I define spirit as that which animates or makes alive. I define spirituality as a collection of words and practices of or related to that which makes alive, spirit.
Two Categories of Spiritualities
In my view there are many different spiritualities: Vedantist, Ancient Egyptian, Taoist, Tantric, Jewish, Buddhist, Platonic, Native American, Christian, Muslim, Neopagan, American, Nietzschean, and many more. Even within the categories I listed there are subcategories of spirituality. For example, there are many different Catholic and Protestant spiritualities, Native American spiritualities, Neopagan spiritualities, and so on. I think we can sort all spiritualities into two general categories: life-denying and life-affirming.
Life Denying Spiritualities
Life-denying spiritualities deny the value of life, all life. Since spirit is that which makes alive, to deny the value of life is to deny the value of spirit as well.
The words and practices of life-denying spiritualities tend to be about avoiding, escaping, suppressing, inhibiting, and weakening life or spirit.
The methods of life-denying spiritualities often include a preference for pain over pleasure, banning laughter, fasting, keeping vigils, poverty, obedience to authority instead of personal freedom, wearing uncomfortable clothes, sleep deprivation, submission to suffering, flagellation, virginity, celibacy and other restrictions on sex. Since sex is often denigrated and restricted, marriage is often viewed as an inferior status as is conceiving new life and bearing offspring. In life-denying spiritualities relationships based on a shared faith tend to take precedence over family relationships.
In life- or spirit-denying spiritualities spirit or life often serves death and death is the final liberation and escape from life. The goal is to escape "this life" for "the next life" or individual annihilation and absorption into whatever is named the ultimate reality. Martyrdom is often glorified. The desired next life is often a purely disembodied, inherently eternal life of bliss or joy.
Life-denying spiritualities are anti-spiritualities rather than spiritualities. They are anti-spiritualities because they are against spirit, that which makes alive. They form weak and withdrawn human beings, often dependent on the charity of others, and who contribute little if anything to the common good.
Life-Affirming Spiritualities
On the other hand, life-affirming spiritualities value of life, all life. In valuing life they value spirit. Their words and practices tend to be about embracing both the pleasures and pains of life, being fully engaged in life, promoting, liberating, nourishing, strengthening, and celebrating life.
The methods of life-affirming spiritualities often include such things as a preference for pleasure over pain, sensuality, an affinity for beauty, eating, drinking, both laughing and crying, dancing, singing, passion, sex for pleasure, sex for conceiving, bearing and raising offspring, freedom, and happiness.
In life- or spirit-affirming spiritualities death serves spirit, it supports the continuation of life. However, because life-affirming spiritualities value life above death, all life is deeply respected and honored. It is taken only when necessary, reluctantly, with reverence, without waste, and in order to sustain life. The goal is sustaining, strengthening, and continuing spirit, that which makes us alive.
Life-affirming spiritualities are true spiritualities because they affirm life and therefore spirit. Their words and practices of and about spirit celebrate, sustain and strengthen spirit, all spirit, all life.
No Pure Types But Degrees
There are no pure anti-spiritualities or spiritualities. Different spiritualities vary in their degrees of both spirit-denying and spirit-affirming elements. That being said, I do think it is possible to distinguish between anti-spiritualities and spiritualities. For example, Vedic or Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Islamic, and many New Age traditions tend to be anti-spiritualities. They tend to deny the value of life and look to an other-worldly future beyond life.
On the other hand, Shamanic, Taoist, Pagan European, African and many Native American traditions tend to be life- or spirit-affirming spiritualities. They tend to affirm the value of all life, celebrate it in numerous ways, sustain it, strengthen it, and assure its continuation.
Five Questions
I close with a list of five questions for distinguishing spiritualities from anti-spiritualities:
1. How do the adherents relate to all life- the earth and its water, wind, land, plants, and animals including humans? Do they affirm or deny the spirit of all that live? Do they treat all that live with respect or not?
2. Do the adherents kill without real necessity or regard for life, exterminate other species of life, consume more than they need to sustain themselves, and deplete and pollute where they themselves live or do they support the life of others, take life only when necessary to sustain their own, consume only what they need, leave little trace of their presence in an area, and minimize their impact where they live?
3. Do the adherents enjoy life, engage in it, rise to its challenges or dislike life, avoid it, and looking forward to going to a better place after they die?
4. What does the spirituality say about and practice with regard to pleasure, sex, child-birth, and family? Does it promote these or their opposites?
5. Bottom line: does the spirituality promote life or seek salvation from it?
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
Why Write About Spirit?
So I was sharing with my wife some of my most recent insights about spirit, spiritual, and spirituality and she challenged me to justify my writing. "Why write about spirit?" she asked.
Why I Write About Spirit
I asked in reply, "Why would anyone write about about our bodies and our physical health and well-being? Why would anyone write about our minds and our mental health and well-being?" My answer is that I write about spirit because I value spirit and the health and well-being of spirit. Spirit is every bit as important as body and mind. I value most the human spirit but also the spirit of other animals, plants, rocks, valleys, mountains, springs, streams, rivers, oceans- all animate, spirited beings. I think that if more of us valued the spirits of all more of us would live healthier, happier lives.
How I Define Spirit
"But there are so many different understandings of what spirit, spiritual, and spirituality mean. Anyone can read your blog from their own perspective," my wife said. That's true. Because of that I work with a very specific, simple definition of spirit: that which animates or makes alive. I consistently use this definition of spirit. It is important for my readers to go with my definition of spirit when reading what I write if they want to understand what I'm saying. If my readers go with their own understanding of spirit, they will not understand what I write.
How I Define Spiritual
The same is true with the words spiritual and spirituality. I work with very simple, specific definitions of these words. Spiritual refers to that which is of or related to spirit. For example, spiritual practices are practices of or related to spirit, that which makes alive. Similarly, spiritual writing is writing of or related to spirit.
What practices are of or related to that which makes us alive? Are not breathing, eating, drinking, working, resting, thinking, imagining, touching, experiencing emotions, having sex, experiencing pleasure, conceiving, giving birth, nurturing our young, caring for everything on which our life depends, and many other practices that are of or related to that which makes us alive and spiritual? I think so. Spiritual practices are practices that affect our own or other's spirit.
What words are of or related to spirit? They are words that either directly affect spirit or are about spirit. Some words directly affect our spirits. They can lift or lower our spirit. Other words are simply about spirit; for example, breath, wind, animating, great, small, and so on.
How I Define Spirituality
Spirituality refers to a body of words and practices related to spirit. For example, my spirituality refers to my own words and practices related to my own spirit and that of others. Your spirituality refers to your words and practices related to your own spirit and that of others. Christian spirituality refers to the collective body of words and practices related to spirit within the scope of Christianity. American spirituality refers to the collective body of words and practices related to spirit within the scope of American culture. Western spirituality refers to the same within in scope of Western culture and so on. With this definition of spirituality we can investigate a rich variety of different spiritualities.
So, for the purpose of what I write-
Spirit refers to that which animates, makes alive.
Spiritual refers to that which is of or related to spirit.
Spirituality refers to a body of words and practices related to spirit.
Why I Write About Spirit
I asked in reply, "Why would anyone write about about our bodies and our physical health and well-being? Why would anyone write about our minds and our mental health and well-being?" My answer is that I write about spirit because I value spirit and the health and well-being of spirit. Spirit is every bit as important as body and mind. I value most the human spirit but also the spirit of other animals, plants, rocks, valleys, mountains, springs, streams, rivers, oceans- all animate, spirited beings. I think that if more of us valued the spirits of all more of us would live healthier, happier lives.
How I Define Spirit
"But there are so many different understandings of what spirit, spiritual, and spirituality mean. Anyone can read your blog from their own perspective," my wife said. That's true. Because of that I work with a very specific, simple definition of spirit: that which animates or makes alive. I consistently use this definition of spirit. It is important for my readers to go with my definition of spirit when reading what I write if they want to understand what I'm saying. If my readers go with their own understanding of spirit, they will not understand what I write.
How I Define Spiritual
The same is true with the words spiritual and spirituality. I work with very simple, specific definitions of these words. Spiritual refers to that which is of or related to spirit. For example, spiritual practices are practices of or related to spirit, that which makes alive. Similarly, spiritual writing is writing of or related to spirit.
What practices are of or related to that which makes us alive? Are not breathing, eating, drinking, working, resting, thinking, imagining, touching, experiencing emotions, having sex, experiencing pleasure, conceiving, giving birth, nurturing our young, caring for everything on which our life depends, and many other practices that are of or related to that which makes us alive and spiritual? I think so. Spiritual practices are practices that affect our own or other's spirit.
What words are of or related to spirit? They are words that either directly affect spirit or are about spirit. Some words directly affect our spirits. They can lift or lower our spirit. Other words are simply about spirit; for example, breath, wind, animating, great, small, and so on.
How I Define Spirituality
Spirituality refers to a body of words and practices related to spirit. For example, my spirituality refers to my own words and practices related to my own spirit and that of others. Your spirituality refers to your words and practices related to your own spirit and that of others. Christian spirituality refers to the collective body of words and practices related to spirit within the scope of Christianity. American spirituality refers to the collective body of words and practices related to spirit within the scope of American culture. Western spirituality refers to the same within in scope of Western culture and so on. With this definition of spirituality we can investigate a rich variety of different spiritualities.
So, for the purpose of what I write-
Spirit refers to that which animates, makes alive.
Spiritual refers to that which is of or related to spirit.
Spirituality refers to a body of words and practices related to spirit.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Spirit Unites Us All
We all move and are constantly changing. Every one of us is animated, spirited, alive. Earth herself is animated, constantly rotating and doing her dervish dance, revolving around her Sun, changing outfits with each season, shifting her posture with her tectonic plates,.
Sky is animated too, constantly changing from night to day, sunset to sunrise, moon set to moon rise, clouds floating by, rain coming down, breathing calm breezes or blowing storms, with rainbows there and gone.
Oceans rise and fall from the tug and release of Moon. Their waves churn and calm. Rivers, streams and springs flow; rocks, mountains, valleys and plains shift; crystals, flowers, shrubs, and trees grow; fish, land animals, and birds- we all move and constantly change. We're all spirited, alive.
Our bodies differ. So do our minds. What unites us all? Spirit. We're all spirited. We're all alive. That means we're all related, family.
Sky is animated too, constantly changing from night to day, sunset to sunrise, moon set to moon rise, clouds floating by, rain coming down, breathing calm breezes or blowing storms, with rainbows there and gone.
Oceans rise and fall from the tug and release of Moon. Their waves churn and calm. Rivers, streams and springs flow; rocks, mountains, valleys and plains shift; crystals, flowers, shrubs, and trees grow; fish, land animals, and birds- we all move and constantly change. We're all spirited, alive.
Our bodies differ. So do our minds. What unites us all? Spirit. We're all spirited. We're all alive. That means we're all related, family.
Friday, February 1, 2013
7 Simple Practices for Being Mindful of Spirit:
1. To be mindful is to attend to. Choose to kindly attend to your own and other's spirit. Set your intention: Breathe in; breathe out and say, "I kindly attend to my own and other's spirit." Return to this intention several times during the day.
2. To be spirited is to be alive. Our aliveness can vary from hour to hour and day to day. How spirited, how alive do you feel right now? Be mindful of your spiritedness several times throughout the day.
3. Pay attention to the connection between how you breathe and how spirited you feel. How do you feel after only allowing shallow breaths? How do you feel when you allow full, deep breaths to flow in and out?
4. Spirit means wind. The next time you're outside kindly attend to the wind. Hear it. See its effects in the trees. Feel it on your skin. Smell it. How is the wind today?
5. When you're outside feel the wind flow into your lungs. Feel it withdraw. The wind flows in and fills your lungs; it withdraws and empties your lungs. It breathes and animates you. Let the wind do what it does. Smile to the wind. Love it as it is and let it breathe you. How does this feel?
6. Spirit means breath. Smile and kindly attend to your breath. Breathe in, breathe out. Accept your breath as it is. Let your breath be as it is, however it is. Simply observe it, be aware of it without judging it good or bad, right or wrong. Let your breath be as it is. Love it as it is. Do this for three minutes and see how you feel.
7. When you're with another person, be mindful of his or her breath. Gaze into his or her eyes. Gently smile and listen closely. Breathe in when the other person breathes out and out when the other person breathes in. How does it feel? Breathe in and out when the other person breathes in and out. How does it feel? How are the two ways of attuning to the other's spirit different?
2. To be spirited is to be alive. Our aliveness can vary from hour to hour and day to day. How spirited, how alive do you feel right now? Be mindful of your spiritedness several times throughout the day.
3. Pay attention to the connection between how you breathe and how spirited you feel. How do you feel after only allowing shallow breaths? How do you feel when you allow full, deep breaths to flow in and out?
4. Spirit means wind. The next time you're outside kindly attend to the wind. Hear it. See its effects in the trees. Feel it on your skin. Smell it. How is the wind today?
5. When you're outside feel the wind flow into your lungs. Feel it withdraw. The wind flows in and fills your lungs; it withdraws and empties your lungs. It breathes and animates you. Let the wind do what it does. Smile to the wind. Love it as it is and let it breathe you. How does this feel?
6. Spirit means breath. Smile and kindly attend to your breath. Breathe in, breathe out. Accept your breath as it is. Let your breath be as it is, however it is. Simply observe it, be aware of it without judging it good or bad, right or wrong. Let your breath be as it is. Love it as it is. Do this for three minutes and see how you feel.
7. When you're with another person, be mindful of his or her breath. Gaze into his or her eyes. Gently smile and listen closely. Breathe in when the other person breathes out and out when the other person breathes in. How does it feel? Breathe in and out when the other person breathes in and out. How does it feel? How are the two ways of attuning to the other's spirit different?
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