Spoken Spirituality
Some spiritual teachings and teachers help us understand ourselves by giving us words and concepts. Their teachings often feel emotionally supportive, intellectually reassuring, and foundational. People like to share them, talk about them, and say, “Yes, this is me too. This is what I believe.”
Well-known teachers who work in this way include Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, and Marianne Williamson. Their work helps people orient themselves, reflect, and build language for what is happening and where they are headed.
Spiritual teachings that work through ideas and explanations tend to suit cultures and people who like to talk things through, define themselves, and understand where they stand — the Western world. These teachings travel well through books (especially socially-sanctioned best-sellers), in discussion, and via social media sharing. They give people meaningful spiritual language that they can use to identify themselves.
Felt Spirituality
Other spiritual teachings help us to feel our way back into ourselves. Much is left unsaid. Not a lot is explained. They don’t give us many concepts to hold onto. Instead, they work through tone, presence, vibration, and silence. Often we can’t easily say what they’ve done — only that something has softened or changed inside us.
This kind of spirituality is less often shared or discussed because it doesn’t give us language to stand on. It asks us to be without explanation. There is no position to take, no insight to display, no sense of progress to claim. That can feel unsettling. But for some, it feels like home.
Continue reading “Spirituality — Spoken or Felt”