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A Spiritual Writing
By Sandra Lee Schubert | May 13, 2008
“We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.”
~ Stephen Covey
My bookshelves cover a range of books from Eric Butterworth, John Randolph Price, and Marianne Williamson, to the traditional books of the major religions such as the Bible, to the Bhagavad-Gita. My religious upbringing was in Catholicism but my twenties and thirties were spent exploring many avenues of the less traditional forms of spirituality. When I studied to become an interfaith minister, I delved into the study of many religions. My exploration, studies and training has given me a firm appreciation for anything spiritual. It also has given me a foundation of spiritual currency. There are many avenues to explore.
“We live in a vastly complex society which has been able to provide us with a multitude of material things, and this is good, but people are beginning to suspect we have paid a high spiritual price for our plenty.”
~ Euell Gibbons
If you want to consider spiritual writing then decide what it is the message you want to convey in your work. Let’s look at a couple of the options available; memoir, fiction, self help/personal development. This is not a complete list and there also sub-topics and different areas of interest in each genre. Spiritual writing is really wide open with possibility.
Memoir
Memoir writing is more specific to your personal journey then writing about personal development. There a couple of ways to approach this. You can tell your story and let the spiritual aspect emerge. One example is Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott. Her book is a series of essays separated under different topics. Some of the essays cover her faith life specifically and sometimes she just shares life experiences. You are taken along on her faith journey. On the other hand Madeleine L’Engle book, Bright Evening Star is a personal narrative that covers a very specific topic, the mystery of the Incarnation. Memoir is a specific spiritual experience that can be witness to your faith, or a journal of your journey of spiritual discovery.
Fiction
Memoirs and faith sharing may be off-putting to some people but spirituality wrapped around a good story can deliver a palatable message. The story can specific to a particular message such as the Left Behind series or new classics like the Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield. Fiction writing can offer you more opportunity to explore spirituality in a way that is not limited to doctrine or a theology.
Self-help and Personal Development
Self-help is a spiritual how to offering the reader exercises and activities to lead them along to a desire result. As example, a book on meditation may begin by explaining meditation principles and providing short meditation opportunities to lead the reader to a longer and sustained practice. Personal development may offer the same explanation of meditation but without the how to exercises. This genre can offer a range of other products and opportunities such as workbooks and journals, and even audio versions that can take someone through a guided meditation.
Look at your bookshelf and see what you like to read, or visit the library and see the offerings there. Decide on your intention for spiritual writing. Do want to deliver a faith message or offer a helpful technique? In the end, remember the reader wants to be inspired, informed and given the opportunity for growth.
© 2008 Sandra Lee Schubert www.writing-for-life.com
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