Spirituality and Religion

The religious aspects of the selected books which apply to my life include those elements which reflect the laws and truth of universal spirituality, as well the clarity of thought and moral insight which are the foundation of the truth as shown in the laws of nature. My personal spirituality is rooted in nature, in the laws of nature, and in the interrelatedness of all forms of life and consciousness. My spiritual perspective is that there is a purpose to all life in the universe, and that every living thing in the universe contains the essence of life and of that purpose. Above all, religion or spirituality has to do with the laws of nature as expressed in the interrelationships of all living beings. With respect to human beings as the highest form of nature's expression, I believe that the same evolution is taking place in consciousness and in the material world (politics, technology, communications) which takes place in the animal world. The parts of the books which I relate to reflect some or all of these spiritual qualities.

Edain McCoy, in Celtic Myth & Magick, takes the view that not only is the natural world alive, it is full of magical powers which can aid the individual seeking to advance his spiritual growth:

At the core of every religion, at the foundation of every culture, there is Magick. Magick sees the world as alive, as the home which humanity shares with beings and powers both visible and invisible with whom and which we can interface to either our advan

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tion of human rights: we will conceive all of this expansion potential yet once again in terms of wars . . . wars among the stars (Tyl 259). These are not guaranteed events, but predictions based on past behavior. Tyl may be right, however, for there is no guarantee that individual human beings or nations or the race as a whole will take advantage of these opportunities to grow spiritually or religiously. Just as the individual must work, through meditation and prayer and other spiritual activities, to advance spiritually, so must nations work hard to resist the temptation to fight, to be greedy, to lust after more territory, etc. The same temptations away from the religious path tempt nations as they do individuals. Joan Wester Anderson, in Where Angels Walk, writes that "People in our culture are uncomfortable with the notion of angels in today's world" (Anderson 232). On the subject of angels, I am an agnostic. I am not uncomfortable with the idea or even the reality of angels, any more than I am uncomfortable with a belief or religious ritual honored and practiced by a religion with which I am unfamiliar. i believe toleration and acceptance of other religions and their beliefs and principles is itself a central part of any

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