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Why I Practice in Many Spiritual Traditions, Not Just One

Why I Practice in Many Spiritual Traditions, Not Just One

Last updated on: September 24, 2026 at 5:15 pm by Larry Jordan

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Why I Practice in Many Spiritual Traditions, Not Just One 2026-09-24T17:15:31-05:00 Larry Jordan

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Interspirituality helps me to experience our interconnectedness. It broadens and deepens my spirituality. And it introduces me to many wonderful spiritual communities and spiritual people.

Stupa of Enlightenment in Crestone, Colorado. Image by the author

Reflections on Interspirituality

Recently, I had the opportunity to share at the Center for Non-Religious Spirituality (CNRS) Sunday Morning Community Hour. Jim Palmer, who wrote the foreword to The Way, founded CNRS. I wrote about my religious deconstruction here and my spiritual reconstruction here.

Christianity is more doctrinal, exclusive and evangelistic than many traditions. Most traditions emphasize practice more than belief. Today, I do NOT believe much, but I know that everyone is related, and everything is connected. To me, spirituality is all about interconnectedness.

So rather than embrace one belief system, I practice in several spiritual traditions. Author Wayne Teasdale writes, “Spirituality, in its interspiritual manifestation, is a vision of the spiritual life nourished by other schools of spirituality, mysticism, and contemplation.”

It seems to me that Ultimate Reality is probably NOT personal, possibly NOT supernatural, and perhaps NOT intentional. Spirituality, to me, is NOT grounded in doctrine or ritual or woo-woo. So spiritual practice should embrace our interconnectedness.

Soon, I realized that spirituality is NOT a spectator sport to me. But I had studied Hindu philosophy for years without ever meeting a Hindu. And I wondered, “How can I encounter other traditions, and how do other traditions experience God or the Universe or Ultimate Reality?”

Welcome to Crestone, Colorado

Ten years ago, we found Crestone, Colorado, nestled at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Great Sand Dunes National Park. Almost 50 years ago, a major landowner received a prophecy that she would bring the world’s religions to Crestone.

She created a foundation and donated land to almost 20 traditions, including Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, and Shinto, for spiritual centers. The Camino de Crestone hosted a pilgrimage, where pilgrims could visit the centers for contemplation, discussions, experiences and service.

Many Crestone residents participate regularly at several spiritual centers. Of course, if we examine the beliefs literally, they are very different. But if we examine the practices generally, they are very similar, reflecting the perennial philosophy that underlies most traditions.

Sometimes, I say that we can hold other beliefs and practices in “soft focus.” For example, although I do NOT believe in a personal god, I am able to pray to the Father in a church or chant to the Divine Mother in a temple, honoring different imaginings of the same Ultimate Reality.

Different Ways to Describe the Indescribable

Interspirituality helps me to experience our interconnectedness.

Indigenous traditions connect the physical and the spiritual through the land and living things.

Eastern traditions perceive an impersonal Ultimate Reality (Brahman, Tao) interpenetrating physical reality. Here, “God” is “a part of us.”

Western traditions perceive a personal God who invites a personal relationship to ensure personal salvation. Here, God is “apart from us.”

Atheist traditions exhibit awe, gratitude, reverence and responsibility for the natural world, without perceiving a supernatural world.

Today, I find connectedness in atheist, Eastern, and indigenous traditions more than in Western traditions, which seem dualistic to me now.

Ceremony, Contemplation, Ritual and Symbolism

How do other traditions experience God or the Universe of Ultimate Reality? Certainly, contemplation or meditation or silence is common. And we can have that experience in a Catholic cathedral, a Hindu ashram, a Quaker meeting room, or a Buddhist zendo.

Many of the rituals and symbols are similar, too, and we can see something like a communion ceremony, an offering, a scripture reading or a teaching in any number of traditions. Also, we can see symbolic use of elements such as earth, fire, water and wind.

But spiritual experiences can be dissimilar from one tradition to another. A Native American sweat lodge is striking, combining darkness, drumming, and extreme heat. And a Sufi dhikr is meditative, featuring chanting and dancing or whirling.

A Hindu fire ceremony is sensuous, activating all five senses. Imagine sitting in front of a fire, during a snowstorm, at the foot of a mountain. Later, in the temple, we feel the rumble of the chants and the wind from the dancers’ saris. I wrote about a Hindu fire ceremony here.

These experiences can have profound impact, clearing the mind and opening the heart in ways that I did NOT experience in church.

Hinduism: A Closer Look

Hinduism seems foreign to many Westerners. It is compelling to me due to its embodied nature, rich vocabulary and striking diversity. Hindus can be atheists, monotheists or polytheists. And they can worship different gods and goddesses.

Hinduism can hardly be considered an “organized” religion. There is no doctrine, no hierarchy, and no orthodoxy. Philosophical Hindus tell me that the gods are symbols. Traditional Hindus tell me that they pray to their gods to smite other people and other gods. Quite a contrast.

Like many traditions, Hinduism is largely an ethnic religion, reflecting Indian culture in its beliefs and practices. But it can be universal, too. Hindus recognize Buddha and Jesus, much like they recognize Krishna and Ram, as avatars or incarnations of deities.

My wife, Jill, was asked to serve on an ashram board. The board asked about her spiritual practice, and she said that she was interspiritual. Although she attends ceremonies and respects the tradition, she is not a Hindu. “That’s great,” they replied. “We need that perspective, too.”

Can you imagine a Christian church thinking that they need a non-Christian perspective on a church board? Me neither.

Interspiritual Insights

Almost everyone who pursues a broad and deep exploration of other traditions will be moved by the compassion of Christianity, the devotion of Islam, the intellectual rigor of Judaism, the earthy practicality of Buddhism, and the rich vocabulary of Hinduism.

Almost no one who embarks on an interspiritual journey with an open heart and an open mind will conclude that their religion is “right” and that other religions are “wrong.” For many of us, religions are like languages, different ways of describing the same indescribable reality.

Although I will accommodate most beliefs and practices using a “soft focus” lens, I will NOT recite creeds, which require a “hard focus” lens. Thankfully, creeds are fairly unique to the Christian tradition. There are no Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish or Muslim creeds.

Also, although I do NOT hold many beliefs, I certainly have “leanings” or preferences. And I realize that some some are mutually exclusive. The universe was created, or it was not. There is an afterlife, or there is not. We have souls, or we do not. Everyone can NOT be right.

As we explore other traditions, we may see beliefs or practices that seem strange. There are things in our own traditions that seem strange, even to those within the tradition. When we discredit someone else’s scripture, my friend Josh Hatfield often says, “Now do the Bible.”

Many people lose their community when they leave church, and some want to find a new community that provides an “all-in” commitment. “Maybe not,” a wise friend said. “How did that work out? How healthy was your church experience? Where are your “church friends” now?”

Interspirituality Helps Me to Experience Our Interconnectedness

Crestone has become a second home, where we have spent two months a year for almost ten years. While there, we participate in ceremonies at several of the spiritual centers, especially the Buddhist, Catholic, Hindu, and Shinto centers.

At home, our practice is Zen, and we are members of a local community or sangha, where we attend retreats, meditate, and study koans. Also, I meet weekly with a Zen teacher at an online sangha. I listen to a lot of Zen podcasts, and I read a lot of Zen books.

Also, I lead discussion groups and sometimes speak at a Unitarian Universalist church. I attend Quaker meetings regularly. And I belong to a Buddhist book club, a Unity book club, and a few online deconstruction groups. Sometimes, I meet with progressive Evangelicals.

Jill, in addition to serving on the ashram board, serves on the local Zen Center board. Also, she leads a Unity discussion group. We both participate in Zoom calls with progressive Christians and visit spiritual centers, among other things.

We actively engage in all of these communities by attending services, participating in activities, and providing financial support.

Interspirituality helps me to experience our interconnectedness. It broadens and deepens my spirituality, guided by the perennial philosophy and a “soft focus” approach. And it introduces me to many wonderful spiritual communities and spiritual people.

Imagine that I decided to join a church, and I felt that I had to say, “I’m a Christian now. I can’t participate in your community anymore.” What would I gain, and what would I lose in belonging to one community, rather than several?

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The Way received a 2024 Nautilus Book Award.

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About Larry Jordan

Larry Jordan is a follower of Jesus with a Zen practice. He wrote “The Way,” informed by the Eastern religions, the mystics, and the quantum physicists. "The Way" won a 2024 Nautilus Book Award. You can read more about the author here.

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