Spirituality

Spirituality portal

Spirituality is, in a narrow sense, a concern with matters of the spirit, however that may be defined; but it is also a wide term with many available readings. It may include belief in supernatural powers, as in religion, but the emphasis is on personal experience. It may be an expression for life perceived as higher, more complex or more integrated with one's worldview, as contrasted with the merely sensual.

The spiritual and the religious

An important distinction needs to be made between spirituality in religion and spirituality as opposed to religion.

In recent years, spirituality in religion often carries connotations of the believer's faith being more personal, less dogmatic, more open to new ideas and myriad influences, and more pluralistic than the faiths of established religions. It also can connote the nature of a believer's personal relationship with Deity, as opposed to the general relationship with Deity understood to be shared by all members of that faith.

Those who speak of spirituality as opposed to religion generally believe that there are many "spiritual paths" and that there is no objective truth about which is the best path to follow. Rather, adherants of this definition of the term emphasize the importance of finding one's own path to Deity, rather than following what others say works. The best way to describe this view is: the path which makes the most sense is the correct one (for oneself). Many adherents of orthodox religions who consider spirituality to be an aspect of their religious experience are more likely to contrast spirituality with secular "worldliness" than with the ritual expression of their religion.

Others of a more New Age disposition hold that spirituality is not religion, per se, but the active and vital connection to a force, spirit, or sense of the deep self. As cultural historian and yogi William Irwin Thompson put it, "Religion is not identical with spirituality; rather religion is the form spirituality takes in civilization." (1981, 31)

Directed spirituality

One aspect of 'Being spiritual' is goal-directed, with aims such as: simultaneously improve one's wisdom and willpower, achieve a closer connection to Deity/the universe, and remove illusions or false ideas at the sensory, feeling and thinking aspects of a person. The 'Plato's cave' analogy in book VII of The Republic is one of the most well known descriptions of the spiritual development process, and thus, an excellent aid in understanding what "spiritual development" exactly entails.

Others say that spirituality is a two-stroke process: the "upward stroke" is inner growth, changing oneself as one changes his/her relationship with God, and the "downward stroke" is manifesting improvements in the physical reality around oneself as a result of the inward change. Another connotation is that change will come onto itself with the realization that all is oneself; whereupon the divine inward manifests the diverse outward for experience and progress.

Spirituality and personal well-being

Due to its broad scope and individual nature, spirituality is perhaps better understood by highlighting a number of key concepts that arise for people when asked to describe what spirituality means to them. Research by Martsolf & Mickley (1998) highlighted the following areas as worthy of consideration:

• Meaning – significance of life; making sense of situations; deriving purpose.

• Values – beliefs, standards and ethics that are cherished.

• Transcendence – experience and appreciation of a dimension beyond self.

• Connecting – increased awareness of a connection with self, others, God/Spirit/Divine, and nature.

• Becoming – an unfolding of life that demands reflection and experience; includes a sense of who one is and how one knows.

Spirituality, according to most adherants, is an essential part of an individual's holistic health and well-being, by developing an awareness of a "transcendent dimension" to life.

The Spiritual and Science

Analysis of spiritual qualities in science is bedeviled by the imprecision of spiritual concepts, the subjectivity of spiritual experience, and the amount of work required to translate and map observable components of a spiritual system into empirical evidence.

Spiritual traditions and communities

• Bahá'í Faith
• Buddhism, Jainism
• Catholic Spirituality
• Feminist spirituality
• Gnosticism
• Hinduism
• Humanism
• Islam, Sufism
• Judaism
• Neo-confucianism, Taoism
• Paganism, Neopaganism, Modern Gallae
• New Age, New Thought, Spiritualism, The Dances of Universal Peace
• Shamanism
• Sikhism
• Subud
• Surat Shabda Yoga
• Unitarian Universalism

See also

• Glossary of spirituality-related terms
• List of spirituality-related topics
• Meditation, Christian meditation
• Christian vegetarianism
• Meaning of life
• Reason
• Religion
• Automatic drawing
• The Urantia Book

References

• Azeemi,K.S.Muraqaba: The Art and Science of Sufi Meditation. Houston: Plato, 2005.(ISBN 0975887548)
• Bolman, L. G., and Deal, T. E. Leading With Soul. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995.
• Borysenko, J. A Woman's Journey to God. New York: Riverhead Books, 1999.
• Cannon, K. G. Katie's Canon: Womanism and the Soul of the Black Community. New York: Continuum, 1996.
• Deloria, V., Jr. God is Red. 2d Ed. Golden, Co: North American Press, 1992.
• Dillard, C. B.; Abdur-Rashid, D.; and Tyson, C. A. "My Soul is a Witness." International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 13, no. 5 (September 2000): 447-462.
• Dirkx, J. M. "Nurturing Soul in Adult Learning." in Transformative Learning in Action. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education No. 74, edited by P. Cranton, pp. 79-88. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997.
• Eck, D. A New Religious America. San Francisco: Harper, 2001.
• Elkins D.N. et al (1998)Toward a humanistic-phenomenological spirituality: definition, description and measurement. Journal of Humanistic Psychology 28(4), 5-18
• English, L., and Gillen, M., eds. Addressing the Spiritual Dimensions of Adult Learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, No. 85. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000.
• Hein, David. "Christianity and Traditional Lakota / Dakota Spirituality: A Jamesian Interpretation." The McNeese Review 35 (1997): 128-38.
• Hein, David, ed. Readings in Anglican Spirituality. Cincinnati: Forward Movement, 1991.
• Hein, David, and Edward Hugh Henderson. Captured by the Crucified: The Practical Theology of Austin Farrer. New York and London: Continuum / T & T Clark, 2004. About the spiritual theology of Austin Farrer; includes chapter on "Farrer's Spirituality" by Diogenes Allen.
• Holtje, D. (1995). From Light to Sound: The Spiritual Progression. Temecula, CA: MasterPath, Inc. ISBN 1885949006
• Martsolf D.S. & Mickley J.R. (1998) "The concept of spirituality in nursing theories: differing world-views and extent of focus" Journal of Advanced Nursing 27, 294-303
• Perry, W. A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom - An Encyclopedia of Humankind’s Spiritual Truth. Louisville: Fons Vitae books, 2000
• Thompson, William Irwin, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality, and the Origins of Culture (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1981).

External links

• Resources/Books on World Spirituality
• sahajayoga.org: a place to experience self realisation for free
• LifeTheory.com: An online forum on life and spirituality
• Gnosticweb Providing Free Global Access to Spiritual Information.
• A new definition of spirituality
• AvatarSearch.com: A search engine for spiritual-related topics
• Kheper.net: An overview of everything spiritual
• International Association of Sufism
• Long Term (monthly) Private Spiritual Riverside Retreats
• Multi-faith Spirituality
• New Age Spirituality
• Science of Spirituality
• Spiritual aspects of Health and Healing
• Spiritual Awakening and Spiritual Growth
• Spiritual Book Club
• Spiritual Cinema Circle
• Spiritual Forums
• Spiritual Purification and Wellness
• Spirituality and consciousness forum
• Spirituality and Rudraksha
• Spirituality begins where religion ends - Shri Ram Chandra Mission
• Spirituality in Adult and Higher Education
• Spiritual Dawn - Morality and Philosophy Essay
• Sufism -- Sufis -- Sufi Orders by Dr. Alan Godlas, University of Georgia
• SufiBlog Sufism online spiritual magazine of Sufi Meditation (Muraqaba) and Healing
• The Spiritual: Journal of Natural Spirituality An on-line resource of rare texts and reflections on natural spirituality, thoughtless-ness, egoless-ness and mind-brain duality.
• Spiritual Wisdom There is a universal spirituality which can be expressed in many ways, but this site uses the insights of Emanuel Swedenborg to help explain the meaning of our lives.
• Spirituality.com Christian Science perspective on spirituality and healing.