How do you define spirituality?

by Sunchild 21 Replies latest jw friends

  • Sunchild
    Sunchild

    How do you define spirituality?

    It's a general question for anyone, and it's a very personal one that requires personal answers. I'm not asking what the Bible says, what science says, what the dictionary says, or what your mother says. I'm asking how you, as an individual with your own ideas, feelings and perceptions, conceptualize spirituality. And since I'm the one who asked the question, I guess it's best that I go first.

    The more I think about it, the harder it becomes to define. For me, it's something both pervasive and ephemeral, something that's always there for me, but which remains elusive in a way since it's so difficult to quantify. But it seems to be:

    ...The thing that makes me feel most alive and connected with the rest of the world.

    ...The "something" that feels like a song in my soul.

    ...Something within (and perhaps without) that helps to calm my fears when the world doesn't seem to make sense or when life isn't going quite like I'd planned.

    ...The touch of the Divine that exists in everything.

    ...Something you have to find for yourself, and which no one else can give to you or take away unless you let them.

    ...Something I never truly had until I left the Witnesses, since I wasn't allowed to explore it there.

    It isn't something you can find in books or through gurus, although these things can help to guide you on your way. Mostly, it's discovered through asking yourself questions and being honest about the answers, and through simply living life and learning from your experiences. I think that it's different for everyone, but the feelings it gives are probably quite similar.

    I look forward to seeing how other people answer this question, and if you like, please feel free to tell how you arrived your conclusions. I just like to hear how other people think.

    *Rochelle.

    ---------
    "Most men complacently accept 'knowledge' as 'truth'. They are sheep, ruled by fear."
    -- Sydney Losstarot, "Vagrant Story."

  • Yerusalyim
    Yerusalyim

    The soul reaching out of itself for something higher, something better than itself.

    YERUSALYIM
    I like peanut butter, can you rollerskate?

  • joelbear
    joelbear

    I define spirituality as an awareness of that which is outside of ourselves and the needs thereof. This goes along with my definition of love which is clearly looking out for the interests of others ahead of your own. Love and spirituality go hand and hand.

    hugs

    Joel

  • ladonna
    ladonna

    Sunchild,
    This is a hard answer to give as it is such a deep untouchable, intangible thing.

    To me, spirituality is a deep going within which leads to an unfurling giving to others.

    Also.....the saying "stop and smell the roses" is not as silly as it sounds. Being one with nature is very spiritual for me.

    Thanks for a great post.

    La Donna Ana

  • ianao
    ianao

    I define spirituality as a (usually healthy, but sometimes unhealthy) side-effect of a brain capable of abstract thought and self-awareness. The need to comprehend the uncomprehendable.

    I find the further I personally DISREGARD any notion of spirituality, the better off I am as I never needed it until somebody told me of a God that I cannot see. Before then, it was just "the way the cookie crumbled".

  • rem
    rem

    I see spirituality as an appreciation of nature, art, and life. To me it is just a feeling - nothing tangible. I personally don't feel there is anything more out there and I don't feel any special connectedness with nature, other than the awe I have for the sheer beauty and the complexities of the processes that make it work. When I was a Witness, I used to have such feelings for the Organization, Jesus, and Jehovah.

    I believe most everyone has such feelings, but they focus them on different areas of life. Some feel a connectedness with nature, some with their religion, some with art, etc. I think that many people interpret these feelings as something more than they really are - instead of a state of mind, spirituality becomes something external and beyond our grasp. I feel this is why it is so very difficult to define the concept of spirituality - because it is something different to almost everyone, and there is nothing really tangible to define.

    rem

  • You Know
    You Know

    Thinking like Jehovah to the extent of having the mind of Christ. / You Know

  • Big Jim
    Big Jim

    For me it is to have unconditional love for your neighbor as well as your family. Showing love in all that you do and say in everything.
    I believe if you can do that you will reach a very high level of spirituality.

    (famous quote)

    Nothing is more repulsive than a furtively prurient spirituality; it is just as unsavory as gross sensuality.

  • Sunchild
    Sunchild
    I define spirituality as a (usually healthy, but sometimes unhealthy) side-effect of a brain capable of abstract thought and self-awareness. The need to comprehend the uncomprehendable.I find the further I personally DISREGARD any notion of spirituality, the better off I am as I never needed it until somebody told me of a God that I cannot see.


    I don't think that spirituality needs "God" as such, myself, and I never said it did. I find it mostly through art, music, nature... my girlfriend's loving caresses. Rituals and prayers are just another facet of it that I personally find useful, but I know that not everyone finds contentment in such things.

    I find it interesting, though, that you would think of spirituality -- apparently even in the broadest, most individual sense of the word -- as being inextricably linked with a god you no longer believe in. Is there any reason why you feel this way? Or am I mistaken in my conclusion?

    *Rochelle.

    ---------
    "Most men complacently accept 'knowledge' as 'truth'. They are sheep, ruled by fear."
    -- Sydney Losstarot, "Vagrant Story."

  • Sunchild
    Sunchild
    Thinking like Jehovah to the extent of having the mind of Christ.


    <g> And thank you for lending your support to the theory that loyal Witnesses are incapable of having a single original thought.

    *Rochelle.

    ---------
    "Most men complacently accept 'knowledge' as 'truth'. They are sheep, ruled by fear."
    -- Sydney Losstarot, "Vagrant Story."

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