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.
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