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    How to Be Spiritual Without Being Religious
    How to Be Spiritual Without Being Religious
    How to Be Spiritual Without Being Religious
    Ebook90 pages1 hour

    How to Be Spiritual Without Being Religious

    By D. Patrick Miller and Iyanla Vanzant

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    About this ebook

    “Patrick’s writing is so clear and heartfelt that it is hard to believe that he did not write the book for you—whoever you are, and wherever you may be on your journey.”
    —Iyanla Vanzant, host Iyanla Fix My Life
     
    Authentic Spirituality Without Religion
     
    According to the Pew Research Center, approximately 37 percent of Americans identify themselves as spiritual but not religious. How to Be Spiritual Without Being Religious is a book for that sizable number of folks who seek a rich and authentic interior life but find formal religious affiliation unappealing. It is a clear and nondogmatic guide for finding one's own path of transformation, for embracing a vision of a "practical faith" that enhances a life of happiness and peace.

    Miller's concise approach arises out of what he calls "the spirituality of ordinary life." It is an approach dedicated to exploring the big questions: "Why am I here?" "Who am I?" "What is the best way to be of use."

    "A spiritual faith is a more practical way to deal with everyday life than cynicism, toughness, or defensiveness...it daily increases its usefulness and reliability. Spirituality is the way out of misery, the way in to self-knowledge, and the way toward a more fulfilling and effective life." —From the introduction

    Praise for The Book of Practical Faith:
    "Succinct and salutary . . . D. Patrick Miller's thoughtful treatment of faith clarifies why this is such an important part of the sacred adventure of life." —Frederic Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

    "This book offers a gentle, disciplined approach to growth with subtle insight and compassion. Miller names the habitual obstacles that keep us small and opens up a way to greater love, faith, and freedom." —J. Ruth Gendler, author of The Book of Qualities

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHampton Roads Publishing
    Release dateNov 1, 2018
    ISBN9781612834276
    Author

    D. Patrick Miller

    Patrick D. Miller is Charles T. Haley Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. He is the author of numerous books, including The Religion of Ancient Israel. He is coeditor of the Interpretation commentary series and the Westminster Bible Companion series. In 1998, he served as President of the Society of Biblical Literature. He was also editor of Theology Today for twenty years.

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      Book preview

      How to Be Spiritual Without Being Religious - D. Patrick Miller

      INTRODUCTION

      A spiritual faith is a more practical way to deal with everyday life than cynicism, toughness, or defensiveness. Faith can be sensible and savvy, and practicing it daily increases its usefulness and reliability. Yet a spiritual faith is also tinged with mystery, for it is the connection to our unknown potential and the power of creation itself. Spirituality is the way out of misery, the way in to self-knowledge, and the way toward a more fulfilling and effective life.

      Most people might define faith religiously, as a belief in God. This book is about faith as learning to maintain a constant contact with God. By God I mean the universal and marvelously creative energy that moves us all. By recognizing and affirming that energy, we can become increasingly peaceful and wise.

      Faith is the willingness to take a chance on what

      we do not yet believe, for the sake of finding greater

      happiness, and spreading and sharing peace.

      Of course, belief and faith in God can coincide, and strengthen each other. But I believe it is also possible to practice faith—to honor, share, and benefit from a spiritual discipline—without any particular religious belief or affiliation. This is my personal experience, and it is what I mean by how to be spiritual without being religious.

      On the other hand, it is easy to see the damage done in the world by people promoting religious beliefs that are not backed up by the practice of a wise and tolerant faith. Thus, practicing a spiritual faith is not the same as holding fast to a religious belief against all the slings and arrows of reality. In fact, faith is weakened by too much believing. Faith is the willingness to take a chance on what we do not yet believe, for the sake of finding greater happiness, and spreading and sharing peace.

      I'm convinced that what most people long for is the constant experience of spirituality and faith in their lives. Obviously, few people identify their longings that way; they are more likely to say they seek intimacy, excitement, comfort, wealth, status, or power. But these objectives are longed for because it seems they would supply what is missing in people's lives. In general terms, what people miss is a sense of stability, security, and fulfillment in everyday living.

      The great secret of a spiritual faith is that it can supply the core of what we long for. Faith does not replace longing, but it does refocus longing on inner qualities that can be strengthened through contemplation and practice regardless of one's outer circumstances. By supplying the essence of what we deeply seek, faith also reduces our fear, self-absorption, and competitiveness, thus bringing about a greater harmony between people.

      The miracle of a well-practiced faith is that it eventually provides rewards that surpass the mere fulfillment of our desires. That is my conclusion after more than thirty years of investigating spirituality as a personal practice. I have written this book to pass on the good news of my experience: that the essence of whatever we long for in life can be attained through practicing faith, and such a practice can be undertaken by anyone with a little willingness to attempt it. Because faith may still be perceived as a vague religious ideal by many—or something that, like blue eyes, you're either born with or you aren't—I've tried to offer pragmatic steps toward the adoption of faith as a spiritual discipline that can be pursued without any particular religious conviction.

      Near the end of the classic adventure film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the hero faces the last and most fearful of three challenges he must surmount before he can gain entry to the chamber wherein rests the Holy Grail. Earlier the swashbuckling archaeologist has been told that the search for the cup of Christ is the search for the divine within all of us—but as we know from Indy's previous adventures, inward searches are not his style.

      Standing before a wide, bottomless chasm, he holds a mystical map that inexplicably portrays a knight walking on air across the chasm. Comprehending that must take a leap of faith, Indy holds his hand to his chest, blinks, gulps, and then takes a big, cinematic step into the void. His foot lands on solid rock. Now, from a perspective changed only a foot or so from a moment before, Indy can clearly see a path that was totally camouflaged from view before his leap of faith. He crosses over and scatters glistening sand behind him to reveal the way to those who will follow.

      This scene is a true and accessible illustration of the nature and practicality of faith. The spiritual life requires frequent crossings from the known to the unknown. Ultimately it can provide knowledge of our wholeness, or holiness, wherein lie our real security, stability, and fulfillment. Like Indy's map, any guide to the unknown is necessarily mystical and suggestive, rather than logical or definitive. And the purpose of faith is not to uphold a prior belief in something already known, but to advance our perspective on what lies ahead. Sometimes a leap of faith affords us only a few inches of progress, yet the subtlest

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