Understanding My Perspective of Spirit

I remember the first time I watched The Matrix. It was so foreign to me that I had trouble wrapping my head around it. I had to watch it twice before I began to understand what it was about. Repeated viewings clarified and deepened my understanding.

The same thing happened when I first listened to the music of Tool. I was taken by it but had to listen to Lateralus several times before I could really follow and appreciate the music.

Both The Matrix and Lateralus were foreign to my frame of reference when I first encountered them. It took more than one attempt but once I got them I had "Wow!" experiences. Then I enjoyed them and watched all the Matrix films and listened to all of Lateralus many times.

For some reading what I write about spirit can be like my experiences with The Matrix and Lateralus. What I write about spirit might be foreign to their frame of reference. As a result they might dismiss it too quickly and not give themselves enough time to understand.

Instead of dismissing readers might try to understand within their own current frame of reference. For example, some readers might have their own clear definition of spirit and read their definition into what I write. When they do, they misunderstand what I write.

I am willing to risk my ideas about spirit being foreign to some of my readers. I am willing to risk being dismissed or misunderstood. I am willing to take these risks because I want to offer a new perspective on spirit. I believe a new perspective is needed because, as essential as spirit is to life, most current perspectives on spirit are incoherent and shallow at best.

Current perspectives are incoherent because many assume that there is a broad, general consensus on what the word spirit means. As a result, those who use the word do not say what they mean by it. That there is no such broad, general consensus can be easily confirmed by taking an informal survey in which we ask people what they mean by the word spirit. I've been doing this for years. I have yet to find two people with the same definition of spirit.

That there is no broad, general consensus on what the word spirit means can be further confirmed when we read something about spirit and try to determine exactly what the author means by the word. Sometimes we can tell from the context. Most of the time we cannot.

Since there is no general, broad consensus on the meaning of the word spirit, most of what is said about spirit is shallow. How can we have in-depth discussions about spirit if we do not know what we are talking about? The shallowness is further assured by the rather airy ideas many have about whatever they might mean by the word spirit.

As a consequence of the incoherence and shallowness of current perspectives of spirit, discussions around the concepts of spiritual and spirituality are equally incoherent and shallow. This is the case in spite of the fact that for many spirit, spiritual, and spirituality are very important. This is especially true for the growing numbers of those who identify as "spiritual but not religious".

I want to bring some coherence and substance to the discussion about all three words: spirit, spiritual, and spirituality. I begin my effort by giving short, simple, and specific definitions of the words.

By "spirit" I mean "that which animates and makes alive."

By "spiritual" I mean "that which is of or related to spirit."

By "spirituality" I refer to "a body of words and practices related to spirit."

In order to understand what I write about spirit, spiritual, and spirituality I ask my readers to keep in mind how I define the words.

Definitions of spirit

I'm a Southerner. I love words. I love being mindful of how it feels to say different words. Some just roll right out. They're fun to say. Others not so much.

Words are like people. They're alive. Every one is unique. Every one has its own spirit.

If words are like people, dictionaries are like the written roll-call and reading them summons their presence. I love reading dictionaries and getting better acquainted with words.

Given my love for words and dictionaries, I ask you to join me in this little indulgence as we spend some time being mindful of the word "spirit".

The Free Dictionary lists fourteen definitions of spirit at
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/spirit

1.
a. The vital principle or animating force within living beings.
b. Incorporeal consciousness.

2. The soul, considered as departing from the body of a person at death.

3. Spirit: The Holy Spirit.

4. A supernatural being, as:
a. An angel or a demon.
b. A being inhabiting or embodying a particular place, object, or natural phenomenon.
c. A fairy or sprite.

5.
a. The part of a human associated with the mind, will, and feelings: Though unable to join us today, they are with us in spirit.
b. The essential nature of a person or group.

6. A person as characterized by a stated quality: He is a proud spirit.

7.
a. An inclination or tendency of a specified kind: Her actions show a generous spirit.
b. A causative, activating, or essential principle: The couple's engagement was announced in a joyous spirit.

8. spirits A mood or an emotional state: The guests were in high spirits. His sour spirits put a damper on the gathering.

9. A particular mood or an emotional state characterized by vigor and animation: sang with spirit.

10. Strong loyalty or dedication: team spirit.

11. The predominant mood of an occasion or a period: "The spirit of 1776 is not dead" (Thomas Jefferson).

12. The actual though unstated sense or significance of something: the spirit of the law.

13. An alcohol solution of an essential or volatile substance. Often used in the plural with a singular verb.

14. spirits An alcoholic beverage, especially distilled liquor.


The Merriman-Webster on-line dictionary lists fourteen slightly different definitions here: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spirit

1: an animating or vital principle held to give life to physical organisms

2: a supernatural being or essence as
a : capitalized : Holy Spirit
b : soul 2a
c : an often malevolent being that is bodiless but can become visible; specifically :
ghost 2
d : a malevolent being that enters and possesses a human being

3: temper or disposition of mind or outlook especially when vigorous or animated

4: the immaterial intelligent or sentient part of a person

5 a : the activating or essential principle influencing a person
b : an inclination, impulse, or tendency of a specified kind : mood

6 a : a special attitude or frame of mind a time driven back — J. A. Froude>
b : the feeling, quality, or disposition characterizing something


7: a lively or brisk quality in a person or a person's actions

8: a person having a character or disposition of a specified nature

9: a mental disposition characterized by firmness or assertiveness

10 a : distillate 1: as (1) : the liquid containing ethanol and water that is distilled from an alcoholic liquid or mash —often used in plural (2) : any of various volatile liquids obtained by distillation or cracking (as of petroleum, shale, or wood) —often used in plural
b : a usually volatile organic solvent (as an alcohol, ester, or hydrocarbon)

11 a : prevailing tone or tendency
b : general intent or real meaning

12 : an alcoholic solution of a volatile substance

13 : enthusiastic loyalty

14 : capitalized Christian Science : God 1b


The on-line Oxford Dictionary lists five definitions here:
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/spirit

1. the non-physical part of a person which is the seat of emotions and character; the soul:
- we seek a harmony between body and spirit
- the non-physical part of a person regarded as their true self and as capable of surviving physical death or separation:a year after he left, his spirit is still present
- the non-physical part of a person manifested as an apparition after their death; a ghost:
-a priest performed a rite of exorcism and the wandering spirit was ousted
- a supernatural being:
- shrines to nature spirits
- (Spirit) short for Holy Spirit.

2. [in singular] the prevailing or typical quality, mood, or attitude of a person, group, or period of time:
- I hope the team will build on this spirit of confidence the university is a symbol of the nation’s egalitarian spirit
- [with adjective] a person identified with their most prominent quality or with their role in a group or movement: he was a leading spirit in the conference
- (often spirits) a person’s mood or attitude: the warm weather lifted everyone’s spirits
- he confessed in a spirit of self-respect
- [mass noun] the quality of courage, energy, and determination:
his visitors admired his spirit and good temper

3. the real meaning or the intention behind something as opposed to its strict verbal interpretation:
- the rule had been broken in spirit if not in letter

4. (usually spirits) chiefly British strong distilled alcoholic drink such as brandy, whisky, gin, or rum.
-[mass noun, with modifier] a volatile liquid, especially a fuel, prepared by distillation: aviation spirit
- archaic a solution of volatile components extracted from something, typically by distillation or by solution in alcohol: spirits of turpentine

5. archaic a highly refined substance or fluid thought to govern vital phenomena.


If you're still with me, here are some initial observations about the definitions above:

1. In all of the definitions spirit is invisible to us, non-sensible.

2. The definitions about spirit being the animating energy or force apply to all living things visible and invisible to us and assume that beings can be categorized as either living or not.

3. The definitions about spirit being a mood or character trait acknowledge that spirit-as-animating-energy can have have differing qualities. Even words themselves can have spirit/character/meaning in addition to their alphabetic characters.

4. Several of the definitions spirit speak of spirits existing apart from physical bodies. Gods, goddesses, angels, demons, sprite, and fairies are examples of such beings. Some of these incorporeal spirits can inhabit persons, places or things.

5. Some of the definitions assume that there is a natural and a supernatural realm and assign spirits to the supernatural realm.

In my next post, I'll ask some questions about these definitions and share a working definition of spirit for this blog.

The Questions about Spirit of Interest to Me

These are the questions about spirit that are of most interest to me:

1. What is spirit?

Over the past couple of years I've had the privilege of training groups of physicians going through a nationally recognized Palliative Care Immersion experience in the basics of spiritual care. One of the exercises I give them is to take five minutes to write their definition of spirit. I have yet to have two physicians give the same definition of spirit. The range of definitions is broad. I get the same results when I ask them to define spiritual or spirituality.

But it's not just physicians. I've also been the Director of the Spiritual Care department of the same nationally recognized hospice that hosts the above mentioned Palliative Care Immersion experience. The Spiritual Care Professionals I directed were all highly trained in their clinical discipline and had many years of experience providing spiritual care to hospice patients. Even these professionals had different definitions of spirit, spiritual, and spirituality.

I've asked the same questions in countless other formal presentations and informal conversations. I've also read countless books and articles on the subjects. Not yet have I found a consensus on what the words spirit, spiritual, and spirituality mean. It's not much of an exaggeration to say that there are as many definitions as there are individuals to give them.

It seems to me that if we are going to make significant progress in being mindful of spirit we need to come to some consensus on what we're talking about. We need a common definition of spirit. In an upcoming post I will share working definitions of spirit, spiritual, and spirituality and welcome feedback on my proposals.

2. Why be mindful of spirit?

After presenting a working definition of spirit I want to explore why it is important to be mindful of spirit.

3. What is being mindful if spirit about and how do we do it?

I think it's also important to explore the questions about what being mindful of spirit is and how we practice being mindful of spirit.

4. What are the benefits of being mindful of spirit?

I have found a lot of value in identifying some of the benefits I have found in being mindful of spirit and want to address this question throughout this blog.

So, these are the core questions I ask and respond to in this blog. I find value in the process itself of asking the questions and answering them from different perspectives, including the perspectives of others who have wrestled with these questions. I hope the you will find value in wrestling with these questions too and share your comments in this blog.