What Does It Mean To Be Spiritual?

How do you know if someone is religious or spiritual? What defines these two terms?

First, let’s take a look at the word “religious.” Religious and religion are the same root word, and they both denote belonging to an institution. Religions are organizations created by and for groups of men and women. Knowing whether they are divinely created or not is the real trick, isn’t it?

One big knock people seem have on religions is that they are man-made, and therefore phony, fake, a lie, and/or a complete waste of time. Religions all have one thing it common, and that is the worship of deity.

But not all religions are the same. Some have been around for centuries, millennia even. Others are much more young. And they all have different beliefs and values that stem from a belief in God.

So do you have to be religious to be spiritual? Do you have to be spiritual to be religious? Do you have to be religious to pray or commune with a higher power?

What does spiritual mean? Well, the root word is spirit, which is hard to define because it is impossible to see. Religion seems to be about focusing on another entity—God—while spirituality tends to be more about focusing on your own being—your inner spirit or soul.

Some people meditate to try and connect with their own inner selves. Some religions even put a lot of credence into meditating. But you don’t have to belong to an organized group to do so. Individuals will seek solitude, and with a little help from the aromatherapy of things like melaleuca essential oils, they try to attain a higher plane of living.

Perhaps spirituality is just believing that there is more to life that we simply can’t see or that there are mysteries that can’t be explained in this life. Spirituality could be just recognizing that there are hidden dimensions and purposes to life and the attempt to understand them. Afterlife, heaven, chakra, chi, heaven—these are all things that no one can prove but that millions suspect, hope for, and seek after.

So what does it mean to be spiritual? Perhaps we will never know.

However you define it, here are five ways to increase your spirituality.