poppers - I understand you don't like religion but I still have no idea how you are defining spirituality
I have utter contempt for all things supernatural - is it still possible I am spiritual?
Of course.
My view of spirituality has nothing to do with the supernatural. It has to do with acting and perceiving from the core of your being rather than from the viewpoint of thinking and belief, things that religions and philosophies cater to. I know that sounds "airy fairy", so let me try to put it this way. When you say the word "I" or "me" you are referencing that core. Beneath the ideas you have about who or what you are there is a very tangible sense that you exist, and those words point to that sense of existence. Just stop a moment and get in touch with that. You are here right now existing, right? You can sense that, right? There's noting supernatural about that, is there? When you stop everything else and simply get in touch with that what do you find? A deep sense of peace and unity. Being "spiritual" is acting and perceiving from that sense of existence, and when you do that the walls of separation that have been constructed in the mind begin to become dismantled.
Everyone else has that exact same sense of existence, and when that is seen for yourself your world becomes more inclusive of others. Then you can see for yourself how ideas and beliefs are what keep people separated from one another. One very large player in the field of ideas and beliefs is the religious one, and that's why my view of religion is a dim one, because it can be so divisive, and because it rarely leads people to that core of existence that lies within. Instead, it tends to keep you locked into a set of ideas about the world and the people in it since it keeps you in the thinking mind.
Beliefs are such a powerful thing, but they get in the way of seeing and experiencing the world as it truly is. Living life without the constrictions of religious beliefs is a huge step in living a spiritual life. Then you are free to dive more deeply into yourself and find that sense of existence, and let that be the guiding force of your life - that is the beginning of living a spiritual life.
