What does Spirituality Mean to You?

Namaste Jesus

Namaste Jesus

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DA suggested that we need a thread to discuss things spiritual and that from his perspective, he wasn't exactly sure what qualifies. Ok with that in mind, let's find out. Without quoting scripture, the dictionary or scholars:
What does Spirituality mean to you?​
 
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The only way that I can explain what it is imho would be to say that spirituality is kinda like the man behind the curtain in the old time carnival shows yet not exactly. Religion is the "communal" stuff, like the books, rites, rituals, etc., while spirituality is the "personal stuff" that the practioner experiences that may or may not fit in with the rest of the community.

A better description might be religion could be considered like pet ownership in general while spirituality could be like the one-on-one relationship a pet owner has with his/her nonhuman companion.

Am I explaining this clearly?

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
To me, spirituality is simply the non-physical, non-verbal connection we share with one another, our inner selves, the world around us and the cosmos.
 
Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine said:
The only way that I can explain what it is imho would be to say that spirituality is kinda like the man behind the curtain in the old time carnival shows yet not exactly.
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I can go with that.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine said:
Religion is the "communal" stuff, like the books, rites, rituals, etc., while spirituality is the "personal stuff" that the practioner experiences that may or may not fit in with the rest of the community.
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I'd probably debate that one. I think the community is engaged spiritually, but unknowingly, which is the best way to be. The 'personal stuff' can tend to elitism.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine said:
A better description might be religion could be considered like pet ownership in general while spirituality could be like the one-on-one relationship a pet owner has with his/her nonhuman companion.
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Oh, bang on! That's a brilliant analogy.
 
In the first instance I would distinguish between the Traditional Christian idea that 'spirituality' is to do with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit – shekinah in the Hebrew Tradition and pneuma/spiritus in the Christian – as opposed to the more common contemporary view of the 'spirituality' of the inner self, which we see as the operation of the individual soul and one's potentiality.

So we discern between 'individual spirituality' and 'Spirituality', meaning the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit. All Christian doctrine is directed towards the latter. All spiritual traditions that talk of the overcoming of the ego (seat of the individuality) to attain the transcendent, the 'Other', however they define it ...
 
I have trouble separating God from the equation myself. It's hard for many believers to reach inside themselves and come up with a personal meaning for spirituality without the inclusion. They are that intertwined for some. It was not my intention for people to set aside their personal beliefs when describing spirituality though. I only asked that scripture not be quoted to keep religion out of it and for dictionaries and scholars not to be quoted to keep definitions your own.
 
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Well I've hold off long enough, so here goes. Spirituality for me is becoming one on a deep, deep level with 'another'. It can be another person. Another creature (dog being the perfect example). A deeper connection with what we call reality (as in sitting at the beach and becoming one with the ocean). On a larger scale becoming one with the cosmos as best as our simple minds can accomplish.

Also a deeper connection within myself, connecting with as many pieces of me that makes me me.

A parallel would be like listening to an orchestra. One can sit and hear a symphony and it is a combination of multiple layers of individual instruments. The whole of it is the surface. The spiritual depth is becoming aware of each section of instruments. Hear the violin section. Add the flute section, the trumpet section, the reed section - hearing all these individual sections separately at the same time you are hearing the whole. I actually do this as a meditation technique and it is transcending.

Now taking that meditation example and applying to the levels of my mind/heart/spirit. Focusing on one, then adding another and another.

Some of that is what Thomas described as connecting with the inner self. The connecting with the outer self in my perspective is more becoming one with the matter/energy, space/time levels of reality rather than a deity. Or rather the former is my version of deity.
 
Devils' Advocate said:
I understand. One can have spirituality without religion. Can one have religion without spirituality though? Another curiosity.
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I think you have to take that one on an individual basis. Some can, some can't. I mean, I have come across people who claim to be more religious than spiritual, but I'm not sure how that even works. I for example equate spirituality with God, but make a distinction between God and religion. So I don't need religion to be spiritual, but I should think you would have to have some sense of spirituality in order to be religious.
 
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Interesting question. I have realized that every definition I can offer is something that I have read or heard. In the mean time I have this: Possibly spiritualism is that part of humanity that connects us to each other, to god within and to nature.
 
Namaste Jesus said:
I for example equate spirituality with God, but make a distinction between God and religion. So I don't need religion to be spiritual, but I should think you would have to have some sense of spirituality in order to be religious.
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To me, religion is merely the method one uses to express their faith, but spirituality exists with or without it. Spirituality is the one constant believers and non-believers alike share. Therefore, I would suggest that spirituality can exist without religion, but not the other way round. As far as God's concerned. Well, some people put a face on the cosmos, energy source or what have you while others don't. Regardless of how you see it though, that's a major component of what makes us spiritual.
 
Namaste Jesus said:
What does Spirituality mean to you?​
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Lifting our eyes up and gazing at the universe above us and wondering in awe and realizing this vast space is also inside of us is a spiritual act. Kahlil Gibran once eloquently wrote about this act of seeing and realizing:

“If the Milky Way were not within me how should I have seen it or known it?”

Similarly, Baha’u’llah quoted the hadith below in one of his works:

“ Dost thou reckon thyself only a puny form
When within thee the universe is folded?”

I often associate poetry and art with spirituality. These are the outer forms of spirituality. Spirituality is something you do.

Spirituality also has an inner aspect. To be spiritual is a state of being, a state of mind. Spirituality means reaching beyond our primitive energy, our animal side, our lower nature, our ego, Satan, or what neuroscientists call the four Fs (feeding, fighting, fleeing, and, well, you can fill in the last four letter word here ____) that reside deep within the lowest level of our brain — the reptilian brain. To be spiritual is to lift and elevate our lower nature up the spiral staircase of our being. I’m thinking of a spiral staircase because it opposes the idea of “repression” Nietzsche pictured Christians doing when they denied the self. A human being is capable of integrating his or her animal nature into a higher self that’s capable of infinite expansion. It’s a process of infinite transformation or perfection. I say infinite because there’s always room to improve and imagine something better.

Spirituality means to connect things in new ways, to see things from new perspectives. “Could a greater miracle take place,” Henry David Thoreau asked, “than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?” Imagining the world through another person’s eyes ties more connections. I ask more questions. How did this person come to view the world this way? Why do I agree or disagree with this view? The search for answers will help me take in more and enrich my personal experience. It’s interesting that all three quotes above come in the form of questions.

Curiosity. Creativity. Connection.

These are three words that come to mind when I see the word spirituality.
 
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I am pleased. Some very good responses thus far. Ok, here's my answer:

My idea of spirituality is bonding beyond the physical with all that time and space encompasses and becoming aware of a power much greater than ourselves. It's a feeling that touches your very soul.
 
Ahanu said:
I often associate poetry and art with spirituality. These are the outer forms of spirituality. Spirituality is something you do.
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I can relate. Many is the time I've heard a song, read something or seen something that seemed to reach right inside my soul and embrace my spirit.
Ahanu said:
I didn't see it. Just read the question and replied.
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No problem Ahanu. Aussie was just, as he would say, having you on. To be honest, I had trouble following my own criteria on this one. Thank goodness for the edit button.;)
 
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Devils' Advocate said:
Thomas is it possible to describe your spirituality without doctrine? Or are they so intrinsically linked that is not possible. Curious.
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Hi DA, just noticed this, and, as Aussie said, NJ asked quite nicely that we don't do what I went and did! So apologies there, NJ, I got carried away.

So without recourse to external reference, we're knocked back into ourselves. I'm not too introspective, but I suppose if asked again, to answer without reference, I'd say:
It's not all about me.
 
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