SBNR
Spiritual but not Religious suggests
A fairly distinct separation
Religious is mostly institutional
A matter of identity
Ranging from creed-based to casual
Spiritual is beyond creed and often accepts
Spirit (non-physical) and often an afterlife
As central. As well as trusting one’s experience
A global cottage-industry exists, composed
Of healers, life coaches, mediums, and many others
Who are fundamentally Spiritual
The institutions of religion are legion
Ranging from the massive structure of Catholicism
To the Spiritualist Church which could be said to
Be more Spiritual than institutional
2
SBNR is a simple designation of the phenomenon
Folk who are Spiritual But Not Religious frequent
The podcasts of Jeff Mara and others
They explore Near Death stories and various
Books and videos promising access to spiritual experiences
These experiences tend to be paranormal
Clairvoyant, Clairsentient and various other forms of clarity
That relate to intuition, meditation and simply willful practice
A flood of books from this growing gathering can be found online
3
I myself moved from religion to spirituality
My theological education was barren when it came to experience
And I eventually found the institutional church impossible
Both professionally and in terms of the meaning of life
But I clung and still cling to Jesus
And many SBNR folk do as well
My book Beyond Creed is available on Amazon
When, decades ago. I sought guidance
I turned to Abba first. He is the one to whom Jesus prayed.
I then turned to Jesus. I was amazed to find him humorous and truly open
There is an intimacy here I would not trade for anything
The Spiritual teachers have a multitude of Spirits they revere and speak for
And in a sense we Spirit folk are transforming religion
And in my judgment this means that we are moving
Into an era of DIY spirituality
All souls are unique individuals
They fend for themselves
Many have professions in healing arts, counseling
And various Spiritual skills
We may eventually see cross-fertilization
Of spiritual and religious programs
As Proof of Heaven events become better known
Theologies may become more universal in scope
We shall see
