When I grew up, it was pretty clear to anybody - there was church and there was life. In church you behaved in one way, in life you behaved in another. But everybody denied that this is the case - which made it even more difficult for me as a child to understand the whole concept of spirituality - at least the kind of spirituality that was attempted to be conveyed in church.

Today, after many years of searching, I understand that in order to be a spiritual person, one does not have to have a multiple-personality tendency. Not at all!

Real spirituality is not about a different world, not even about life after death. It is about this life, our everyday life in this world. The traditionally purported schizophrenic separation occurred as a consequence of misunderstandings and misinterpretations.

I believe, that I as a humans am a temporary union of worldly matter (my body) with spirit (my soul). As such, I have to follow the rules of two systems: my body has to fulfill its tasks in order for me to survive. My soul has to fulfill its tasks, in order for me to feel happy.

Looking around I see so many folks trying to be happy by fulfilling their body's wishes. Good food can't make me happy, if I don't savor the moment of eating it. More good food doesn't make me more happy either. A simple potato with a little butter can make me happy, if I take my time to eat it, and be mindful about how delicious it tastes. Isn't it amazing, how this highly poisonous plant produces in its roots such a nutritious and tasty food for us humans...

A vacation to the islands doesn't make me happy. Only my attitude towards it can.

Only when body and soul are taken care of, I as a human can be healthy and happy!

One does not have to be spiritual at all, to be able to observe this fact. I think, though, once one does observe it, and accepts it, it is highly likely, that one might turn spiritual...

I find, it is important to come to a life-philosophy, that encompasses both my needs and wants as animal on this planet AND my soul's needs and wants. My body cares about survival and survival of the species. It couldn't care less about anything else. My soul, on the other hand, couldn't care less about survival, or survival of the species. It is my belief that my soul is concerned about the positive development of this creation.

If I deny my body what it is designed to do, it gets sick and starts doing crazy things: we've heard about priests abusing young boys. To me that is totally understandable! They have perfected the denial of their bodily functions; anytime a thought about a woman comes up it is immediately extinguished. Sooner or later, the body finds a way around the mental block. There is no big defense built up around young boys - and when suddenly the suppressed sexuality shows up in that corner, it comes with such force and so unexpected that there is no holding up the river anymore. I am not excusing that behavior - but explaining. To me, that whole scandal is one crystal clear example of how a mislead spirituality, built on misunderstandings and misinterpretations, can lead to a person going amok! Denying nature is a very dangerous, often disastrous behavior!

Think about it: a God creating a system and then expecting the elements of that system not to follow it? How schizophrenic is that? Only a human, ignorant and foolish, can come up with something crazy like that!

I belief a healthy spirituality is not denying nature, but providing a guidance. Neither is a good spirituality is about life after death. It is but about life! About life as human here on this planet! As human, which is animal and spirit at the same time! It is about how to work within the parameters of an animal toward the goal of the spirit!

I find my spirituality needs not make promises about later, but provide guidance that leads to happiness now.

Once I accept that happiness is not of my body, but of my soul, I can start listening to my soul and attempt to fulfill its needs - just like I always listen to my body and try to fulfill its needs. And once I follow the lead of my soul, miraculously and immediately, my happiness increases - no matter the circumstances of my life!

Still doubtful? Think about it! If happiness would come from material abundance, rich people would be happy and poor people would be unhappy. If it came from health and wellbeing, a terminally ill person, or a paraplegic person could never be happy, and all healthy persons would be happy. Really look around and try to see why happy people are happy. What made them happy? Look at yourself, your own life and experiences. When you had moments of happiness, what had caused that? What were the real, deep reasons behind your happiness? I guarantee you, it always was because your soul got what it was looking for!

So, if you want to be happy and healthy, here's my advice: give your body what it needs, and follow your soul where it leads!