What Is Spirituality?
Are We In Danger Of Throwing Out The Baby With The Bathwater?
Definition Of Spirituality
Historically any response to the question: “What is spirituality?” would have been framed within the religious tradition of the person you were asking.
A contemporary definition of spirituality would be more general and likely to be expressed as an inner sense of connection to something bigger than the individual self. This something bigger may or not be positioned within a faith tradition.
A medieval Christian monk would have answered the “What is spirituality?” question in terms of the presence of God, the Holy Spirit, working inside a person; and a Buddhist monk of the same period would have spoken of Bhavana meaning spiritual cultivation. Modern Christian and Buddhist monks would most likely give the same answers.
Has the modern disconnection between spirituality and culturally grounded faith traditions caused us to "throw the baby out with the bathwater"?
The root meaning of the word spirit is life force, and thus the literal answer to the “What is spirituality?” question is that it is about “matters to do with the spirit”.
In a post religious age where do we find an alternative context and reference points?
The purpose of this article is to set out my response to these questions by outlining two simple models for a practical, neutral approach to understanding spirituality together with links to further articles and resources based on many different aspects of my own direct personal experiences.
Spirituality vs Religion: 11 Differences (With Pros + Cons List).
My Response To: "What Is Spirituality?"
I want to “nail my colours to the mast” by reaffirming that:
- The focus of this site is on how to think effectively and, as part of that process, learning how to stop thinking.
- The very specific purpose of this site is to show you how to cope in tough times, and to provide you with the tools to do this successfully.
- This is all about personal development and spiritual growth.
- It is based on practices, rather than beliefs, that you apply and that will have a profound and positive effect on your life.
- When I use the word "spiritual" I am not referring to any particular faith tradition nor am I seeking to push or promote any particular belief or faith position.
- I use the word "spiritual" in a more generic sense to point to the higher or more transcendent dimensions of human experience.
Think of this in terms of higher awareness or higher consciousness.
A Practical Approach To "What Is Spirituality?"
There are 2 key steps in my approach to understanding and working with spirituality:
[1] What Is Spirituality - Developing A Good Working Relationship With Your Mind
A simple and practical model of the mind is to visualise a ship at sea. The ship floats on the surface of the ocean and its purpose is to navigate and transport you from one location to another.
- Think of the ship as your conscious mind with access to many of the tools at its disposal, for example: reasoning, calculation, speech and memory.
- The ocean is your subconscious mind, it is deep, dark and mysterious and generates powerful currents which move the ship in the direction of their travel.
- The
sky is your higher consciousness often referred to as your higher self
or higher power. The sky contains the clouds, the wind, the weather, the
planets, the stars... the universe.
- Think of your higher self as your conscious mind's portal to the universe – or the dimension of spirituality.
In order for the ship to take you to your destination it needs to work with the currents of the ocean and the wind and weather in the sky.
[2] What Is Spirituality - Understanding Your Selves
This step uses another model that starts from the premise that there is no singular "self" rather, there are multiple selves. Let's look at some of the key ones, and where it all goes horribly wrong:
The ego
Visualise your ego as your operating system and
absolutely essential, in the same way "Windows 10" is essential for the
successful functioning of your laptop. It mistakenly thinks it controls everything.
But
as with "Windows 10", however clever it is, it is just a piece of
software. So when you say me, myself or I; as a helpful metaphor, think of
“Windows 10" with self awareness!
As we practice mindfulness, we
find that in the spaces between our thoughts, we begin to experience
that we are far more than this limited and conventional sense of self.
We are not “Windows 10”!
The higher self
As we
experience this we realise that we have a spiritual or energetic self
and also that we have many unconscious aspects or selves that fall
outside of the control of "Windows 10".
The unconscious mind
To
extend the computer analogy think of our unconscious aspects or selves
as the BIOS (the programme embedded on a chip on a computer's
motherboard that recognizes and controls various devices that make up
the computer).
The whole self
So to pull this
together, when we talk of myself or I, what we are really referring to
is the totality of all of it - of all of our unconscious aspects or
selves, our conscious self (plus all its resources) and our spiritual
self or higher self.
Where it all goes horribly wrong
Given
that we are fundamentally energetic beings existing in an energetic
universe we need to understand, relate to and work with our higher self.
It is the portal to, in the conventional sense, everything "out there".
However, ”Windows 10” is not an energetic being but it thinks it is!
Its
sphere of operation is defined by our sensory perceptions. For "Windows
10" seeing is believing. Because its role is to control it thinks it
does (or should) control everything.
This is, of course, a major delusion.
This is where the whole teaching in mainstream belief systems
of "dying to the self" or "dropping the self" comes into play.
This is the point at which we realise that we have only ever been holding an empty bath...
Reflections & Practical Tips & Suggestions
These are links to a series of articles that I started during the 2020 Covid-19
lockdown. All
are based on my direct personal experiences on the theme of spirituality:
- Understanding "The Energy Of Life"
- Working With "The Energy Of Life"
- Empowering Practices
Related Articles
Waking Up
How To Wake Up - 4 Simple Practices To Help You Wake Up Now
Finite And Infinite Games - Dazed, Confused & Ultimately Transcendent
Everything Is Connected And Why You Don't Feel It
The Higher Self and Intuition
Your Higher Self - Relax And Trust It
Impermanence and This Too Shall Pass
This Too Shall Pass - The Blessing And The Curse Of Impermanence
Definition Of Belief - A Model For Understanding The Structure And Types Of Beliefs
Perception
Seeing Is Believing - Or is It?
Dropping The Ego
Consciousness
Coram Deo - Living In Consciousness
The Greatest Love - The Most Important Relationship You Will Ever Have
Are You Aligned With Reality? Or Do You See What You Believe?
Deus Ex Machina and "The Ghost In The Machine"
Walking The Talk
Shantideva - The Way Of The Bodhisattva, Walking The Path Of Compassion
Compassion Is Selfish And You Need It
Return from "What Is Spirituality" to: Home Page
- What if everything we think…
LATEST ARTICLES
The Power Of Patience - Why You Need The World's Toughest Quality
Nothing in the world can take the place of patience. Patience and persistence are omnipotent. In everyday life, patience is often overshadowed by the desire for immediate results. We live in an era of…Demonizing The Other and Personal Acts Of Compassion
What Does Demonizing The Other Mean? Demonizing the other refers to the act of portraying a group of people or an individual as inherently evil, threatening, or inferior. It often serves to justify di…Why You Should Embrace Anomalies - The Incredible Value Of Disconfirming Evidence
Is Your Desire To Be Right Greater Than Your Desire To Have Been Right? An anomaly is a deviation from what is expected or commonly regarded as the norm. It often appears as an unexpected observation…Amazing Grace - The Majesty And The Mercy of Freedom From Your Pain
"I once was lost, but now I am found, was blind, but now I see." The hymn and popular song "Amazing Grace" was written 250 years ago by John Newton, a former slave trader who in 1748 nearly died in a…The Transformative Power Of Acceptance
Experience The Power Of Acceptance. This website contains about 500,000 words. You could read every single word and it wouldn't make any real difference to you. You might become better informed, but t…Inversion - The Power Of Opposite Thinking
How To Avoid The Unwanted Outcome. The power of opposite thinking, also known as inversion, lies in its ability to stimulate creativity, enhance problem-solving, and provide a fresh perspective on cha…Are You Aligned With Reality? Or Do You See What You Believe?
We tend to see that which aligns with what we believe, and to act upon that rather than acting on reality. Being aligned with reality starts with a clear and accurate understanding of the world. It me…The Law Of Response and Outcome
A New Approach To A New Life At time of writing we are entering a new year which is traditionally a time of making resolutions to change our behaviour and improve the quality of our lives. And yet pow…Clear Thinking - Turning Ordinary Moments Into Extraordinary Results
There are two ways to handle the world - try to predict, or try to prepare. "Clear Thinking" by Shane Parrish, published in Oct 2023, is a laudable testament to the art of cogent thinking, and will be…Self Dialogue - Working With Your Many Selves
Self Dialogue Is About Working With ALL Levels Of Your Mind. The key to effective self dialogue is to have tools, techniques and resources that work with all levels of your mind. This simple self-faci…The Balanced Brain - The Ultimate Route To Personal Transformation
How To Experience The Benefits Of A Balanced Brain. Underpinning all of the belief systems and practices that offer routes to personal change, transformation and spiritual growth is the balanced brain…How To Make Better Decisions - By Avoiding The Narrative Trap
To Understand The Truth We Have To See The Whole Picture. One of the best ways to make better decisions is to have a deeper understanding of the many things that might stop that happening. To understa…The Greatest Love - The Most Important Relationship You Will Ever Have
Yet Most Will Never Know It Everyone of us has a place, in our hearts there's a space, that is home to the greatest love of all. This love transcends everything we think we know about the world of for…Everything Is Connected And Why You Don't Feel It
...And Why It Matters
As human beings we are skating on very thin ice with our sense of self and certainty about "how things are" and what we like to think of as reality:
Who Is In Charge Of Your Brain?
How Not To Be Stupid. Who is in charge of your brain? This is not a silly questions. It matters because the outcomes that you experience in your life are determined by how you respond to the events th…How To Be A Winner On A Very Large Scale
The Incredible Benefits Of Selective Attention. This is not a typical article about how to be a winner. We are not going to talk about goal setting, the importance of habits, the power of focus and al…The Metagame Approach To Life
How To Achieve Your Biggest Objectives.
The metagame approach to life is all about winning and achieving your biggest objectives by:
- Understanding the bigger picture
- Being better by doing things d…Shantideva - The Way Of The Bodhisattva
Walking The Path Of Compassion. Shantideva the 8th century Indian Buddhist sage is famous for his treatise "The Way of the Bodhisattva" delivered as an extended teaching to the monks of Nalanda monast…Reframing History - Deconstruction And Discussion Not Destruction
History is always about context, not imposing our own moral values on the past. For those of us fortunate enough to live within western democracies, we are living in an age where a vociferous and into…Tao Te Ching - Connecting To Your True Source Of Power.
How To Be Lived By The Tao. The Tao Te Ching is one of those books that many people read, few understand, and even fewer put into practice. The only way to know the Tao is to experience it, and it is…How Things Really Are - The Inbuilt Design Flaws
Chaos, Disorder And Decay Is The Natural Order Of Things. Nobody has the perfect life. We all struggle and strive to attain health, wealth and personal happiness. Yet these three big areas: our health…Intuition Or Anxiety - Are There Angels Or Devils Crawling Here?
How To Tell The Difference Between Intuition and Anxiety. How do you know whether the voice of your intuition is real or just the product of your inner anxiety? Several months ago I was having a drink…What Is Truth - How To Tell A Partial Truth From The Whole Truth?
How the truth and nothing but the truth is often not the whole truth. My great aunty Flo broke her arm and died. It is true that she broke her arm in 1923. It is also true that she died in 1949. But t…Duality And Life Beyond Your Thinking Mind
Duality and life beyond your thinking mind focuses on the limitations of time, foreground and background, duality and "stuckness". The first aspect of duality and life beyond your thinking mind focuse…The Conscious Mind Is Limited - Be Aware And Be Prepared
Being aware is the first stage of being prepared. The conscious mind is limited in so many ways. There are some who would argue that there is no such thing as conscious thought and that it is represen…Your Inner Map Of Reality - Here's Why You Think The Way You Do
The big picture of how your inner map of reality creates your feelings, thoughts, and behaviours. Your inner map of reality is based on the filters of your own ethnic, national, social, family and rel…The Failure Of Cancel Culture - Suppression Not Engagement
Why we need to wear our beliefs lightly and develop negative capability. Throughout history people have campaigned to fight beliefs, ideologies, and injustices that they perceived to be oppressive, di…4 Big Reasons Why We Get Stuck In Our Attempts At Personal Change
Most People Spend Their Entire Life Imprisoned Within The Confines Of Their Own Thoughts. This first of the 4 big reasons why we get stuck is, in my view, the most important. The "self-help industry…How Do I Change And Why Is It So Hard?
We Would Rather Die Than Change, And We Usually Do In my experience, the vast majority of people who say they want to change don’t change. Most people reading this won’t change because they don’t real…The Illusion Of A Separate Self - Windows 11 With Self Awareness!
Beyond the content of your mind you are so much more than you think you are. When we talk of "myself" this is the conventional way of referring to our self image which is in fact the ego's constructio…