Be Mindful of Spirit

Anything that changes is animated. 

Anything that is animated is alive. 

Anything that is alive is spirited.

The agent of change, animation, and life is spirit.

To be mindful of change, animation, and life is to be mindful of spirit.

Pay attention not to the present moment but to the flow of change. Be mindful of spirit.

Take delight in your own spirit and that of others.

Be amazed that we are alive and that what animates one animates all. 

May we never take it for granted.

May we affirm the spirit in all.

 

Everything is Spiritual

Whatever moves is animated. Whatever is animated is alive. Whatever moves is alive.

Since spirit is "that which makes alive", whatever moves is spirited.

Whatever moves is spiritual because it is of, about, or related to spirit.

Since everything moves, everything is spiritual.

Since everything is spiritual, how should we live?

Being vs Becoming

Being is unchanging, unmoving, permanent, eternal, and now.

Being is beyond, supernatural.

It just is.

It's a mental concept, imaginary.

Those who believe in and value being

resist life and change.

They want to "be." They want eternity.

Spirit is invisible, non-sensible to them.

They close their eyes and seek to ascend, to transcend.

They seek escape from this world of becoming and change.

Becoming is changing, moving, temporary, mortal, and alive. 

Becoming is what is happening here and now.

It's natural, sensual, and experiential.

It's real.

Those who are and value becoming

embrace living and celebrate change.

Spirit is visible and sensed in all things by them.

They live seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, tasting, and 

knowing without knowing how they know.

They love, give birth, grow, mature, decline, die, and decompose

to be reborn again. 

This is home to them, this mystery here.

Spirit Essentials, Part 2: Become More Aware of Spirit

Defining spirit is only a beginning. There's more, much more. It is essential to become more aware of spirit. To experience it.

Start with your own spirit. Attend to it. How would you describe your spirit right now?

Where is it?

Does it have a color? Does it have a temperature? A size?

Is it always the same or does it change? If it changes, how?

Next, attend to the spirit of others. How would you describe the spirits of your family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, pets or other animals?

What about plants? Are they spirited? If so, how? What are their spirits like?

What about the earth, mountains, forests, valleys, rocks, the wind, rivers and streams, waterfalls, fire, the sun, moon, planets and stars? Are they spirited or not? If so how?

What about groups of people like schools, sports teams, bands, military units, mobs, towns, cities, states, and nations? Do groups of people have their own group spirit?

Consider the seasons of the year, days, times, and events.

Do the seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall have their own spirit? Describe them.

Do different days have different spirits? What about holidays? What is the "holiday spirit?"

What is the "spirit of the times"?

Do events have their own spirit? Elections, inaugurations, births, celebrations, riots, initiations, vacations, making love, having sex, giving birth, hiking, dancing, and dying.

Revisit your definition of spirit. Revise it as necessary to take into account the new things you learn as you continue to explore spirit.

Now you're no longer a rookie thumonaut. You're becoming experienced.

My Non-spiritual View of Spirit

For Ancient Greeks spirit (thumos) was not a metaphysical or religious belief based on nothing but faith. It was not in any way a higher being. Their belief in spirit was rooted in their experience. For them spirit was quasi-physical. 

In humans, spirit was located in the center of the chest and associated with the thymus gland, heart, lungs, and breath. Thumos, spirit, could be strengthen by self talk and the herb thyme. Fainting was a temporary loss of spirit. When thumos returned the one who fainted regained consciousness. Death occurred when thumos failed to return.  When it failed to  return it did not continue to exist but dissipated and returned to the wind.

In the view of Ancient Greeks, humans were not the only spirited beings. Oceans, rivers, springs, plants, animals, and the goddesses and gods had thumos. They were spirited beings. Thumos was what made every living being alive.

It is the Ancient Greek understanding of spirit that informs my work. It is the basis of the science of spirit I propose: thumology. It is the basis of the new therapeutic care of spirit that I am developing: thumotherapy. It is also the basis of what I call thumotic spirituality, a set of spirit-related theories and practices informed by both thumology and thumotherapy. 

 

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.

Spirit, Spirited, Spiritual

For the purposes of this blog, at this time-

"Spirit" is that which animates; it's breath, wind.

"Spirited" is animated, alive, breathing, windy.

"Spiritual" is of or related to spirit, that which animates, breath, wind.

These definitions are radical. They go to the root meanings of the words. The root meaning of "spirit" is breath, wind and not a ghost-like, non-physical double of our physical body.

These definitions are primitive and pre-Christian. They do not assume a dualistic view of reality in which there are two realms, the physical and spiritual. They do not assume that we humans are spirits trapped in physical bodies awaiting a liberating death.

Rather these definitions are monistic. They assume a unified reality. All is one, connected and interrelated. We humans are breathing, spirited bodies. Everyone is spirited too- all the other animals, plants, wind, earth, water, fire, sun, moon, stars-everyone.

Since we humans are spirited, we are spiritual. We are of or related to spirit, the breath that animates us. Everyone living is spiritual because everyone living breathes.

Try this experiment: Suspend your current belief if differs from what I wrote above. Look at everything as if it everything is animated, spirited, alive. Look at everything as being spiritual.

How does this spirited and spiritual world differ from your normal reality? Do you relate differently when everything physical in this world is spirited and spiritual?

What I believe about spirit

I believe in spirit. Spirit is that which animates, makes alive. I live because of spirit. All that lives lives because of spirit. Spirit is life.

I believe that spirit is of this world rather than an other world. Spirit is as this-worldly as our breath. Spirit is natural rather than supernatural, as natural as the wind.

That I believe in spirit means that I not only believe that spirit exists but I also trust it. I rely on spirit for my life. Spirit is my life.

I believe that everything I encounter is spirited, animated, alive: the sun, moon, planets and stars; the wind, lightning, and clouds; birds and bugs; trees, flowers and shrubs; rivers, streams, and springs; animals on land and in the seas; even Earth herself and her stones. We're all alive.

I value spirit and believe that spirit is worth my close, sustained attention.

I believe that spirits are both alike and different. We are all spirits and yet each one is unique.

I believe that life is richer and healthier for all when we pay close attention to spirit.

I believe that spirit has been and still is neglected and undervalued in Western cultures.

I believe the obstacles to increasing our experience, love, knowledge, wisdom, and mastery of spirit can be overcome.

I believe that overcoming obstacles to spirit and being more mindful of spirit will significantly improve life for everyone.