Achieving Inner Growth Within Religion

Achieving Inner Growth

Among many different religious followers, there is a common topic that repeats itself: how to grow within a certain religion. When looking at these different religions, there is a conflict between the physiological and psychological effects on people as faith seems to go beyond books, temples, and symbols. Therefore, in order to achieve a truthful inner-reform, we need to cross the barrier between spiritual and material life.  

From religion to religion, how these worlds get intertwined and the relevance of it definitely differ. Yet, it can be seen how wisdom is acquired when seeking the guidance of the spiritual realm, no matter for which faith. Although they are presented differently, the outcome of acquiring knowledge is the same. 

Crossing the Spiritual Border

Spiritism

After following many different treatments from Western medicine, my mother decided to turn to religion for guidance regarding my brother’s health. He was eleven years old at the time and would cry his eyes out in pain every day from a stomach ulcer. As she sought spiritual alternatives, we went to our spiritist center where they provide more than medicine, but also empathy and consolation. The guides heard her story and suggested that my brother went through a spiritual surgery, where mediums - who would incorporate doctors - would perform the treatment. It’s been six years since this spiritual surgery and I never saw my brother crying from that ulcer again. The pain and the inflammation went away. 

I watched the procedure very quietly from afar, my brother was laying in a stretcher with several people around him, whispering and doing subtle hand movements. It seemed like a peaceful yet neat dance. There were no cuts made, it was simply moving the energies that surround him. 

In spiritism, we believe that spirits inhabit physical bodies on a temporary basis in order to learn and improve their spiritual and intellectual condition, so sometimes we have to reach out to spirits for guidance as said by Allan Kardec in the Spirit’s Book: "Spirits temporarily assume a perishable material envelope, the destruction of which, by death, restores them to liberty.” (Kardec, n.d.)

Yet, although spirits are in mortal bodies only temporarily, the reason to which spirits inhabit physical bodies is to evolve and seek inner-reform. (CARM, 2009) Thus, in order to achieve this enhancement, it is necessary to come to the material world to understand through the experiences that human beings go through but without learning the perspective of the wisdom from the spiritual world. 

African Religions 

Although being very Catholic, going to church two times a week, and genuinely following Catholic values, my grandpa thought me to ask for permission to the ocean orisha Iemanja every time I would go into the sea. Iemanja inhabits an otherworldly realm called orun and is part of many African Religions. (Viveiros, 2021) I was thought to respect and ask for her blessing as I would go into the ocean since this is the duty assigned to her by the High God. The material worlds of spirituality and material are intertwined, so much that I was thought to never dare to disrespect it, even if it didn’t fall into my Christian beliefs. 

For followers of African religions, the consistent crossing of borders between the spiritual and material world is infused in everyday life. The relationship between human beings and spirits is harvested, as they are always in a close state. As my grandfather taught me, orishas and other spirits have great power to intervene with God on their behalf, and thus it is important to keep the communication channel open with them. (Beyer, 2012)

In addition, as these spirits are the direct contact to the High God, by communicating with them, there is a direct line for acquiring knowledge. A common method used in some African Religions is divination, where through the usage of a divination system called Ifa, it is possible to communicate with the spirit world. With Ifa, diviners have been able to not only make requests and predict destinies but also get the solution to problems that faced the ancestors. 

Buddhism 

Meditating is hard. Because it forces you to remove yourself from the material world and cross to the spiritual world, where enlightment can happen. As in Buddhism the follower aims to eliminate suffering through the acquisition of wisdom, this can only be done when crossing this border between these two worlds. However, both of them are inside the individual, making the process even more introspective. (Saunders, 2013)

As Buddha said “Mind is everything. What you think you become” (Buddha, n.d.) meaning that spirituality is what makes the individual. Thus, it is crucial as much of the process is focused on an action-oriented (Karmic) practice, which emphasizes understanding, focusing, and orienting ones’ mind on the right path. (Hayden, 2020) The aim is to achieve a mindful state, where wisdom is acquired and suffering is ended.

Conclusion

Spiritism, African Religions, and Buddhism differ in many aspects. How they see and define the spiritual world, how to communicate with it, the rituals of it, what it is, but there is a common point in the three religions that through crossing the border from the material world to the spiritual one, it is possible to acquire a lot of knowledge. Not only wisdom comes from it, but self-reflection can only come from this personal contact with the spiritual world. 

The three experiences I’ve had with the three religions, either through medical practices, protection, or meditation, thought me the value of keeping in contact with the spiritual world. Assuming that I am only my physical body is very limiting. 

References

Kardec, A. (1957). THE SPIRITS’ BOOK http://ssbaltimore.org/resources/e-books/the-spirits-book.pdf

Spiritism: What Is Spiritism? And What Are It’s Beliefs? (2019, November 4). Relax like a Boss. https://relaxlikeaboss.com/spiritism/

CARM. (2009, September 7). What is spiritism? (M. SLICK, Ed.). Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry. https://carm.org/about-religions/what-is-spiritism/

Viveiros, J. (2021b, February 2). Tudo Sobre Iemanjá - A Orixá da Geração. IQuilibrio. https://www.iquilibrio.com/blog/espiritualidade/umbanda-candomble/iemanja-rainha-mar/

Beyer, C. (Ed.). (2012). Do You Know the Santeria Gods? Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/who-are-the-orishas-95922

Saunders, J. (2013). Spiritualism in Buddhism | Synonym. Synonym.com. https://classroom.synonym.com/spiritualism-in-buddhism-12087559.html

Hayden, B. (2020, September 7). Understanding and following Spirituality via Buddhism | Spirit Restoration. Spiritrestoration.org. https://www.spiritrestoration.org/religion/spirituality-via-buddhism/

explorefaith.org - Buddhist Spirituality. (2011). Explorefaith.org. http://www.explorefaith.org/livingspiritually/following_a_sacred_path/buddhist_spirituality.php