Authentic Spiritual Traditions
The following quote is from page 83 of The Way of Harmony by Jim Dreaver:
If you look into the heart of all authentic spiritual traditions, both of the East and the West, you'll find the same message being said over and over again: the treasure you seek most is to be found within the depths of your own being.
Jesus taught this when he said the kingdom if heaven is within you. First find the riches within, he stated, and then the spiritual way to a happy and balanced life.
The Buddha taught that suffering is a result of ignorance, and that enlightenment -- wisdom and bliss -- is your natural state. The Hindu Upanishads say "You are That" -- you are a manifestation of the divine, the One power behind all reality. The Islamic Sufis teach that when you strip away the veils of ego, the personal "self," what is left is God in human form. The Tao Te Ching tells us that when your mind and heart open to the deeper flow of reality, the whole world belongs to you. Mastery of the being leads to effortless doing, and there is nothing that can't be accomplished.
The more you awaken to your spirituality, the less you'll need to hold tightly to any kind of formal religious belief or practice. Religion is based on beliefs, spirituality, on experience. Religion is the story, spirituality is what the story is about.
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