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.