Objective:

• Discuss the differences between spirituality and religion

Original Post:

1. Spirituality is that which gives meaning to one’s life and draws one to transcend oneself. Spirituality is a broader concept than religion, although that is one expression of spirituality. Other expressions include prayer, meditation, interactions with others or nature, and relationship with God or a higher power.

2. Yes, spirituality differs from religion. Religion is an institution established by man for various reasons. Exert control, instill morality, stroke egos, or whatever it does. Organized, structured religions all but remove god from the equation. You confess your sins to a clergy member, go to elaborate churches to worship, told what to pray and when to pray it. All those factors remove you from god. Spirituality is born in a person and develops in the person. It may be kick started by a religion, or it may be kick started by a revelation. Spirituality extends to all facets of a person’s life. Spirituality is chosen while religion is often times forced.

3. I define creativity by the creative process which includes formulation, saturation, incubation, inspiration, translation, and integration. Formulation is the discovery of the artist’s subject or problem. Saturation is a period of intense research on the subject or problem. Incubation is letting the unconscious sift the information and develop a response.  Inspiration is a flash of one’s own unique solution to a problem. Translation is bringing the internal solution to outer form. Integration is sharing the creative answer with the world and getting feedback.

4. The source of creativity is from inspiration. Every artist has his or her own unique process of inspiration. A quote from the reading, “My wife and I have noticed in our workshop on visionary art that some people receive full blown, detailed images in a flash. Others may receive only the briefest glimmer or feeling and it is not until their pencil touches the paper that the imagery comes flooding through. For me, pressure is a great catalyst. Important ideas can come at the last minute under a deadline.”

Reflection:

The objective Im reflecting on is the differences between spirituality and religion. In my artifact i discussed this topic. Spirituality differs from religion. Religion is an institution established by man for various reasons. Exert control, instill morality, stroke egos, or whatever it does. Organized, structured religions all but remove god from the equation. You confess your sins to a clergy member, go to elaborate churches to worship, told what to pray and when to pray it. All those factors remove you from god. Spirituality is born in a person and develops in the person. It may be kick started by a religion, or it may be kick started by a revelation. Spirituality extends to all facets of a person’s life. Spirituality is chosen while religion is often times forced. I selected this topic for my portfolio because i’m interested in the topic of religion. As someone who doesn’t believe in a religion, I like discussing this topic and talking to people on both sides of the discussion. Here is a picture I found that I really like:

Future Goals:

This topic helped me further explore the notion of spirituality vs. religion. In the future I hope to be able to discuss this topic further with people to have a better understanding. True spirituality is something that is found deep within oneself. It is a way of loving, accepting and relating to the world and people around you. It cannot be found in a church or by believing in a certain way.

I found this video about the topic of spirituality vs religion very interesting and so it’s posted below.