Spiritual But Not Religious

Today we looked at artists like Cark Jung and also saw some contemporary uses of the mandala. One of those was a dirt mandala that was in the HFAC years ago. The mandala is meant to represent the purpose of life and being fully aware. Dharma means path or quest.
Some mandalas are made of sand. Though they are ephemeral, they are extremely intricate and lovely.


We looked at Bill Viola's work and focused especially on his use of water. Events in our lives guide our artwork, even if we are not conciously using them.

We discussed the difference between being spiritual and religious. We heard that "religion is the practice of spirituality." The reading seemed to tie in all of our thoughts about the matter--the main idea from a pastor confronted with the issue was that being religious gives you an organization to really develop as opposed to occasionally thinking about God when the sun sets. It gives you a place to interact with very imperfect people, gain perspective, and serve the Lord that you adore. It is not enough to feel "lucky" for what you have, you must do something about it.