I guess if I had to classify my spirituality I would have to say it's largely Buddhism. That is, if you'd asked me the question before the end of 2006 I would have replied that I am in fact a Buddhist.

So, what changed? I realised that Buddhist and Buddhism are nothing more than labels. We do so love to be identified with a group, don't we? OK, I might be following Buddhist teachings but my spiritual path is something I have to find for myself rather than follow a path set out by someone else. The Buddha himself said as much just before his death.

So, a year later where am i? Well, I still haven't taken up a new teacher. I am taking some advice I had from Buddhachat to not rush into selecting a new teacher.
I am still living by the teachings I've had so far, and am currently considering taking some instruction in Zen meditation technique. This appeals to me because of the directness of it. I guess (probably wrongly) that it's almost a kind of minimalist Buddhism in that much of the ritual of Indian, Tibetan and Chinese Buddhism has been stripped away to leave a core set of teachings and meditations.
That's not to say that there isn't any ritual in Zen, there just isn't very much of it.

I will write more of my experiences here after I've... er... well, experienced it.