Autumn is here, sometimes bringing with it a tendency to turn grumpy. The cooler weather and the longer nights. Those of you who know me will not be surprised at the targets of my occasional but usually well meaning grumpiness - people who spout about spirituality but do not actually do it.

My first taste of this was at school where the head teacher and his wife preached a gospel of kindness but behaved like bullies. You probably all have your own stories.

Snake Oil Salesmen

For forty years now I have been involved in the new spirituality that is emerging in our culture. I love it. We can call it new age, or holistic, or contemporary. Like all spiritualities, it has its beauty and it has its shadow sides. One of its shadows - and not a new one - is the promise of a quick fix. John Diamond, the journalist who died of cancer, once likened new age teachers to snake oil salesmen.

THERE IS MUCH CONFUSION in the New Consciousness movement between spiritual philosophies and spiritual practices (and their description) with a number of high profile New Age authors passing off their philosophical /cosmological worldviews as spiritual instruction. In fact, most popular New Age teachers are primarily preachers of spiritual philosophies, and it would seem that there is growing support for the belief that knowledge of "the system" can somehow lead us to spiritual fulfilment, with spirituality becoming a philosophical or academic pursuit. But this shows a fundamental ignorance of what spirituality is (and is not), and whilst a modification of philosophy can be helpful in motivating ourselves to undertake spiritual practice, unless we understand the difference between spiritual philosophy and spiritual practice (and its description), a confusion between the two can be most detrimental to our inner growth. So we need to begin with definitions and descriptions of both.

The secret to life is living it one day at a time.

Our lives are made up of a million moments spent in a million different ways. Some are spent searching for love, peace and harmony. Others are spent surviving day to day. But there is no greater moment than when we find that life, with all its joys and sorrows, is meant to be lived one day at a time.

It is in this knowledge that we discover the most wonderful truth of all. Whether we live in a forty-room mansion, surrounded by servants and wealth, or find it a struggle to manage from month to month, we have the power to be fully satisfied and live a life with true meaning.

One day at a time, we have that ability through cherishing each moment and rejoicing in each dream. We can experience each day anew, and with this fresh start we have what it takes to make all of our dreams come true.

Each day is new, and living one day at a time enables us to truly enjoy life and live it to the fullest.

Author Unknown