Religion, Sacred and Spirituality; definitions

Religion, Sacred and Spiritualty; definitions

by Willow Ragan
© 2000
There is an inner place where nothing is split,
where connectedness exists within an unbroken whole.

pirituality, religion and sacred are words we hear, words we speak, words that are used in relation to each other. We use the terms Old Religion, Sacred Space, Celtic Spirituality, to define our way of relating to the divine, to define who we are and what we believe.
These words, much like the word love, have seen a great deal of use. Through this familiarity the original meaning looses impact and what we have are popular expression, “buzz words” that we use without considering the idea behind the words.
The word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus; soul, courage, breath, vital principle. It is related to spirare; to breathe and the Medieval Latin spiritualis; breath, wind, air. Spirit was originally understood as the animating force within us. There is a spark of spirit in every being, without which, as with air, we cannot live. The original meaning of spirituality was a non-sectarian recognition of spirit or divinity in the hearts of all being.
Religion is from the Latin religiomen; respect for what is sacred, worship, tradition. Religiomen is derived from the Latin religare; to bind fast, to place an obligation on. From this we learn that the word religion refers to a specific tradition, a set of teachings and rules of conduct – doctrine and dogma – for the faithful. Religions are human centered social institutions.
Sacred is an interesting word. We hear a lot about sacred space, what it is, what it isn’t. The word sacred comes from the Latin sacrare; to make sacred, to consecrate. Related to sacrire; make sacred, confirm, ratify, ordain. Sacrire is cognate with the Hittite saklais; rite, custom, law. Sacred is then a human delineation of what is and is not of Spirit.
The original practitioners of the “old religion” would not have recognized or understood this need for separation. Most tribal people, including the ancient Celts so many of us claim as our own, do not have a dualistic concept of “sacred” “not sacred.” To them, every one, every thing, every event is part of the “sacred.” The Sacred is not a thing, space, or state of mind set apart from any other. Their world-view is circular or spiral-like, all-inclusive. Everything they encounter is included as part of the dance of life, as part of the circle. While they have religious structures composed of specific rituals, deities and words of prayer and invocation, their spirituality is not tied to a time, place or a set of actions or spoken words. Their spirituality is, as ours can be, rooted in every life.
These days the word spirituality is being used in place of the word religion – Celtic Spirituality, Women’s Spirituality, Native American Spirituality, Goddess Spirituality to name a few. These designations refer to sets of beliefs, teaching and practices. Doctrine and Dogma. The original sense of spirituality was a state of being, of living that required no trappings, no ritual other than breathing, no specific deity. We may practice a specific religion that directs our behavior, however, our inherent spirituality isn’t practiced, it is lived. The true nature of spirituality is rooted in the core of our being, it is without religious affiliation. It is our birthright, with us every hour of every day whether or not we sense of it. Our spirituality connects us to every being regardless of creed or species or physical form. Our spirituality puts us in direct relationship to the air, mountains, fire ants, eagles, worms, crocodiles and hardest of all for most of us to accept, all other humans.
“The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.”
— Black Elk
This ancient pan-cultural wisdom is reflected in the word of Pema Chrödrön; “…we are always standing in the middle of a sacred circle…whatever comes in…whatever we are doing, we’re always in the center of a sacred circle.”
As conscious beings, we recognize the divinity immanent in the manifest world. However, it would seem that in more modern times we conceived of and accepted the idea of a split between what is and is not of Spirit.
While many of us acknowledge that our very beings and everything around us is forged of Spirit, we still accept and endorse the widely held belief that some things are sacred and some things are not. Many in the “pagan” community use the “Charge of the Goddess” as part of their liturgy in which we find the words;
“…And you who seek to know Me, know that your seeking will avail you not, unless you know the Mystery; for that which you seek, you will find within yourself, you will never find it without…”

And yet most of us are still looking outside, still caught up in our modern social mores. We cannot see or comprehend that our lives and how we are in the world is ritual. That like the ancients we turn to, everything in our lives is part of the sacred circle.
When we wake in the morning, have breakfast and drive to work; we are in the sacred circle. When we say a prayer, speak words of invocation; we are in the sacred circle. When we watch our children play, when we walk the dog; we are in the sacred circle. When we clean the house, muck out the barn or scrub the toilet; we are in the sacred circle. When we are happy, when we despair; we are in the sacred circle. When we fall in love, when our hearts break; we are in the sacred circle. When we witness the drawn out death of a kindred spirit; we are in the sacred circle. When we tenderly make love, when we have wild monkey sex; we are in the sacred circle. When we lay our bodies down to sleep; we are in the sacred circle.