In many religions, the physical and the spiritual are seen as different and separate things, and many other approaches to the spiritual are about transcending the physical in order to reach more elevated planes of existence.

This comes from the idea that things can be divided up. Mind and body are seen as separate. Male and female are two clearly defined states of being. Night and day. Reason and emotion. Spirit and matter. Good and evil. Sacred and profane, etc. However, by doing this the idea of separate, incompatible states is created, and the spiritual and material are seen as existing in opposition to each other.

Some religions tend to hold that suffering is good for the soul. Sacrifice, for example, is supposed to improve you, and it is something one should seek out at times. Having a way of relating to the world that includes a sense of spiritual reason for hard times may be helpful, but in practice most people do not want to suffer, no matter how spiritually good it is supposed to be - also any such a doctrine tends to make it easier to maintain the status quo, keeps the poor from complaining, allows the rich to feel justified in doing nothing, etc.

My understanding of spirit is based on experiencing what it does, not as some abstract concept but as an immediate, energetic form which affects me and others around me. If the spiritual is present in the physical, then life not only seems very different, but life is different and once we realise this we can experience it very differently.

Paganism includes the concept of the "immanence" of the Divine - the understanding that the Divine is here with us, and in us, and perhaps those religions that see the Divine as distant and removed - that is, as separate from the whole - are the ones which cannot be considered Pagan.

So, let go of the distinctions (mundane and sacred, magical and not magical, etc) for everything is meaningful, everything is spiritual, and if life is experience as such we are able to see the sacred in everything.

But, it doesn’t really matter if everything is actually sacred, for surely better a life based on respect and sustainability than a philosophy of greed that could cost all of us very dearly. So even if you are unable to believe that either the Divine is everywhere, or that everything is equally valuable, consider the idea that there is much merit acting as though it were so anyway. Then consider how this affects your sense of self.

So what happens if you embrace the idea that all things are full of spirit and inherently sacred? To have such an awareness of the world creates a need to step lightly, use minimally, give back and treat all others with respect.

If all things are infused with spirit and to be treated as sacred, then all of us are also infused with spirit and inherently sacred. It is an understanding that makes self-respect essential and which enables us to accept ourselves and respect others as part of the Divine.

At the end of the day, we should realise that religion and spirituality are not primarily about the gods, but about the human need for the sacred, and that sacred is around us, all we need to do is reach out...