How to be Mindful of Our Own Spirit

Purpose

The purpose of this fundamental exercise is to simply be with our own spirit with complete openness, full acceptance, and kind curiosity. It's to turn our attention to our own spirit and calmly hold it there with no expectations of outcomes.

Benefits

This exercise affirms, heals, and strengthens our spirit. These benefits increase as we do this exercise on a regular basis over time. 

Resources Needed

We need nothing special to do this exercise. We do not have to do this exercise at a predetermined time. We can do it anytime we choose. We do not have to go to or create a special place. We can do this exercise anywhere we choose. We do not have to learn to sit a special way or do anything out of the ordinary with our legs, hands, or posture. Any posture is fine. There is nothing to buy- no books, special clothing, jewelry, images, or paraphernalia. We already have everything we need to do this exercise. 

What to Do

Remember, in thumotic spirituality we understand spirit in terms of the Ancient Greek concept of thumos. Our thumos, spirit, is quasi-physical. It is located in the center of our chest, behind our breast bone and between our breasts. We often call it our heart. 

Focus your attention there, in the center of your chest, your heart. That's where your spirit resides.

If it helps to close your eyes, close them.

If it helps to put one or both hands over your heart, do so.

If it helps, imagine breathing into and out of your heart when you inhale and exhale.

If your mind wanders to other things, simply return your attention to your heart.

Be aware of your heart beat. You might or might not feel increased warmth in your heart. Either is fine.

Take note of the thoughts, mental images, physical sensations, and emotions as they come and go. They might express the life-affirming desires of your heart. But let them come and let them go.

Continue for as long as feels right to you.

When you stop, try setting your intention to take mindfulness of spirit breaks periodically throughout the day.

It's that simple.

In my next post I will describe how to be mindful of the spirits of others.

Basic Spiritual Exercises: An Introduction

Practicing basic spiritual exercises is to living what practicing scales is to making music. Just as practicing scales improves our ability to make music, practicing basic spiritual exercises improves our ability to create the art of spirit-centered lives.

While practicing scales is more like preparing to make music than actually making music, practicing basic spiritual exercises is not preparing for spirit-centered living. It is spirit-centered living.

The basic exercises I share with you are those that are helpful to me. If they're not for everybody, that's okay. Anyone can experiment and create practices that help themselves.

The two fundamental exercises are-

Mindfulness of our own spirit

Mindfulness of the spirit of others

In my next post I will present directions on how to be mindful of our own spirit. 

The Goal of Thumotic Spirituality

The goal of thumotic spirituality is the process of living from our spirit so that we fulfill the life-affirming desires of our heart. As we fulfill the life-affirming desires of our heart, we fulfill the purpose of our life. We become who we are meant to become. 

In thumotic spirituality, the Ancient Greek understanding of thumos informs our understanding of spirit. Our spirit is that which makes us alive. It is quasi-physical. We feel it in the center of our chest. It is associated with our thymus gland. We often call it our heart. It is the seat of our emotions and has its own way of knowing that differs from that of our mind.

The life-affirming desires of our heart show us the purpose of our life. They show us our way. They are our way. As we live from and fulfill the life-affirming desires of our heart, we naturally become who we are meant to become. We naturally do what we're supposed to do. As we fulfill the life-affirming desires of our heart, we naturally fulfill the purpose of our life.

May we be engaged in the meaningful and challenging work of attending to, knowing, and fulfilling the life-affirming desires of our heart.

How Shall We Live?

Earth is our mother. We are her children. By "we" I mean all of us who came from, depend on, and will return to Earth.

Blazing Sun penetrated Earth with his phallic beams and she conceived. From her moist womb she birthed and brought us forth.

Our bodies are our mother's earth and water. Her breath, the wind, is our breath. By her life in us we live.

We humans are the babies among our mother's children. We came last. Everyone else was already here. The other animals were here. The plants were here. So were the rocks. They were the first-born.

All our elder siblings did just fine before we came into the family. If the day of our extinction comes, they will do just fine without us again. On us they do not depend. We depend on all of them for our very lives: Earth, her water and wind. Sun. The plants and animals. All.

Wonder of wonders!

Mystery of mysteries!

We are alive.

Here.

Together.

Now, what kind of children and siblings will we be?

Everything Follows From Being Spirit-Centered

The heart of thumotic spirituality is being centered in spirit, with spirit clearly understood in terms of thumos as "that which makes alive."

When we are spirit-centered we are within all of the other parameters of thumotic spirituality: clearly-defined, nature-focused, empirically-based, life-affirming, and Western-rooted.

When we are spirit-centered, we are mindful of spirit in ourselves and everyone else.

When we are mindful of "that which makes alive", we are mindful of nature and aware that it is alive.

We are mindful of nature by way of our own perceptions, our own experience; that is, empirically, not on the basis of an external authority.

When we are mindful that everything- or better, everyone-is alive, our natural response is to value and respect everyone, every living being. We naturally take life only when it necessary to sustain our own. We naturally take the minimum we need and nothing is wasted. In other words, we affirm, we say "Yes!" to life, our own and that of others.

When we do all of the above, we Westerners are deeply rooted in our own civilization and culture, the civilization of our ancestors, who gave us life, and whose spirits live on is us and those who come after us.

Dear Readers, Thank You!

This blog just passed 10,000 page views. Readership is is growing in the U.S. and other conutries too.

I just wanted to say, "Thank you!" for reading.

It amazes me that anyone found much less read my obscure little blog. I've done nothing at this point to increase my visibiltiy on search engines.

It's remarkable that people in 25 different countries have found this blog and read it.

I have a couple of requests:

1. Please spread the word. Whether you agree or disagree with what I write, if what I write engages you and gives a fresh perspective to consider, please tell others about it so they can read too.

2. Please share your thoughts, questions, comments, challenges,  and examples. I welcome them all. There is much for us to discuss. Discussion helps us develop our own thoughts.

Thanks again for taking the time to read what I'm writing. I appreciate you for doing so.

What is Thumotic Spirituality?

Here is my most recent iteration of what thumotic spirituality is:

Thumotic spirituality is a collection of ideas and practices related to spirit in which spirit is understood in terms of the Ancient Greek concept of thumos.

Thumos is that which makes alive. It's quasi-physical. We feel it in the center of our chest, behind and around our breast bone. We sometimes call this area our heart. It's the core of our being. It's associated with the plant thyme which was carried into battle by Ancient Greek and Roman warrior to fill their spirits with courage and strength. It is also associated with the thymus gland which is located behind the breast bone.

Thumos translates into Latin as spiritus, from which we get the modern English word spirit.   

Spirit, understood as thumos, is at the center of thumotic spirituality.

Rather than a specified set of beliefs and practices to which adherents are expected to conform, thumotic spirituality provides a set of parameters within which practitioners can create their own set of ideas and practices. As long as the ideas and practices fit within the parameters, the spirituality is thumotic.

In other words, thumotic spirituality provides a platform in which the content is "user defined". The parameters of thumotic spirituality are six: 

Thumotic spirituality is-

1. Well-defined rather than ill- or undefined. For example, in thumotic spirituality the words spirit, spiritual, and spirituality are clearly defined with reference to spirit, understood in terms of thumos. Many, if not most, discussions that include the words spirit, spiritual, and spirituality, fail to clearly define the meanings of the words. A shared meaning is often assumed that closer examination shows to be nonexistent.   

2. More spirit-centered than body- or mind-centered. Thumotic spirituality consists of a collection of ideas and practices related to our own spirit and the spirits of other living beings. At its best, it is informed by both thumology and thumotherapy.

3. Nature-focused rather than supernaturally focused. Spirit understood in terms of thumos is natural rather supernatural. It is as natural as our body and mind.

4. Empirically-based rather than faith-based. Since thumotic spirituality is nature-focused, it is based on our own experiences rather than assertions made by others that must be accepted by faith alone.

5. Life-affirming rather than life-denying. Being centered in spirit, that which makes alive, thumotic spirituality is inherently life-affirming. It is pro-life in the fullest rather than political sense of the word. It is for all living beings living their lives fully.

6. Western-rooted. Rather than turning to the religious traditions of Asia, thumotic spirituality goes deep into roots of Western civilization and draws on its own rich history related to spirit understood in terms of thumos, that which makes alive. Even so, it remains open to incorporating ideas and practices from other traditions.

Any collection of ideas and practices within the parameters sketched above is a thumotic spirituality. Indeed, there is not one, there are many interrelated thumotic spiritualities. There are as many thumotic spiritualities as there are practitioners.

What is Thumotherapy?

Thumotherapy (from thumos and therapeuein the Ancient Greek words for "spirit" and "to attend, serve, take care of") is the art and science of serving the health and well-being of the spirit in all living beings. It is spiritual care understood as the therapeutic care of spirit.

Since thumos, spirit, is that which makes alive, the scope of thumotherapy includes all living beings.

While the focus of thumotherapy is the spirit, it affects the whole being of the one cared for and those with whom the one cared for is connected, including the thumotherapist. 

The ultimate goal and purpose of thumotherapy is to improve the quality of life of all living beings by serving the optimal health and well-being of their spirits.  

Since each spirited being is unique, thumotherapy for each spirited being is unique. It is a process co-created by the living beings engaged in doing it. Since it is a co-creative process, it is an art. It is also a science in that it is informed by thumology, the ongoing study of spirit.

What is Thumology?

Thumology, from thumos, the Ancient Greek word for spirit, is the study of spirit, that which makes alive.

Thumology's scope of study includes all living beings.

The purpose of thumology is to improve the quality of life of all living beings. It does this by engaging in the ongoing process of accurately describing, explaining, predicting, and learning how best to care for the spirit of living beings. 

The ultimate end of thumological research is to promote health and well-being of all living beings.

Eight Basic Emotions: A Thumological Perspective

In my thumological theory of emotions, there are eight basic emotions of our spirit. I pair them as follows:

Anger and guilt

Sadness and gladness

Disgust and desire

Disappointment and gratitude

I paired the emotions because I saw the pairs as essentially related. For example:

Anger is our spirit's response to being wronged and guilt is its response to doing wrong.

Sadness is our spirit's response to loss and gladness is its response to gain.

Disgust is our spirit's response to what repels it and desire is its response to what attracts it.

Disappointment is our spirit's response to desire denied and gratitude is its response to desire relieved.

In my view, our emotions, at their best, are our spirit's life-affirming responses to our in-the-world interactions. They show us what harms and helps our spirit and life. They protect and promote our own spirit and life.

Now that I have articulated a basic theory of emotions from a thumological perspective there are several interesting questions to explore:

Does the basic theory I've articulated survive scrutiny or does it need to be revised? My hunch is that it will need to be revised as we live with it, test it, and learn more.

What do we do, if anything, with our emotions? 

Are our emotions problems that we need to solve as some seem to believe?

Are our emotions ways of knowing that we do well to attend to as others seem to believe?

Are they just facts of life with which we live?

Do we simply watch them come and go as some say we should?

What about disordered emotions, those which deny life with little or no gain? What more can we learn about them? What do we need to do about them to minimize their harm?

Of most interest to me is the question, if emotions are of our spirit, which I believe they are, and we do well to care for our spirit, since it is that which makes us alive, then how do we best care for our own emotions and the emotions of others?

I'll explore some of these questions in future posts.

 

Disappointment of Spirit, Part 1

Disappointment Defined

Disappointment is our spirit's response to being deprived of that which it desires. It is desire denied.

It presupposes desire. No desire, no disappointment.

How Disappointment Feels

We can feel disappointment in the center of our chest, our heart. It can feel like a dull ache or heaviness of heart. If desire lifts our spirit, disappointment brings it down. It sinks downward into our stomach and pulls our facial affect with it. It can cause us to cave inward and lean forward with drooping shoulders.

Disappointment of spirit can lead to sadness or anger of spirit.

Disappointment from Mild to Intense

Disappointment can range from very mild to very intense. It seems that the degree of our disappointment depends on the degree of our desire and the manner of its denial. However, it would be helpful to have some research to confirm this hunch.

Acute and Chronic Disappointment

My observations lead me to conclude that most disappointments are acute. Feelings of disappointment arise the instant we know our desire has been denied.

However, when our desire is for a basic life-affirming need and it is chronically denied, our disappointment of spirit can also be chronic.

Mind-based and Experience-based Disappointment

When our disappointment  is our response to our own self-talk and mental images it is mind-based. As is often the case with mind-based emotions, we conjure up disappointment for ourselves apart from our actual in-the-world experiences. When our in-the-world experience contradicts our self-talk and mental images, we do well to let our disappointment go.

When our disappointment is a response to our in-the-world experiences, it is experience-based. Our desire has been denied. We then do well to examine what happened. How was our desire denied? Was it because of our own inaction or ineffective action or someone else's? Is there something we can do differently that would help us fulfill our desire or not? If our desire cannot be fulfilled, how can we best care for our disappointed spirit?

Part 2 will discuss life-denying and life-affirming as well as suppressed, addressed, and expressed disappointment. 

Desire of Spirit, Part 2

Mind-based and Experience-based Desire

Desire of spirit that is aroused by our own self-talk and mental images is mind-based. Daydreams and fantasies about things we want, people we want to be with, and things we want to do are familiar examples of mental images that can arouse desire.

Desire of spirit aroused by our own natural needs or in-the-world interactions are experience-based. Hunger for food, water, freedom, safety, self-determination, companionship, love, sexual pleasure, authentic interactions with others, giving to others, and making a meaningful difference in the world are examples of experience-based desire.

Life-denying and Life-Affirming Desire

Desires that hinder our own or others' efforts to become who we are meant to become, desires that injure or kill are life-denying.

Desires that promote, sustain, heal, and strengthen the living are life-affirming.

Yes, there are times when we must deny the life of another in order to sustain or protect our own life and the lives of family, friends, and others who are dear to us. Indeed, every life is sustained by the death of others. 

Desire Suppressed, Addressed, Expressed (Directly and Indirectly)

When the life-affirming desires of our hearts are suppressed by ourselves or others our life is denied and devalued. Some indigenous peoples, like the Iroquois, believe on the basis of generations of experience that desires denied are the main cause of disease. I think this notion is worth exploring further.

Not all our the desires of our spirit are life-affirming. Some are disordered and life-denying. These we do well to address. I think we have much work to do in learning more about disordered desires and how best to address them.

Ideally, life-affirming desires are best expressed directly and fulfilled. Fulfilling them affirms our own life and that of others. However, there are times, given unhealthy social mores, that we can suffer negative consequence for expressing directly our desires and taking action to fulfill them. We do well to find ways of expressing such desires indirectly. 

As with other matters related to our spirit, we have much to explore and learn about how best to indirectly express the life-affirming desires of our hearts.

Desire of Spirit, Part 1

Desire Defined

Desire is the hunger-pang of our spirit. It's emotional hunger, our spirit's longing for something it needs.

It needs more than food for the body to continue living and giving life. Our spirit desires more.

Our spirit desires to both give and receive.

It desires physical, emotional connection. It desires love and affection. Sex? Yes, it desires sex.

It longs to create and produce, to do meaningful work, to give and make a significant difference in the world while it is here.

Desire is our spirit yearning for life. It is that which makes alive longing for itself.

Desire denied is spirit denied. Spirit denied is life denied.

Desire fulfilled is spirit fulfilled. Spirit fulfilled is life fulfilled. 

Our spirit, that which makes us alive, yearns to be fulfilled.

How Desire Feels

We can feel our spirit's desire as a longing and ache in the center of our chest, our heart. Sometimes it spreads its ache downward into our gut where it feels like physical hunger.

Desire: From Mild to Intense

Our spirit's desire can range from a mild want to intense, even debilitating desperation.

Acute and Chronic Desire

It can arise in a heart-beat as a sudden surprise, like Cupid's arrow piercing its mark.

It can make one slowly waste away when it's famished for days, weeks, months, and years.

Part 2 will discuss mind-based and experienced-based, life-denying and life-affirming, and suppressed, addressed, and expressed desire

Gratitude of Spirit, Part 2

Mind-based and Experience-based Gratitude

The popular "attitude of gratitude" movement is mind-based. It's based on what we tell ourselves and our own mental images. However, this does not diminish the fact that we can still feel the emotion of gratitude in response to our self-talk and mental images. We can.

Experience-based gratitude is our spirit's response to our in-the-world interactions with others who meet our needs and fulfill our desires that we cannot do for ourselves. Again, it's our spirit's response to having an itch on our back scratched, a flat tire changed, a bill paid, a meal provided, an organ donated, CPR provided, or any other need met that we could not meet for ourselves.

Life-denying and Life-Affirming Gratitude

It is difficult for me to imagine instances of either mind-based or experience-based gratitude that are life-denying. At this time it seems to me that both  kinds of gratitude affirm our own life and the lives of others. However, the matter is not settled. I believe more observation and research is warranted.

Gratitude Suppressed, Addressed, Expressed (Directly and Indirectly)

While I cannot imagine instances when feelings of gratitude would need to be address due to being life-denying, perhaps there are times when social  mores dictate that we suppress  or indirectly express our gratitude. In my opinion, the more open, honest and free our expressions of gratitude, the better. 

In my view, a world with more gratitude is a better world.

Gratitude of Spirit, Part 1

Gratitude Defined

Currently a riot of voices hawks in all available media resources the benefits of the attitude of gratitude. So enthusiastic is the hawking that it might be difficult to hear a different voice offering a different perspective of gratitude.

The popular perspective hawked in media is a psychological one. It's a theme of Positive Psychology. As such it is mind-based; that is, it is based on our self-talk and mental images. 

The  perspective I offer here is spirit-centered. In my view, our emotions are characteristics of our spirit (that which makes alive) rather than our minds (our cognitive function). So, gratitude as an emotion rather than an attitude is primarily a thumological rather than psychological concern.

How Gratitude Feels

Gratitude radiates as warmth outward from the center of our chest, our heart. It is our spirit's full-bodied pleasure of a desire fulfilled and a need relieved that we could not fulfill for ourselves. 

The desire fulfilled could be as simple as an itch on our back that we could not scratch ourselves that someone scratched for us and relieved the need. It could be a flat tire changed, a bill paid, a meal provided, an organ donated, CPR provided, or any other need met that we could not meet for ourselves.

Gratitude is our spirit's response of relief due to the fact that it continues to be in us, giving us life.

Gratitude of spirit can inspire a sigh of relief, tears of heart-felt gladness, a beaming smile, a happy dance, hugs, and verbal expressions of "Thank you!", "Thank you so much!", "You saved my life!", or "How can I ever repay you!" 

Mild to Intense Gratitude

Depending on the desire fulfilled and need met, our gratitude can range from being mild to intense. Our spirit's response to having an itch scratched might well be milder in comparison to being revived by CPR.

Acute and Chronic Gratitude

Our gratitude can arise immediately, even as our need is being met. It can also dissipate as quickly if something unpleasant intervenes. 

With a heighten awareness of how much we depend on a multitude of interconnected living beings to sustain our lives, it is at least possible for us to experience an ongoing feeling of gratitude.

Part 2 will discuss mind- and experience-based, acute and chronic, and life-denying and life-affirming gratitude