What is your definition of spirituality?

[fballer11]

My dad posed this question to me in a rather defensive matter. We were debating about those hard questions, I brought up spirituality, and he asked "What is that?" in order to stump me. And it kinda did.

I said that no one knows what gravity is, but the effects are present. No one may know what spirituality is, but we know it controls our well-being, purpose, drive, relationships, and other areas of our life, arguably ALL areas.

So what is yours?

Mine so far:

Spirituality is the attraction of our thoughts, feelings, ect. to the self. Not just the ego self, but all areas of the self, including work, health, and every area of life, especially an interconnection between everyone and everything.

I am still tweaking it. Also, I want some Ideas, so I can tell my dad!

[ethereal]

Hehe, been there before, it's tough. The main block is that spirituality is the realm of the 500s+ (Love and beyond), whereas intellect/logic/debate is the realm of the 400s (Reason). It's like comparing apples to oranges. Only when people are ready to accept the jump will they start to subjectively experience spirituality. Otherwise, it's like trying to explain love as a series of electrochemical signals in your brain.

My definition of spirituality is to reconnect with the nature of Divinity/God in all of its forms -- Truth, Love, Beauty, Bliss, Joy, Peace etc.

[fballer11]

ok, I get the whole P vs. F thing, but if we are comparing levels of growth, why is spirituality higher than logic (try answering that without giving me a definition of spirituality!). I'd love an answer that doesn't rely on a bunch of confusing terms to get me to believe something(not that yours is).

[ethereal]

Hahaha, ok I'll give it a shot. Spirituality is more like continuously deferring to intuition and your heart to decide on things, not just as random flashes of insight, but as a continuous way of life. Logic/intellect/mind cannot tell truth from falsehood; given a few wrong assumptions, you can prove anything you want. But usually that "gut feeling" you get always tells you what you need to know, even though you sometimes can't logically find a reason for it.

Spirituality and truth is self-evident, you can't -- and don't need to -- prove it. Peace is better than war, Love is better than hate, Wisdom is better than ignorance; pretty basic stuff, right? But the society of the 400s is still plagued with crime and suffering and injustice, because using logic based on flawed premises leads to wrong conclusions, and the mind innately cannot tell what is true or false. But if you stuck with just simple spiritual truths like, be kind and loving to every living thing... life would be a lot better

[JHL]

Another way of looking at the question is to try to intuitively describe the most "spiritual" person you know.

For me, I would describe this person as honest, humble, kind, generous, a teacher, has integrity, is courageous.

This person would be highly conscious of the role of their ego. They would see through the illusory veil it casts for us, to the truth beyond.

This person is a seeker of the truth. Spirituality is therefore the pursuit of truth.

Probably the chief quality necessary for such a pursuit is courage, followed by the willingness to be honest. The characterstics occuring as a result of this pursuit are humility, kindness, integrity and generosity.

Groan. I havent quite solved it. Science could also be said to be the pursuit of truth, though science is a purely rational affair. The human pursuit, on the other hand, entials the rational but is really more of an emotional affair demanding courage. I'm sure someone will be able to articulate this better than me...

[Shaden]

Spirituality has nothing to do with the levels of consciousness. More it's ever present. Spirituality is discovered through self-exploration which is why, by the way, I dislike the inference to subjectivity and the levels of consciousness. I don't think anyone can define spirituality except that it's a choice we make personally. And I don't think anyone should go to a spiritual teacher or a guru for guidance.

Then you're being influenced. The decision isn't personal.

[Cantando]

Originally Posted by Shaden

I don't think anyone can define spirituality except that it's a choice we make personally.

I'll have a crack at defining it, though, as you say, it is personal thing.
Spirituality is the condtion of awareness of oneself as a spiritual being, i.e. having individual, indestructible consciousness and the awareness of others as spiritual beings. What has become more real for me over recent months is the belief that one can only advance spiritually by helping others, otherwise, it is just adhering to the rules of a particular religion or wrapping onesef up in a cozy, cotton wool kind of mysticism. If you look at the great souls throughout history, what did they have in common? They helped others. I really believe that by helping others according to our own personal circumstances, we will automatically increase our levels of consciousness, insight, wisdom, tolerance, patience, joy, etc. as a matter of course (the fruits of the spirit shall we say).

[Myrabeth]

Hi--
A working definition that I have used in the past as a chaplain in the VA system goes basically like this:

spirituality is the quality of the relationship we have first with ourselves, then with others and the environment we exist within, and finally (you can look at it as layers rather than distinct variables) with whatever we consider to be our ultimate reality.

What I liked about working with this definition was that it was flexible, inclusive of all perspectives and allowed for the discussion about how our reltionships with each other and our environs are reflections of our internal relationship with self. And...how the quality of all our relationships are a mirror of our relationship with what/who we call 'God' or ultimate reality.

Thanks for asking the question, fballer!

[infinitethoughts]

fballer11

Your dad did what Zen masters have done for thousands of years.

By asking what "spirituality" is, if you think about it long enough, it becomes a non-sense question.

This then starts you on the road to view existence as it really is.

[Mato Kinze]

Spirituality is the connection we feel to something greater than ourselves. Whatever that "something" is.

It is expressed and manifested in how we relate to that which we experience directly through the physical world and that which we experience indirectly (for most of us) in the spiritual world.

[evrgrn3]

I believe that everyone has a Spiritual Identity that mixes with 4 other Identity Areas:

Cognitive Identity
Cultural Identity
Emotional Identity
Physical Identity

My definition of Spiritual Identity:

Spirit: Spiritual Identity

Spiritual Identity is your personal perspective of your religious, ethical, and/or sacred beliefs.

Spirit is the animating force or source of vitality, energy, strength, and inner peace of within you. Everyone is born with a spirit; it is what gives you life. Some believe it is what guides you through life in the form of ethical, religious, or spiritual beliefs, while others see it as the electrical charge that maintains our nervous systems. Spiritual Identity is your personal perspective of your religious, ethical, and/or sacred beliefs. This book looks at spirituality from four perspectives: religion, beliefs, spirit, and ethics. Ethics are a personal doctrine of what is right, just, and good when relating to others. Core beliefs are guiding principles for what your origin, purpose, meaning, and place is in the world. Religion is set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. You may find your spirituality drawing to one or all four perspectives. The importance is for you to connect to your spiritual self and draw from the energy that gives you life.



Copyright 2006
Burgess, T., Pugh, K., & Sevigny, L. (2006) The Personal Vision Workbook, New York: Thomson Delmar Learning