Question

Write words or phrases which tell about how you feel in this area. This could include your feelings about yourself and organized religion, reactions about your spiritual connections to others, feelings about your spiritual development and history, and thought about your metaphysical self. Think about your inner peace and joy. Think about your spiritual regimen or routine.

Answer 1

This type of question is really personal. Since I don't know if you have a religion or belief, I will answer with my general knowledge and experience. Feel free to change and adapt this answer to make it fit you.

Answer and Explanation:

Even though I do not see organized religion as something good for me, I do understand the benefits it brings to people in general. Institutions are always flawed, no matter how sacred and lofty the beliefs they preach. However, those institutions offer support and structure to people who enjoy the sense of belonging to a community of like-minded individuals.

At a personal level, I do not see the need to travel to a temple or to memorize prayers and chants. I see myself - body, mind and soul - as a sanctuary. By simply taking a moment, be it minutes or hours, to focus on something without any specific goal, simply for the sake of clearing my mind, I can find peace. I believe human beings are a manifestation of the very universe we observe. We are the universe being aware of itself and its other manifestations. Therefore, I believe we can find, in silence and peace, a sense of self that exacerbates all self-centeredness.

Peace comes from the acceptance of what is. It comes from beholding my own existence, as well as the existence of everything else, as sacred. In this thought, I find love for myself and for the world.