The Word for Today…
There’s something I’ve wondered about on and off for a while, but Brian’s line in Burden of Proof got me thinking of it again:
“If you count “spiritual” it encompasses about 70% of all scientists.”
I used to assume that “spiritual” meant “religious,” but then I got out into the great big world and people weren’t using those words synonymously. I can’t, however, quite grasp what people mean by it.
I’m now concluding that it means different things to different people. For instance, I heard a local production of “Our Town” referred to as a “spiritual experience.” I never would have thought of that myself. Today on NPR I heard classical music described as “spiritual.” I know of someone, who, although not affiliated with any particular faith, is often described as “spiritual.”
I’m not interested in a dictionary definition. I want to understand how it’s used in everyday language. So help me out here: if this is a word that has meaning for you, how do you use it? In what context? How would you define it? I know this isn’t a controversial, hard-hitting topic, but words are fascinating, and they have power. We assume we understand each other’s words, but consequences often indicate that we don’t.
Be brave. Be human.
Susan
June 4th, 2007 18:18
One aspect of the difference between ’spiritual’ and ‘religious’ for me has to do with organised religion. I think of a religious person as one who is engaged with an organised religion — they support the belief structure and practices. They identify with a particular ‘brand’ of religion.
In contrast, I think of a spiritual person as one who has a strong orientation, shown through enquiry and practices, in the creative and sustaining forces of the universe (so to speak) — i.e. powers and forces larger than human capabilities. A main distinction for me is that a religious person may be quite strongly committed to an organisation, whereas a spiritual person is not so strongly connected with / grounded in a particular organisation.
I suspect that a spiritual person may be more strongly oriented towards a direct experience of transcendence (personal experience of God), whereas a religious person may be more strongly oriented to the forms and theories that have grown up around the search for larger meaning.
Martin Seligman, the prominent psychologist who is one of the founders of Positive Psychology, includes ‘Spirituality’ described as ‘Religiousness, Faith and Purpose’ as one of the 27 universal character strengths. He discusses one of the common measures of religious life — Allport and Ross’s Intrinsic-Extrinsic Motivation scale’, where intrinsic religiousness refers to the private aspects of religious life and individual efforts to live in accordance with beliefs, while extrinsic religiousness applies to involvement in public rituals of worship. In general, I tend to use ’spiritual’ to refer to the intrinsic and ‘religious’ to refer to the extrinsic.
When I hear ’spiritual’ used in general contexts, like classical music, it gives me the impression that the music conveys a sense of reflection, or solemn meaning.
To bring in a ‘controversial, hard hitting’ aspect, we could say that religious fundamentalists have lost all contact with spiritual practice/dimension and have become completely mired in the externals of organisational argument.
I’m interested to hear what others think.
June 4th, 2007 19:21
Hi Gillian-
Thanks for a very thorough, thoughtful response. I understand your contrast between religious and spiritual. I’ll be interested to see if others make that distinction as well.
Along those lines, my husband told me he saw a bumper sticker today which read, “Religion is for people who are afraid to go to hell. Spirituality is for people who have already been there.”
Susan
June 7th, 2007 07:07
My thoughts are that you can have a spiritually uplifting experience without attributing it to any mysterious being. The complexities of the mind are mysterious enough without adding more layers.
To discover a beautiful location, perhaps by following a little used path or track through the countryside. For others being near the sea. Such things can lift the spirits. Thus giving the mind a positive stimulating experience.
For some people they can not accept not knowing. To not know why they feel the way they do. This is where they turn to religion, it provides certainty. Many people are afraid of the unknown, religion claims to have the answers. They find comfort in knowing God, if they glimpse a beautiful rare flower, and they are keen on botany, they will consider this a spiritual experience.
This might give others intererested in botany, some emotional excitement, stimulating joy at a rare find. They may consider it a spiritual experience, but would put it down to a bit of luck. That perhaps because of work they had to change their holiday plans, and being a month later they saw something they would have otherwise missed.
Spiritual: An experience that gives a special level of happiness.
E.g. Listening to a favorite piece of music.
June 7th, 2007 17:59
David, would you also add that the ’special level of happiness’ that could be described as spiritual usually involves an appreciation of a larger scale?
So, lifting the spirits usually involves a shift away from the narrow concerns of the moment. Not necessarily a shift away from the NOW, indeed, the present moment can become more luminous and resonant. Enlarged.
Like you, I have the sense that ’spiritual’ allows us to not know, whereas religions often package it up in doctrine. Many religious people work their way through the doctrine and find the direct spiritual experience through their religious practice. In this way, the traditional religions are renewed each generation. (Or they fossilise!)
June 7th, 2007 22:16
I generally agree with Gillian.
“Religious” has to do with organized religions.
“Spiritual” usually means a belief in a god or “something greater” (the universe, etc.) without a desire to be restrained by any specific rules or code of conduct.
Dan
June 8th, 2007 07:10
Gillian with regard to your question, of an appreciation of a greater scale. Yes I would agree, there are things that move us in ways we don’t understand that are so large so complex. Others may understand them to a degree. Take music, people who may not know the first thing about music can be extremely moved, sometimes to tears or fellings of joy and hope, simply by hearing. Yet why it does that, or how so many people can work together in an orchestra to produce such sound is beyond them. Likewise people in the orchestra, might get a great feeling, maybe for some playing infront of a crowd gives them a spiritual experience. Yet they may not understand all the physics, involved in the creation of the sound, or the biology involved in growing the trees to make their instruments, or the techniques of the engineers who manufacture metal components.
You may get a spiritual experience just looking at the imensity of space on a dark cloudless night, if you live in the country! So yes, and with regard to Daniel’s comments, I guess I would broadly agree, I tend to think of spritual as being unrestrained. We could digress onto people being spirited, or some who is a free spirit.
There are those who are curious, and like to explore, maybe not in all areas of life, bravehumans. Then there are those who cling to that which does not change, like a teddybear, or religion. The box is defined.
On a slight asside. I took my mother for a day out, we went up a gorge, the walk turned to a clamber. She became frightened, the way back was over rocks and scree, so it seemed safer to continue up over the rocks. With help and encouragement she overcame the fear and large rocks and triumphed. In the end she was pleased to reach the top of the gorge. Glad that she had done it. Wether it was a spritual experience, I don’t know, but I do feel that those who are curious explorers, be it in science or some other field need to help others understand so they too can enjoy experiences they fear.
There are spiritual experiences that some will never have, simply because they hide in a house called religion, as someone with a social phobia or Agoraphobia might fear leaving home.
Keep thinking, wander and wonder at the wonderful.
June 8th, 2007 10:10
Hi David-
Welcome to Brave Humans. Thanks for the story about your mom…hats off to her for overcoming her fears and having an amazing experience as a result. I had a similar experience with rock climbing (fear of heights)…being able to climb gave me a rush, for the physical achievement, for the psychological achievement, and for the joy of seeing the world from another point of view.
Susan
June 9th, 2007 04:17
Hi Susan
Thanks for the welcome. And welldone on the climbing. Have you done any since? Dad and I clambered up the side of a cliff, I was little then and held on to tufts of grass. I guess he got me started. It certainly stuck in my memory. I best not digress, from the topic. Thanks.
David
June 11th, 2007 19:58
Hi David-
I’m not THAT brave. Around here, rock climbing means in a climbing gym. (I don’t know that we actually have natural rock faces in this part of the country.)
But indoor climbing was plenty for me. I’ve done it several times, and felt the same fear, exhileration, and sense of accomplishment each time. My 6 year old has also gone a few times…she just loves it; no fear.
Susan
June 13th, 2007 10:01
I’ve put some thought into this in the past and have come to this conclusion regarding spritual experiences: to me, it can be anything that yanks me out of my ordinary everyday existence, out of the autopilot mode of living that I so easily fall into, and reminds me that I’m more than just a collection of faculties, of strengths and weaknesses, and gives me a brief glimpse of the fact that the ordinary everyday is actually quite extraordinary and not something to just sleepwalk through. It’s not necessarily religious, though it can happen in such a setting. The beautiful thing is, it can be just about anything.
June 13th, 2007 16:28
Susan, let me be meddlesome on your subject matter above for just a bit, as I am working on another project. My projects are always designed for positive outcomes.
Quote: “We assume we understand each other’s words, but consequences often indicate that we don’t.” Susan’s quote and unquote.
I picked up your subject above Susan - “spiritual” meant “religious,” etc. It really interested me.
Here is a thought somewhere between your subject matter and mine, as I think that Gods purpose is a phenomenon to us unless we have made the choice and study to be in oneness with our Lord and Savior, thus our lineage to Gods real purpose.
Please remember that I respect all other religious types and denominations, but I respect Christianity with priority.
I think most of our beginnings have something very much in common - at birth that is. But I want to tell the greatest story ever told in my life [taken from a project that I am working on]. I want to tell that story just like I have envisioned that story with time, piece by piece, over and over again, section by section in my mind. I want to tell my story not to sell books, but to keep the promise. The promise that I made to my father, my father who has given me a clear vision of my life of understand of his word to me, and thus to us, and finally that thing called spirituality - a oneness with God. However… It is a choice, and it is done with free will.
I now know that God has a purpose for each of us. I really believe that each of our purpose is undetermined, and surely our purposes are not predestined. But somewhere between undetermined and predestined, lies the formation of purpose - Gods purpose for each of us. It is a different purpose from our carnel ways and can be much like our DNA. Kind of like a formula, where you use many different ingredients to come up with a whole, or a product. Perhaps like ‘Loving your neighbor as one loves himself’ or to “love your enemy.” This is not easy by any means for the best of us, even when trying.
I now realize that this has been God’s purpose all along, for all of us - to make us whole and as one - but it is a bit more tedious than just explained. We cannot be whole with God unless we are seeking him spiritually, something very different than being carnal.
One might think of God as being something you cannot see like the air we breath. We need that air to have life and sense we cannot see it, it can be like spirit. We know that it is there. Our spirituality can be very simular - in example only.
God is spirit, so he cannot accept a relationship with us any other way. So Jesus has interceded in Gods behalf and with Gods blessings as the son of God. Sometimes this is hard to understand, but it is not meant to be understood for the carnal mind necessarily. [I am not being facilitating nor pompus - just explaining my thoughts.]
In fact, and I am sure of it, God’s purpose should be considered noumena; pronounced nou-me-na, plural tense \ G. Fr. Gk interchangeable: A playful word for this piece, but very, very important and here is why. The word meaning, or part of this word means ‘to think’ or to ‘conceive’ apprehend by thought. It means a ground of phenomena that cannot be experienced, and can be known to exist, but to which no properties can be intelligibly ascribed. WOW! Just right for my revelation and it honors God in the utmost.
There are those who will consider my revelation noxious, and I say to them ‘bless you.’ Satan will not part each of our positive ways, we are both well meaning. I myself will simply move beyond the status quo of just bible study. I will be reaching for the noumenon, I will be reaching for the spirit - that oneness that can sometimes be very unfamiliar to us, or maybe not. That God self inside of us that we for the most part, take for granted.
So for the carnal types, spirit cannot be experienced, but can be known to exist, but to which no properties can be intelligibly ascribed.
These are my thought only and perhaps even my revelation. I respect all others.
June 15th, 2007 14:28
Hi Clarence-
Thanks for the thoughtful and throught-provoking response. We also really appreciate the respect for others’ views here.
Susan