SELF-NURTURING SPIRITUALITY

"What is self-nurturing spirituality?" Alice D.Domar asks this question and gives the following answer:

It is "One in which our search for meaning and purpose is consciously woven into our daily lives..."

The quote is from her book with Henry Dreher, which is entitled:
SELF NURTURE: Learning to Care for Yourself as Effectively as You Care for Everyone Else.

Their concept of self-nurturing spirituality is "one in which we come to terms with our religious backgrounds, ferreting out, as best we can, our own core beliefs about God or spirit." And then, most significantly, they observe that self-nurturing spirituality is "One in which we are, finally, beholden only to ourselves when it comes to our ultimate decisions about faith and how we practice it it." (Quotes from pages 261-262.)

This points to a pivotal difference between religion and spirituality: religion is based upon external and communal authority; spirituality is existential and rooted in one's own experience.

And that is why I like the concept of "Patchwork Quilt Spirituality." I pick and choose what to believe according to what has meaning and substance for me--the "truth" that resonates within me. I know that some systematic theologians and scientifically-minded academic types will object and and protest that we can't cherry-pick what we believe. But in my experience, ultimately we all do...we just don't admit it.