Contra "Spirituality": Part 3

Religious beliefs have to do with beliefs (creeds) about divinities and other invisible beings, ourselves, the world in which we live, other worlds, and how we behave in relationships with divinities and others (codes and cultus). They may or may not say anything about our own spirit and that of others.

If a set of beliefs is not about our own spirit or that of others, why call it spirituality? If a belief has nothing to do with spirit, why call it a "spiritual belief"?

If it is a personal collection of beliefs picked from the world's religions, why not call it "personal religion"? Doesn't "personal religion" more accurately describe what it is?

Likewise, why not call personal religious beliefs what they are- personal religious beliefs rather than "spiritual beliefs"?

Those who are allergic to the "r" word can drop it and just say "personal beliefs."

Then we could use the word "spirituality" to refer to something actually related to spirit: a collection of ideas and practices related to spirit. We could also use the words "spiritual beliefs" to refer to beliefs about our own spirit and that of others.

If we are going to advance our love, knowledge, wisdom, and ability with regard to spirit, we need our use of the words spirit, spiritual, and spirituality to support rather than confuse our efforts.

More on this topic in Part 4, the final part in this series.

Autoimmune Disease of the Spirit

Some say that what we believe is what ultimately matters. Some go so far as to say that our faith or lack thereof has eternal consequences.

When I look at myself and everyone else who makes up the world, what I see is this: What we do matters. Our actions matter.

Our actions have consequences. Our actions makes a difference. They affect everyone else that makes up the world. Our actions change the world. Our actions actually create the world. Yes, we, all the living, create this world as we go.

Our spirit is what animates us. It actions us. Because we're spirited, we're alive. We move. We act. We create. We make a difference.

The difference we make either affirms or denies our own and other's spirit. Our actions create a world that either promotes or denies life.

Denying the power of our actions, denying the importance and consequences of our actions, denies the spirit in us that actions us. It denies life. 

Saying that what we believe is what ultimately matters, is a symptom of a spirit-related illness. It's an example of a human illness in which a human's spirit is turned against itself and denies rather than affirms its own life. It's a symptom of the autoimmune disease of the spirit.

What I Believe: The Thumotics Manifesto, Part 9

I propose the following definition of spirituality: Spirituality is a body of thoughts and practices related to spirit. From the perspective of this definition, there is not one spirituality but rather many spiritualities. For example, there are Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Theosophical, Neopagan, and many other spiritualities. Each religion has its own body of thoughts and practices related to spirit.

 

Furthermore, from the perspective of my proposed definition of spirituality, most of what is called spirituality today is not spirituality. It is more accurately called "personal religion." It has little if anything to do with spirit as that which animates, and is usually a personal collection of beliefs and practices culled from different religious and other metaphysical traditions. While some personal religions, like established corporate religions, might have spiritualities, they are not themselves spiritualities.