Despite all of the pages and pages contained in the Bible, we find this in the heart of the teachings of Jesus: The Kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:21).

Despite the vast collection of teachings of the Buddha across many cultures, lands, and in various languages and approaches, a central teaching in the Kalama Sutta and said to be his final teaching to his followers was this: be a lamp unto yourself. We have to take every instruction and put it to the test of our own living, our own experience.

The Tao Te Ching tells us that the Tao is called the Great Mother, giving birth to infinite worlds. “It is always present within you. (Tao Te Ching, 6, Stephen Mitchel, trans.)

In the Bhagavad Gita (7.8) Krishna says: “Arjuna, I am the taste of pure water and the radiance of the sun and moon. I am the sacred word and the sound heard in air, and the courage of human beings. I am the sweet fragrance in the earth and the radiance of fire; I am the life in every creature and the striving of the spiritual aspirant.

Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism and Hinduism, each with varying forms and expressions would never claim to be the same religion teaching exactly the same things. They differ in many ways. And yet, when we pay attention, we do find the same insistence:

Whatever we believe or don’t believe, true meaning, value, wisdom, direction–even the next movement in today’s journey–will be found within ourselves. 

So, is believing in a particular religion’s teachings enough for my life? And, if I’m done with religious teachings, is not believing in them enough for my life? 

Probably not. It’s probably not enough for my life to line up with or to step away from a body of religious teachings. If I follow a particular religious path, it will only become enough for me when I put it to the test, when I turn within myself to see how its teachings express themselves in me, for me, through me, and find them true for me and my living. 

If I have put aside all religion, doing so will only become enough for me when I turn within myself to be clear about what gets my attention, how I connect with it, and what meaning I can make from it. 

Religious or not, the journey of the inner life belongs to us all. Spirituality is this work, from the inside out. 

~Robert Patrick

If these kinds of questions and experiences sound familiar, you might find spiritual direction a good way to explore them.  Here’s how to get started.