Experience of Spirit

dealing with it · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **dealing with it** on Sun Oct 27, 2013 2:13 pm

A friend once told me that the quintessential spiritual pursuit is philosophy. By no means does this form an exhaustive list of what people mean when they speak of spirituality. Philosophy, to me, is merely how someone may choose to express the spirit.

What do you think about spirituality? What does it mean? What examples inform your experience?

Zodia195 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Zodia195** on Sun Oct 27, 2013 11:30 pm

Well, for me spirituality is very important in my own life. I always say I am more spiritual than religious due to me feeling that with spirituality, it has no bonds because to me, you can't ultimately explain what is so much bigger than yourself. I also feeling the concept of spirituality can be simple at the same time. It can be about the spirit and how it works. Explaining the 'how' though is another story. But it doesn't set limits.

I also think spirituality is linked to other branches like philosophy, divination, mysticism, etc. I've taken Philosophy classes in college and that the end of the day, personally, I think it tries to explain 'reality' and what is the definition of 'being' something. The spirit is connected to one's 'state of being'.

Also, being spiritual in my case means 'connecting' to anything and everything and this in term is part of what defines my own beliefs. I find it merges nicely with them and it has helped me find answers.

That's my POV.

Tea · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Tea** on Fri Nov 08, 2013 12:36 am

Now this is a surprise... Are you trying to set a record for most diverse conversation topics, Dwit?

Zodia has said quite a bundle about the subject and much of it seems valid. I have no debate or questions to offer, only quiet applause.

For the sake of the discussion I will assume the existence of a spiritual layer of reality which is congruous with the physical. And if so, does it matter?

In our lives we sense and experience phenomena for which we have no explanation. Moments of existence which impart to us more than tactile data. These phenomena are beyond our capacity to define through knowledge ( which is the root of the word science; to know ). Since we can not intellectually encompass the nature or cause of the phenomena we can not form a theory. These such instances we refer to as either para-normal or super-natural. Why? Because the physical limitations of our consciousness prohibit both the theoretical and direct exploration of concepts and phenomena which are beyond our borders. And it is this hard limit upon which philosophers and spiritualists continue to touch their fore-heads. And at times vigorously.

In order to measure the spiritual reality we must have tools. In order to quantify it in a scientific manner we must have a solid, precise, and reliable set of instruments. To even ask the question, "Is there a spiritual reality," is to admit the possibility of its existence. To say, "I feel some-thing not of the physical," demands that the spiritual be the cause. But because the common mean of man-kind has a lacking, either in the instruments mentioned above or the wisdom to use them, quantifying and referencing any extra-ordinary phenomenon is poorly low.

If we are to move forward as a species with regard to [a spiritual reality] we must adopt an attitude of acceptance and curiosity toward the fundamental instruments which we possess that are influenced by, and thus inter-act with, the spiritual reality. We must recognize that some happenings are beyond our explanation and by doing this we will achieve enlightenment through humility.

Moving forward would be so much better than endlessly arguing... That is what I propose.

cucumbersome · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **cucumbersome** on Wed Nov 13, 2013 12:13 pm

“Spirit”, “soul”, “meaning” - all of these are the same thing, something that feels good but according to Occam’s Razor can be assumed to be nonexistent.

Feeling good is more agreeable than committing suicide because of the meaninglessness of everything (in other words killing oneself because “actual” good-feeling is perceived as impossible). I propose we shouldn’t question whether we’re actually feeling good when we’re feeling good, but enjoy the experience while it lasts, and work to get to the next nice experience ASAP when it’s over.

Saying “it’s bigger than we can comprehend” is one coping strategy to deal with the absence of evidence for spirit/soul/meaning. It’s analogous to saying “God works in mysterious ways” when something disagreeable happens. If you can make yourself believe it, great. If you can’t, keeping yourself busy with something cool is a great drug to make you forget about unanswerable depressing questions.

It’s important to have spirit, not to answer whether we have *a* spirit. So one could say my spirituality is based on avoiding the question.

Tea · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Tea** on Wed Nov 13, 2013 11:51 pm

I am curious. Is this a unique trait or a common one? To define spirituality by the assumption of it's non-existence?

How many people do this?

cucumbersome · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **cucumbersome** on Thu Nov 14, 2013 5:09 am

I don’t assume it doesn’t exist, I admit that I don’t know and then go on to do things that make me *feel* spiritual. Another way to think of it is to treat “spirit” like a verb rather than an object.

I guess everyone who considers themselves as being agnostic or having agnosticism-compatible beliefs does this to some extent.

Also, Buddhism.

Bringing this back to what Dwit started with, if philosophy gives you spiritual enjoyment, it is the right/happy thing to do. For another person it may not be, especially when questions like the fourteen unanswerable ones bother them too much. Or maybe the “nature of their spirit” simply has nothing to do with philosophy, and then they can’t express their spirit through it. For me, I think philosophy, art, and sexuality are equal ways to spirituality, none of them being more quintessential than the others.

Tea · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Tea** on Thu Nov 14, 2013 11:58 pm

I apologize for failing to recognize one of Cucumber's earlier statements. Thank you for addressing my question.

spaceracist · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **spaceracist** on Thu Nov 28, 2013 6:12 pm

I think spirituality could boil right down to being a fancy word for emotions. I forget my sources but there was a study at some point about what parts of the brain are activated when a religious person expresses their faith. The scientists or doctors related their data with images from the same people expressing themselves in other ways, such as love for a family member or joy of a good memory and nonreligious subjects participated in this as well. They found no evident religious brain activity and it was merely expressions of embrace and happiness. Humans have been known to call everyday mundane events strange, magic, witchcraft, miracles and so on, just because they don't yet have the tools or brain power to further understand the workings of the event. Spirituality could fall into this human pattern in a sense. Something that is so bewildering and enchanting will one day be uncovered to show a normal scientific process. Like waves.

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