lot ofcompetition versus it should be the it should

(31:40):
be not competition. It should beto love thy neighbors, you love thyself.
And you know, it's just sometimeswhen you get into these organized institutions,
it's also based on money, unfortunately, and we've seen time and time
again the lawsuits, the illegal battlesthat come from you know, money from
abuse. I know, you know, just within my own religious upbringing,

(32:07):
how the Catholic Church has paid alot of money out I believe over one
point four billion total, which isa lot of money. So you know,
that's again, religion is great,but spirituality, I find is better
because it allows you to practice yourindividuality within groups and oer communities, and
it doesn't necessarily require a formal institutiona monthly fee, a ten percent tithing,

(32:30):
or a membership. You can chooseto do that. But that's the
beauty of spiritualism. And it's justimportant to note that these differences that I'm
talking about today on today's show aremore generalizations and they can overlap between religion
and spirituality. I don't really again, I want to talk about unity.
I don't want to talk about spiritualityversus religion. If you know, the

(32:52):
today's show is religion and spirituality,is there a difference sub individuals may find
spirituality within that religious framework, whileothers may practice spirituality outside the realm of
organized religion. So I just wantyou to have that in the back of
your mind, that you may cometo a connection through a religious framework.

(33:14):
And again, I believe that thedivinity of the intelligence and love is quite
far superior intelligent than we are,and they're not going to limit themselves to
a certain channels. Certain you know, you have to go to this church
on this day of the week,otherwise you're not going to meet you know,
God or the divine feminine of thespirit world. I don't find that
to be true at all, becausetime is you know, we're the only

(33:35):
species that measures our life by time, and we're in these organized constructs of
time, days of the week,twenty four hour periods where the spirit world
is available twenty four, seven,three sixty five. Think of it like
a seven to eleven, I guess, But I just want to point that
out that you may find spirituality withina religious framework, while you may also

(33:55):
practice spirituality outside the realm of organizedreligion. But ultimately, the distinction between
religion and spirituality depends on your individualbeliefs, your perspectives, your practices,
and of course your experiences. Ido believe that my personal experiences converted me
to move from religion to spirituality,and that was the great grief and trauma

(34:21):
or what I now write about asthe T ANDT the trauma and tragedy at
the age of twenty seven, thatreally changed how I looked at life and
death. And that was the unfortunatepassing of my brothers went through murder and
then three days later older brother diagnosedwith terminal brain cancer. And along that
same lines, my wife was watchingher dad slowly pass away from the horrible

(34:42):
disease multiple scross, so murder,brain cancer, multiple scrossis during that time
frame a very tough period of mylife at the age of twenty seven.
Really those experiences, I believe,looking back in retrospect and reflection, put
me on the spiritual pathway to understandmy own journey here, my own mortality,
my own how is my life goingto end? And one of the

(35:05):
things that I came across, andI just want to share this quote with
you. One of the reasons thatI do these shows, and I've been
doing this for eight seasons now,is you know, the podcast has become
you know, successful, it's inspiring. But success is not just what I
accomplish in my life. It's aboutwhat I inspire others to do. So

(35:28):
inspire your mind through this episode Inspired. Don't be limited by dogmas and or
fears. Have the courage to godown the spiritual pathway and you're not leading.
You don't have to leave your currentreligion behind. You can actually just
amplify. Just like a guitar plugin, an amplifier is much more powerful.
I you know, I'd say,if you're on a religious journey,

(35:49):
great, if you want to plugin that spiritual pathway as well, and
being more open and more broad inyour perspective, you're going to learn a
lot more and you're going to connectin ways you never thought possible. So
again, success is not what youaccomplish in your life. It's about what
you inspire others to do. Andthat's what I try to do on Wednesdays
here through Home Time's Radio and throughInspired living is to inspire you to think
outside the box, or as Ilike to say, dare to dream,

(36:12):
dare to explore, dare to liveand discover that diamond within. So I
hope this will inspire your mind andgive you some food for thought to keep
going down if you're new to thespiritual pathway. So again, there are
some differences, like I said,between spirituality and religion, and you know,
just to further understand the difference isbetween the two, I find that

(36:37):
focus on doctrine versus inner experience isanother thing that comes to my mind.
Religion is often a place of avery strong emphasis on adherence to specific doctrines
teaching and or religious laws. Theseare their laws of the land, and
these doctrines serve as a guide forof course, moral behavior, and they
provide a structured framework for understanding theworld in one's relationship with the world and

(37:00):
the divinity. Where in spirituality Ihave found that it focuses more on our
personal inner experiences and our individual interpretationsof what a divine God or higher power
is you really I through religion,I knew of God, but I didn't
really have that personal relationship with Godor Jesus based on what the teachings were.

(37:22):
It was more I was taught towhere spirituality I became more of a
direct relationship. You know, inCatholicism, I had to go through a
priest to confess my sins in orderto be saved, or you know,
pray to Mother Mary. In thespiritual pathway, it's not that at all.
It's really again that divinity within andconnecting to the higher calling, the

(37:43):
higher understandings, the higher wisdom andlove and intelligence and resides there and it's
developing, you know, you toexplore your own beliefs, your values,
your own inner wisdom, and ratherthan relying solely on external religious teachings.
Now, I still incorporate religious teachingwritings, including scripture, because there's just
some fascinating, knowledgeable passages filled withwisdom and love and healing and transformation.

(38:09):
So I still refer to many differentbooks, not just scripture in the Christian
Bible. I've read the Hindu Bookof the Dead. I've looked at the
Egyptian Bible. I've looked at alot of different writings over the time.
And that's just what we know.Think about what we don't know. If
people always ask if I could haveone wish that would actually be given full

(38:30):
access to the Vatican vaults in allthe writings, because there's a lot of
letters that were left out of today'sBible, over half really, and I
would like to be able to haveaccess to read those. That's probably never
going to happen in my lifetime,but that's the one thing that I would
love to be able to do,is go to the actual archives, the
secret archives of the Vatican, whichwe know are there, and it contain

(38:52):
many many articles and scrolls from historypast to give me a broader, better
perspective versus something that's added. Soagain, the focus on doctrine versus inner
experience is very important on the spiritualpathway. But I still use doctrine from
my religious days as part of myspiritual pathways today and put that in my

(39:13):
spiritual toolbox. Dogma and flexibility.I find that religion typically have a set
of dogmas or fixed beliefs, includingfear. I remember being told many times
if I wasn't a good boy,I'd go to Hell, and that was
quite intimidating and scary. But Ifind that these dogmas are fixed beliefs that
followers are expected to accept without question. And that's where I said earlier in

(39:37):
the show. Be careful of cognitivedissonance, be aware of group think,
be have the courage to step outside. Be that wolf in the sheep's herd
if you will, but you're goingto be challenged. You're going to lose
friendships, You're going to lose familyrelationships. I've encountered all of that because
I stopped just following the herd andstarted asking bigger questions, especially after my

(39:58):
brothers and father in law made theirtransition to the spirit world. And a
lot of times these beliefs are basedon religious texts, traditions, and interpretations
that have been established over time.But what really gave me pause is I'm
only accessible to texts and traditions orinterpretations that's limited or has been edited.
I haven't been given the full menu. I've only been given a limited menu,

(40:21):
and that raises red flags. Fromthat raises questions. We're in the
spirituality pathway. It allows for moreflexibility and openness to different perspectives and beliefs,
and in encouraging it encourages I findmore questioning, exploration aka prospecting,
and the freedom to form one's beliefsbased on personal experience, insights and having

(40:43):
the access to the full menu.I believe over time you will get access
to more writings in that full menu, especially as AI is being born out
as technology increases. We have theInternet now. I was pre Internet,
so I had to go to thelibrary or look in the Britannica Encyclopedia,
you know, to find information.Now it's all at our fingertips. So

(41:04):
there will be over time, especiallyduring our roaring twenties of transformation and ascension
and awareness, we will have moreof that perspective based on writings. And
again, just like the Dead Seascrolls that were discovered you know, years
ago, there could be more gemsout there that are yet to be discovered
or revealed which would add to theperspective, which would add to that menu
of insight. I also find thatthe difference between religion is the authority and

(41:29):
the hierarchy. Religion often have theseauthoritarative figures religious leaders, priests, clergy,
pope, etc. Who guide andinterpret religious teachings for the community.
And I find that these figures holdpositions of authority and provide guidance on matters
of faith and religious practices and that'sfine. A lot of them too,
you'll see make at a lot ofmoney. And I always thought, I

(41:51):
wonder how Jesus would feel about thatif he was in today's age. Would
Jesus be filthy rich or would itbe filthy poor? I'm thinking of,
you know, the same Francis ofASSISI comes to my mind. So again,
you know, these religious leaders havea lot of power, a lot
of elitness, and of course alot of money. And I'm not sure
that that is what the purpose ofreligion is supposed to be, but that's

(42:14):
just my personal opinion. Where Ifind in spirituality, the spiritual place is
more emphasisized on personal autonomy and individualresponsibility, more of a direct connection to
nature, the respect for nature.There's no central authority figure or hierarchy to
dictate my beliefs and or my practices, and I, as an individual,
feel like I have more freedom toexplore and interpret the spiritual concepts based on

(42:38):
my own understanding, my own intuitionas the intuitive prospector, and my own
experiences and as I would throw educationin there as well, because you know,
when I went down the spiritual pathway, I started to read from books
that I probably wouldn't have picked upif I hadn't gone through that TNT at
the age of twenty seven to traumaand the tragedy that really blew up my
life. I find with religion there'san exclusiveivity exclusive versus inclusive, and I

(43:00):
find that religions often have specific criteriarequirements for membership, and some may exclude
those who do not adhere to thesebeliefs or practices, and they may define
certain boundaries or distinctions between believers andnon believers. With spirituality, I find
that it tends to be more inclusiveand accepting of diverse beliefs and paths.

(43:22):
That's what really led me down thispathway. It recognizes that individuals can have
different spiritual journeys and that there aremultiple ways to connect with the divine higher
power God, whatever you want tolabel that ass I've also found that you
know the purpose and the ultimate goal. Religion often provides a clear purpose and
an ultimate goal for their followers,which is great, such as salvation,

(43:44):
enlightenment, or reaching a specific spiritualdestination, but they may offer a structured
path and guidelines for attaining this goal. Where the spiritual pathway allows individuals to
define their own purpose and ultimate goalbased on their personal beliefs, values,
and experiences. Focus, I findis more on inner growth, more on
self discovery, more on finding meaningand fulfillment in our lives. And again

(44:08):
that intuitive prospector to constantly be usingmy intuition to prospect the world within and
also the world around me. Soagain it's just a reminder. It's important
to remember that these distinctions are notabsolute and there can be, you know,
variations within different religions and spiritual practices. I find that some individuals may

(44:28):
find that spirituality again with the frameworkof a particular religion, which is fine,
while others may practice spirituality independently,which is fine. Ultimately, the
choice between religion and spirituality depends onan individual's personal beliefs, experience, and
needs for spiritual fulfillment. Okay,so a lot I wrote a lot out

(44:49):
here, So I want to aswe get close to the end of the
show, I want to just pointout a couple of differences to help you
break down the differences between religion andor spirituality. Is there a difference?
The answer is most definitely yes.So here are a few differences. Again.
Number one, organized versus personal religionis often organized with specific rituals,

(45:09):
practice, and institutions, while spiritualityis more personal, individual individualistic, focusing
on the individual's inner experiences and connectionswith the divine higher power or what you
define as God. Again, thatbelief system versus the inner journey. Religion
typically involves a set of beliefs anddoctrines that followers are expected to adhere to,

(45:30):
while spirituality is more focused on anindividual personal journey of self discovery and
connection with something greater than ourselves.Again, authority versus in wisdom. Religion
often relies on external authorities such asreligious texts, leaders, and or traditions
to provide guidance and interpretation of spiritualteachings, while spirituality emphasizes the importance of
inner wisdom, guidance, intuition,knowledge, and understanding one spiritual pathway.

(45:53):
What's your journey here? Rituals andpractices versus mindfulness and presence. Find that
religion often involves the specific rituals thatI talked about, Neil, sit,
make the sign of the cross,the grab the do the hell Mary with
you know my crucifix, that kindof thing. Those rituals and those ceremonies

(46:15):
and those practices and they're performed toworship or to connect with the divine,
of course, while spirituality places moreemphasizes more on the present moment, mindfulness,
your energy, your frequency or vibration, and again what it means to
have a spiritual connection. The differenceon community and fellowship versus individuality. A

(46:36):
religion often fosters a sense of communityand fellowship among its followers, providing a
space for collective worship and share beliefs, while spirituality tends to focus more on
individuality and personal exploration of one's spiritualtruth, one spiritual path and one spiritual
experience. We talked about doctrine andinner experience. Again, I still use
and incorporate religious doctrine into my spiritualtoolbox, but it you know, religion

(46:59):
does play the strong emphasis and adherenceto specific doctrines, teachings, and religious
laws, while spirituality focuses more onthat personal inner experience and individual interpretations of
the divine or higher power. Dogmaof course, and flexibility. Religion offers
that set of dogmas and fixed beliefs, while spirituality allows for more flexibility,
openness, different perspectives and beliefs.And that's why we like to say the

(47:22):
strength of the spiritualists is our abilityto shift our perspectives always pardon me,
lots of words flowing out, lotsof energy, authority and hierarchy. Like
I said, religion offers that authoritativefigure religious leaders, priests, clergy who
guide and interpret the religious teachings,while the spirituality emphasizes on more personal autonomy

(47:47):
and individual responsibility and exploring and interpretingthose spiritual concepts through your own perspectives.
So those are just a few ofthe differences. Like I said, one
is exclusive, one is in,one has purpose, one has more of
an ultimate goal. But the differencesI feel provide a general understanding, but
it's important to note that they're notabsolute, like I said, and that

(48:08):
they can cross different boundaries. Theycan cross different religions and different spiritual practices,
and you can incorporate those into yourjourney, which I've done over the
last twenty five years now. SoI came across in my research for this
show the difference really to break downtoday's episode, is there a difference between

(48:30):
religion and spirituality from my perspective,from my experiences, the answer is definitely
a big yes. And if Ireally just you know, kind of finish
up this show for today, somjust going to break it down with a
couple things to think of and thinkabout, and then I'm going to close
with a reading from a book thatwas published back in nineteen thirty one and

(48:52):
has since been republished seventy three times. So if we say religion, religion
in a nut show, well worshipsGod. Spirituality encourages oneness with God.
Religion is God is outside of you. Spirituality God, whatever that definition is

(49:13):
for you, is within you.The energy in your heart that makes your
heart go. Nobody through science hasbeen able to determine where that energy comes
from. Trust me, I've beenI was in health care for over twenty
five years, and I'd always askmy teachers. They knew the question was
coming. Where is the energy inour heart come from? How does it
produce? What's its source? Somecalled the Divinity, the spark within the

(49:34):
God energy. But without that energy, your heart doesn't go and you don't
have this connection to the reality ofthe physical world. So again, religion
is God is outside of you.It's taught with that format where spirituality is
all about teaching the God is withinyou. Religion I found separates people who
have different beliefs, where spirituality unitespeople regardless of their beliefs. Religion teaches

(49:55):
people to be afraid of hell.I can personally attest to this. I
was taught man many times through mygetting confirmed as an adult in the Catholic
Church that through Sunday School, ifI didn't behave I didn't follow the Ten
Commandments, I was going on anexpress elevator to help. When I switched
over to my spiritual pathway. Itteaches people to create heaven on earth because
sometimes I would argue that there ishell is right here on earth and what

(50:19):
we see every day from war tomurder, to greed to vanity, you
know, and we see it withsocial media in the news cycle. So
spirituality is about uniting people regardless oftheir belief in. Spirituality for me,
teaches people to create heaven on earth, to create that vibration and atmosphere.
Religion can be based on fear andrestriction and dogma. I've definitely found that
to be true, where in spiritualityit's based on love, freedom and your

(50:42):
own personal experiences. Religion feels likebeing a single drop in the ocean,
where spirituality feels like being the entireocean in a single drop. Some of
you may get that right now,some of you may have no idea what
I just said. Again, Religionfeels like being a single drop in the
ocean. Spirituality feels like a being, like being in the entire ocean in
a single job. Religion is basedon others experience, where spirituality is based

(51:06):
on your own personal experience. Soagain you have your own personal experience,
you tell somebody about it, they'relike, you're insane if you write about
it and let a couple hundred yearspass. Now it's a religious doctrine or
religious text that have been that's beinginterpreted. So one of the books I
want to close with today, it'sfrom a gentleman by the name of Arthur
Finley. There's actually a college inEngland I've been studying at for over a

(51:28):
decade. It focuses on psychic sciences, healing, mediumship, and he wrote
this book back in nineteen thirty one, so this was his ideas in his
perspective, it's called on the Edgeof the Etheric And in the book he
talks about is the spirit world realand tangible? Does its inhabitants retain their
individuality? Is it true that spiritspirit people actually eat. What is the

(51:51):
afterlife like? Do dogs, catsand other animals survive physical death? What
kind of health do the so calleddead living? All these questions that I
and you've never asked those, Iknow that I asked them many many times,
you know, especially with my experiences, and all these questions and many
more are answered simply in this bookon the Edge of the Etheric. It's
one of the many books that hewrote based on his diary and his experiences

(52:15):
from sitting in seances and watching medium'swork. And it's again it's subtitled Survivor
after Death Scientifically Explained. And that'swhat Another thing I love about the spiritual
pathway is its willingness to work withthe scientific community, to have scientific measures,
to have scientific data, to havescientific experiments based on a spiritualist pathway.

(52:37):
So that's another thing I love aboutspirituality. So again it starts.
It was first published in nineteen thirtyone. It's been repurposed and republished seventy
one times to date now. Butit says this, as we close out
the show, our etheric body isin every respect a duplicate of our physical
body. This name seems strange atfirst, and I found it difficult to
grasp until I understood the fact thatthe Etheric is the real body on Earth,

(53:00):
and that from the moment of conceptionit has gathered round its physical matter
slow and vibration. Otherwise it couldnot have functioned in the physical world,
owing to its own finer and morerapid vibrations. The physical body is only
a protective covering for the Etheric duringits passage through the Earth life. In
reality, our real hands here arethe Etheric hands, clothed with a white

(53:23):
glove of physical matter, and sowith all other parts of our body.
Our real brain is the etheric brainthrough which the mind functions, and it
acts through this whether we are inthis world or the next. The mind
acts on the Etheric brain, andthe Etheric brain on the material covering which
we call the physical brain. Thosewho have made the change called death can

(53:44):
see our minds at work and studyour brain working under the influence of a
mind in a way we cannot.They tell me that this is just like
looking at a technicolor film. ThinkWizard of Oz in black and white,
Think Wizard of Oz with full technicolor. I've seen both of them. And
quite amazing right, because the differentvibration which impede on our eyes vibrate the
mind, and that is these vibrationsthat we call sight and color. These

(54:07):
pictures formed by our mind can beseen by the ethereans, those in the
etheric world, spirit angels, whateveryour definition is, and consequently everything we
think can be read by them inthe etheric world, just as easy as
we can read this book. Weare really much greater than we think we
are, very much so. Ourminds is expressed through the physical brain is

(54:28):
very limited, and only when freedfrom the physical do we comprehend its greatness.
Our earthly mind we call the consciousmind, but it and what we
term the subconscious, our subliminal mind, form the complete mind. So subliminal,
subconscious and the conscious mind again thepower of three. Our conscious mind
directs our activities in this world,but our greater mind functions in the next.

(54:52):
We obtain only glimpses of this greatermind and the occasional observed phenomenon of
telepathy, clairvoyance, clare audience,mediumship, psychic and prevision, and on
these occasions subliminal overrides the conscious fora limited time and then withdraws, sometimes
deja vus, sometimes dreams Someday again. This was written in nineteen thirty one.

(55:12):
Someday. As man develops man andwoman develops, the subliminal may become
more and more a dominant factor.But at this stage of our development,
its intrusion is sporadic and confined tothe few. When we pass on,
our earth memories pass with us,but slowly they fade and red guided and
governed by this greater mind which hasbeen with us our whole lives, building

(55:34):
up our bodies, performing its inwardfunctions, and making us what we are.
Though we know it not. Oneother important fact has been impressed on
me time and time again for myinformants, namely, the next is a
very real world, no floating onsome fleecy cloud or some disbodied state which
has no form or feature. Therewe are men and women, just as
we are here. The word spiritis only an earth term, and a

(55:57):
bad one because it's so misleading.So I hope you enjoyed today's episode.
Is there a difference between spirituality religion? Yes, there is, And to
our next sole adventure together, bekind, be caring, and be compassionate.
Most importantly, wherever you're at.Dare to dream, dare to explore,
dare to live, And I hopeyou discovered that diamond within. We'll
see you next time. Here oninspired to me, Take everybody