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.