What Does it Mean to be a Spiritual Person?

Dr. Margaret Paul, Ph.D

You go to church every Sunday and you say your prayers every day. Does
this mean you are a spiritual person?

No.

You practice yoga and meditate every day. Does this mean you are a
spiritual person?

No.

You belong to spiritual group and are devoted to following the
teachings of the group. Does this mean you are a spiritual person?

No.

What, then, does it mean to be a spiritual person?

Being a spiritual person is synonymous with being a person whose
highest priority is to be loving to oneself and others. A spiritual
person cares about people, animals, and the planet. A spiritual person
knows that we are all One, and consciously attempts to honor this
Oneness. A spiritual person is a kind person.

So, you can go to church every Sunday and say your prayers every day,
without caring about loving yourself, others and the planet. You can
practice yoga and meditate every day without being conscious of what
is loving and what is not loving in your thoughts and actions. You can
belong to a spiritual group and devotedly follow the teachings, yet
still be judgmental toward yourself and others in your daily life.

There are many people who do not practice a religion, who do not
meditate, pray or belong to any group, who are very spiritual people.
These people naturally do caring things for others. They think about
how they can help. Their thoughts are kind rather than judgmental
toward themselves and toward others. When you look at them, you see
kindness in their eyes.

There are many religious people who are anything but kind. We all know
of religious people who are extremely judgmental, righteous, and
outright mean. Can you be both religious and spiritual? Of course! But
only when you are operating in your religion from your heart rather
than from the learned dogma of your mind.

Years ago I very briefly attended a "spiritual" group. People would
meet in an auditorium to hear the leader of the group speak. The
second time I attended I heard a number of parents yelling at their
children and judging them to try to control them. These parents were
being anything but kind with their children. That was the last time I
attended the spiritual group. The focus of the group was surrender to
God, but love was rarely in the picture! They obviously had a very
different experience of God than I did.

My experience of God is that God is the energy of Love that created us
and sustains us. In my experience, "God is Spirit" (John 4:24) and
"God is love" (1 John 4:16). Anything that is not of love, peace, joy,
truth and kindness is not of God. Praying to God does not mean that
you are allowing the spirit that is God - the love, peace, joy, truth
and kindness that is God - to guide your thoughts and actions.
Practicing yoga or meditating does not mean that you have invited the
love that is God into your heart, or that you are turning to that
ever-present love to learn about what is in your highest good, and the
highest good of others and the planet.

If you want to be a spiritual person, then let kindness be your
guiding light - kindness toward yourself, toward others, toward
animals, and toward this beautiful planet that is our home. Recognize
that we all have the spark of love that is God within us, and learn to
honor that love so that you can know and experience the Oneness of all
that is.

Dr. Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is a best-selling author, speaker, and
co-creator of Inner Bonding healing process. Dr. Paul has dedicated
her life to helping others improve their lives by strengthening
personal relationships, overcoming addictions, becoming better
parents, and growing spiritually and mentally.