How does God speak to us? You may be a member of a religious congregation; God may speak to you through holy texts, or through the words of intermediaries – priests, pastors, rabbis etc. But then, you may be (as am I) spiritual but not religious, believing in a more direct relationship with the Divine, based on first-hand experience.
The difference in approaches to spirituality may be summed up as that between the exoteric and the esoteric. Google Gemini illustrates the two paths:
The exoteric approach gives you – and indeed everyone – all the answers on a plate. The nature of God, life after death, how to live one's life. There are no questions, only doctrines. The exoteric is suitable to be imparted to all, regardless of age or their levels of curiosity or need for nuance. Roman Catholicism is classically exoteric.The exoteric is handed down hierarchically, in a pre-digested form. "Take this all of you and believe it". No great need for questions.
In contrast, the esoteric way is based on internal experience. How you feel God, rather than being told how others have known God. The esoteric way requires constant engagement with the deepest questions, wrestling with doubt, dialogue.
I would distinguish the esoteric from the occult; the occult is that which is hidden. Truth is not hidden (which implies someone hid it); rather, it is there to be revealed, discovered, person by person. Like the exoteric, the occult requires intermediation. The adept has to be initiated into the secrets through a series of trials, ordeals or tests. Again, a hierarchical structure is called for (Grand Hierophants of the 33rd Degree etc). Having said that, the Roman Catholic church warns its faithful against secret sects and the occult, tainting esotericism with the same brush).
Gnosticism as a way of looking at spirituality appeals somewhat to me, in particular the notion of gnosis – direct experience of knowledge (or spiritual knowledge gained through direct experience). However, Gnosticism's division of creation into the material and spiritual realms (the former being created by a flawed demiurge, the latter being the created by hidden and uncorrupted supreme being) is too dualist for my taste. Still, if not taken to literally and considered metaphysically, the Gnostic perspective on spirituality is worth looking into.
If you feel the slightest hint of God's presence in the Universe, don't ignore that voice; be open to it and seek. Be open to intuitions, to meaningful synchronicities, to the inner voice, to moments of awe and wonder – and take up the quest. Your own quest.
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