"You're pretty put together for someone that doesn't have a religion".

Believe it or not, that was part of a disturbing conversation I had with someone close to me about our different perceptions of "faith." Before I get too deep into it, let me explain something first. Spirituality is defined as "the quality or state of being concerned with religion or religious matters."

Now, I do not practice a monotheistic or polytheistic religion. I am not an atheist, I just do not idolize nor put bounds to any one thing. I believe in a certain set of fundamental principals behind science, intuition and energy. My version of my "higher power" may not look like yours, but that does not mean I do not have a version of my own faith. For the sake of this article, I am spiritual. I do not hold on nor belong to one specific religious practice. What you call God, Allah, Krishna, etc, I call the Universe. Each and everyday I talk to the Universe, I tell it how grateful I am for what I have and it responds by shining sun in my world, in so many ways, every day. Please remember: We are all speaking to something we cannot see norunderstand.

Anyway, she continued that conversation after I tried to diverge and switch topics (we were with other people and it was growing way too deep for a light-hearted gathering). "You need to have guidelines to live your life by," she said. I'm pretty sure this was her Catholic way of saying I should read the ten Commandments, right after she followed with, "Jesus is the only way." Here we go...

There is nothing more unattractive to me than someone trying to push their religion down your throat because they believe it is the only way to live. Girl, chill. The world is large and there are so many stories that have been told, there is not only one right way. There never was, and there never will be.

I do take pride in my non-conventional ways of what others would consider "worship." I sage my apartment monthly and I clean my crystals in saltwater and let them recharge overnight under a full moon. I can fluently talk about the zodiac, and I meditate daily. I practicing sun salutations to welcome the beginning of a new day, and I keep a gratitude journal where I give thanks and allow a clean space to manifest my deepest desires. But hey, I'm kind of a hippie and I love all things meta-physical and intuitive. That's ok, right? That's just who I am, and so far nobody nor power has judged me for doing it this way. We are all on our own spiritual paths.

But these rituals and practices aren't a set of standards to live my life by, right?

Just because I do not go off a book or a ceremony does not mean I lack morals, values or standards to which I hold my life. Here's something–some food for thought. The only morals and standards we all need to live our lives by is to treat others how you would want to be treated and to love unconditionally. It's quite simple.. just don't be an asshole and come at everything from a place of undying love, no matter the situation.

I'm in such a state of peace and bliss with my higher power to the point where I don't need to go around sharing my words because I am well-versed enough to understand that your faith is unique to you. Unfortunately, I have learned from friends and an ex-boyfriend that the people who talk about religion so much are the ones who need it the most. They tend to preach about it when they are neglecting and disobeying what they're "supposed to do, act, say." It comes from a place of guilt and, just based on human psychology, if you were at peace with yourself and whatever the hell you believe in, you wouldn't feel the need to run around screaming about it.

So please, humans of planet Earth, I don't care what you believe in...You could believe in aliens, unicorns or Zeus for that matter, and I'd still be super interested to hear all about it, but the second you try to tell me how "it can work for me," you've lost me. I am no less of a person because I can't check off the same box as you in the religious section on your match.com profile. I don't care about the self-restraints and practices you do, I just care that you're a decent f*****g person.

All my love,

Lindsey.