Ritual

"The true nature of human spirituality has now been so clouded, so distorted, so overlaid with tradition and ritual and interpretation that even the great traditions of the world, which can provide the steps that you must take, require a unique and highly gifted teacher to navigate everything else that has been added over the decades and centuries."

"The Creator is bringing essence into the world continuously, but as soon as it emerges, it slowly hardens and calcifies into form. However, the essence is being introduced constantly. Think of it like this: It is like bringing fresh water into a frozen environment. As soon as the water merges with the environment, it begins to freeze and become immobile. The more that form is associated with religion, the more religion will be bound by form and the more inflexible it will be. That is why in the Greater Community religion must minimize form and all of its pageantry so that the essence may be constantly emphasized. This provides the greatest possibility for religious experience to be rendered, both to the participants in that tradition and to their world at large."

See also

Religious practice

Spiritual practice

The world's religions

Further study

• Greater Community Spirituality, Chapter 27: What is the evolution of religion in the world?