What Is Spirituality?

[Antlerman]

Maybe the challenge is to allow ourselves to experience it and perhaps not to overly define it, but just to go with it.

Quoted for truth.

[♦ ficino ♦]

Spirituality is simply the experience of ones own being. How much one pursues knowing that in themselves, is a spiritual practice of whatever works for you, or not if it doesn't compel you that much. All the rest is simply ways to talk about what that is in you, to try to find a hook to relate it to yourself and your own pursuit of that. Those ways to talk about it do not define what spirituality is. That's why religion and spirituality may be related (or not), but they are not the same thing. Religions at best are a tool to help realize the depths of that being in ourselves, at worst they snuff the life out of it and leave us cynics towards anything remotely related to opening the door to the inner self.

Good thoughts.  To add - I suggest that religion provides important, cohesive social networks.  they supply ways for a group to define itself as a group, to give a story as to why these people are joined to me and I to them.  They add oomph to lists of duties and responsibilities that people need to live in groups.  they provide rituals, which can be beautiful or at least, help you sense that you are part of something bigger than yourself.  

[Antlerman]

Good thoughts.  To add - I suggest that religion provides important, cohesive social networks.  they supply ways for a group to define itself as a group, to give a story as to why these people are joined to me and I to them.  They add oomph to lists of duties and responsibilities that people need to live in groups.  they provide rituals, which can be beautiful or at least, help you sense that you are part of something bigger than yourself.

These are good thoughts as well. If someone is pursuing a particular path towards that spiritual development, part of that deepening and expanding of that inner knowledge of self is derived through through a shared space. Knowledge of self in this way through individual practices is necessary, but something is missed in that development without a group practice. There are things that open to you through participation with others that is otherwise inaccessible alone. It's the "we space" that requires you and the other together to create.

 

The challenge for those like me is that even though I am fully comfortable in my own solo practices at this point, exposing myself within group participation is a little difficult. I'm hardly in any sort of vulnerable state to be sucked into some group mentality anymore, since I've very much established what is true for myself on this opening path, but there is still that "muscle memory", if you will. Once you've had an injury, anything that touches that area triggers a memory response to kick into self-protection mode, or that the slightest bump is magnified into experiencing that pain again. But I think it is a matter of finding those who you do relate to, who are on the same wavelength you are, and working with yourself on your individual path, to open to an include the group path.

 

The other thing to say about group participation, is that the negative of that is when those who derive value from the "we space" don't have any sort of individual practice for development. They rely on the group to give them that experience. That don't move within in solitude. They don't introspect. To lack that is a lopsided path as well. I think the whole thing is about learning how to trust yourself within that growing self-knowledge. And that takes a great deal of inner work.

[Margee]

Some wonderful points on this thread. I have found that just to be able form my own opinions and make my own decisions has been a huge 'form' of spirituality for me. If you could call it that? Nothing can be proved just yet about the 'spiritual' nature of the universe, but in a way....I do feel like I am the 'I am' of my own life. I feel like I am 'god' of my own life and I can create my very own story. Every decision I make affects how my story will go. This is not meant to be taken in a narcissistic manner, I don't mean it that way. I just feel like I 'own' my own brain now and it feels real good.

 

I have two rules for my life that I will try to stick to as best as I can.

1. No one should get hurt (if possible)

2. Everyone should benefit, if possible.

[Antlerman]

Some wonderful points on this thread. I have found that just to be able form my own opinions and make my own decisions has been a huge 'form' of spirituality for me. If you could call it that? Nothing can be proved just yet about the 'spiritual' nature of the universe, but in a way....I do feel like I am the 'I am' of my own life. I feel like I am 'god' of my own life and I can create my very own story. Every decision I make affects how my story will go. This is not meant to be taken in a narcissistic manner, I don't mean it that way. I just feel like I 'own' my own brain now and it feels real good.

 

I have two rules for my life that I will try to stick to as best as I can.

1. No one should get hurt (if possible)

2. Everyone should benefit, if possible.

This is huge, and a definite, critical step. The entire thing is about knowing who we are. This is why I said a dysfunctional religion can snuff that out, because it doesn't allow you to discover that as it imposes itself upon you for its own sake.

[Brother Jeff]

I have a love for Eastern spirituality and sometimes feel strongly pulled toward it, but for me being "spiritual" basically boils down to being a good person. I can do that without the baggage of spiritual beliefs and that's where I'm at right now.

[seeker001]

For me spirituality is a path for finding inner peace and making sense of both the external and internal world. Hence my username, seeker.  I agree on the distinction, religions offer structure.

 

I also feel a pull to Eastern spirituality. Sometimes I think that the Abrahamic Religions, most notably, Christianity have done a lot of harm by offering definite answers and enforcing conformity in thought among other things. That there is only one way to enlightenment and salvation, instead of encouraging people to find their own path from within. Why would people seek out the truth for themselves if they think they already have the answers? Only the curious will journey beyond the walled garden, while most will only perhaps glance over it.

 

I firmly believe that everyone has the potential to find their own enlightenment, but there is no one-size fits all path. 

[Guest Theta]

Spirituality is man's search to fix the overloaded evolutionary program.

[Antlerman]

Spirituality is man's search to fix the overloaded evolutionary program.

Damn, that's good! Yes, humans are really just monkeys with over-sized brains. Becoming self-aware in the sense of aware we are aware of ourselves, leaves us with an enormous amount of anxieties and existential angst. The only way to fix it is to evolve our minds beyond that. Or drink ourselves into a stupor to escape it, or live in denial of it distracting ourselves with things, etc, etc. That's the cool thing about all this actually, is we can direct our own evolution this way, through the mind, through intention. Add that to the list of things humans can do.

[Geezer]

The original concept of spirituality was mystical. It was accepted that "God" was beyond human comprehension. God could be experienced but not defined. God was a formless spirit that existed within the hearts and minds of people. The search for God looked inward not outward.

 

 

That changed when the concept of God transitioned from a formless spirit to a supernatural humanoid. When spirituality became part of supernatural theism it gave birth to organized religion and spirituality became part of the dogma and tradition. Spirituality was then given specific guidelines and definitions and transitioned into being a part of the liturgical ritual. At that point it essentially lost its meaning and transformative power because it was turned into a virtue to be checked off on a longer list of righteous works to be accomplished in order to please God and hopefully receive the reward of eternal life in heaven.

 

 

In fundamentalists churches today, IMO, Spirituality is often viewed as a form of piety. Spirituality is viewed more along the lines of an attitude or the appearance of devoutness than a transformative influence.

[Voice]

If you compare it to something, it's pretty close to think of a singularity, or a moment in time, things we can experience in some way, even that shape our lives, but that we can't really explain. Fire. It breathes, it reproduces, it consumes and converts fuel to energy, it leaves waste, it will resist and can even protest death. Does it have a soul?

 

A fundamental spiritual question is does that other guy have a soul? Do animals have souls? These questions have the same meaning to me as does God exist. They're all spiritual questions. What is the nature of soul? A spiritual question.

 

Since leaving christianity I would describe spirituality as having questions. I haven't settled onto anything absolute, and it's been 25 years. I just ask questions. The answers point to generalities, commonalities, singularities, fractal thought (being observant from micro to macro).

 

I find the purest glimpses of what life means from moments closest to death; standing on the edge of a cliff, experiencing a car accident, dying in a dream.

[Guest r3alchild]

If I was going to call anything in my life spiritual I would consider calling it philosophy.

[RintrahRoars]

But ask yourself this, if there really is some spiritual world out there, is it not as elusive an evasive as christianity was. Are immense feelings of awe and deep feelings of love better left to the natural science of biology to explain rather than some vague idea of sprituality.

 

To me, spirituality is not an idea. Ideas and beliefs are in the realm of mind, of classification. Spirituality is connection to direct experience. Unlike science, there is ultimately no urgency to "explain".

[RintrahRoars]

And that lack of obsession with explanations is also what I would say differentiates it from religion. 

[Guest r3alchild]

 

 

But ask yourself this, if there really is some spiritual world out there, is it not as elusive an evasive as christianity was. Are immense feelings of awe and deep feelings of love better left to the natural science of biology to explain rather than some vague idea of sprituality.

To me, spirituality is not an idea. Ideas and beliefs are in the realm of mind, of classification. Spirituality is connection to direct experience. Unlike science, there is ultimately no urgency to "explain".

Yes very very true, spirituality is in the realm of experience.

[RankStranger]

I think spirituality is mainly a tribal bonding mechanism. No doubt some people can DO more with it than that... but I suspect that's why we evolved the function.

[Antlerman]

I think spirituality is mainly a tribal bonding mechanism. No doubt some people can DO more with it than that... but I suspect that's why we evolved the function.

This doesn't explain why people join monasteries and take vows of silence.

[RankStranger]

 

I think spirituality is mainly a tribal bonding mechanism. No doubt some people can DO more with it than that... but I suspect that's why we evolved the function.

This doesn't explain why people join monasteries and take vows of silence.

No, but it's not incompatible with that behavior either. I mean, one could say that sex is primarily a mechanism for procreation. But there's plenty of sexual behavior out there that isn't aimed at procreation at all.

 

We humans seem to be damn good at re-purposing these sorts of behaviors for social and other reasons... and it's not unique to us. Lots of critters use sex for social purposes in addition to procreation. Hell, some of them are probably spiritual in some sense.

[Antlerman]

 

 

I think spirituality is mainly a tribal bonding mechanism. No doubt some people can DO more with it than that... but I suspect that's why we evolved the function.

This doesn't explain why people join monasteries and take vows of silence.

 

No, but it's not incompatible with that behavior either. I mean, one could say that sex is primarily a mechanism for procreation. But there's plenty of sexual behavior out there that isn't aimed at procreation at all.

 

We humans seem to be damn good at re-purposing these sorts of behaviors for social and other reasons... and it's not unique to us. Lots of critters use sex for social purposes in addition to procreation. Hell, some of them are probably spiritual in some sense.

 

Where I disagree, is that a spiritual path is an individual path. I don't define spirituality as religion, which is in fact social, as you say. I think you're equating the two as the same thing.

[RankStranger]

 

 

 

I think spirituality is mainly a tribal bonding mechanism. No doubt some people can DO more with it than that... but I suspect that's why we evolved the function.

This doesn't explain why people join monasteries and take vows of silence.

No, but it's not incompatible with that behavior either. I mean, one could say that sex is primarily a mechanism for procreation. But there's plenty of sexual behavior out there that isn't aimed at procreation at all.We humans seem to be damn good at re-purposing these sorts of behaviors for social and other reasons... and it's not unique to us. Lots of critters use sex for social purposes in addition to procreation. Hell, some of them are probably spiritual in some sense.

Where I disagree, is that a spiritual path is an individual path. I don't define spirituality as religion, which is in fact social, as you say. I think you're equating the two as the same thing.

I didn't define spirituality as a religion... although I would say that religions generally contain a spiritual component. I'm not sure they'd be viable without that (Scientology notwithstanding?). And I think this would also depend on what one is willing to call 'religion'.

 

It looks to me like spirituality significantly influences how people relate to each other and the world around them. Looks like a social function to me. That's not to say you can't play with it by yourself - that works with sex too.

[RankStranger]

There are plenty of spiritual experiences that not only happen in groups - they seem to feed off the group dynamic. For the holy-rollers I grew up with, this would include their hour - long sessions of the whole goddamn congregation praying, howling, hand-waving, and such up around the altar. And of course there's that spiritual experience of speaking in tongues. These would be uncomfortable and weird alone or in a group of two or three. But a whole church full? Why that's the Holy Spirit!

 

I'm sure everybody has heard of cases of mass-hallucination, group morality, and plenty of other examples of group-think. I wonder if these work similarly to a howling-session in my former holy-roller church. I suspect that what some would call spirituality on an individual level is much the same mental function that opens us to this kind of group-think. That's not to say that it HAS to be practiced in groups... just that tongue-speaking and the like wouldn't really work without it.

[Antlerman]

It looks to me like spirituality significantly influences how people relate to each other and the world around them. Looks like a social function to me. That's not to say you can't play with it by yourself - that works with sex too.

In this sense, it affects social relations. Certainly. I see that as more the result of a private practice. That said however, there is what some term the "we space", that you can have a shared spiritual experience, that is uniquely created which is not any one person's contribution, but the result of shared experience. These play a role in influencing the shape of social orders, but I don't see them as a function of social order, as a "mechanism" of them. I see it as more of an evolutionary impulse towards Unity. It draws upon the individuals, and the individuals in relations to each other within social and cultural contexts. It's much more than simply a mechanism of tribal bonding.

[Antlerman]

That's not to say that it HAS to be practiced in groups... just that tongue-speaking and the like wouldn't really work without it.

That's actually not true at all. Ecstasy states like these happen in private practice as well.

[RankStranger]

 

That's not to say that it HAS to be practiced in groups... just that tongue-speaking and the like wouldn't really work without it.

That's actually not true at all. Ecstasy states like these happen in private practice as well.

Huh? I didn't say that 'ecstacy states' don't happen in private. I said that I think these group experiences like speaking in tongues wouldn't work without the mental state of 'spirituality'.

 

I'm not saying that spirituality has to be a group activity. I'm saying that certain group experiences just wouldn't happen without what we call 'spirituality'. And I think maybe that's why we have this mental function (well, most of do). Nothing bonds a tribe like a shared 'trip'.

 

I'm not saying that this is ALL spirituality is. Or could be. Or should be. That would be like saying that sex is only about reproduction - that's clearly not the case. But IMO it WOULD be fair to say that the most basic function of sex- the reason we evolved to have genitals- is reproduction. I'm saying that I think the most basic function of what we call spirituality - the reason we evolved brains that can do this - is because it's a damn effective tribal bonding mechanism. It sure works for Christians... and plenty of other groups with spiritual experiences.

[Antlerman]

I'm saying that I think the most basic function of what we call spirituality - the reason we evolved brains that can do this - is because it's a damn effective tribal bonding mechanism. It sure works for Christians... and plenty of other groups with spiritual experiences.

Shared experience of any sort transcends the individual. Sharing a common belief, rallying around the flag and shouting we are people of the clan!, has a bonding experience. A baseball game give us that rooting for the home team. But I hesitate to call that spiritual in any sort of transcendent sense of the word. A shared spiritual experience creates bonds on a different sort of level, just like shared sex does as opposed to being on the same softball team. It's a different sort of experience, that goes to the core of our being. Sharing the core of our being with another is beyond sex, even, though sex is like that in the sense of exposing ourselves deeply to each other (I'm excluding simple humping in this context).

 

What I don't like is to call it tribal-bonding. Tribal is simply a type of social unity. It's unity that is the central theme. And yes, spirituality is all about Unity. We unite with ourselves, we unite with each other, we unite with all that is. Unity of Being. That transcends just social orders, social unity, but includes them into itself. That's why I push back again it being a function of tribal (or social) bonding. It's much more than that. It's touches all aspects of our lives, including the social. So we don't disagree there.