Your Definition of Spirituality

[VaughnB]

God, Source, the Creator...so many words. On a recent episode of Oprah in speaking to her vision of spirituality she said,


"you're not this physical body but are spirit which is inside the body.
That whatever happens in life you can go without fear and know that everything is going to be alright."



http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=r3TlP8i05wg

[Jenci]

Hi Vaughn,

I was watching the video and thinking how I could define spirituality and I couldn't think of anything. How's that for a start......


Jeanette

[Carmen]

My definition of spirituality is" that which animates our body". The intelligence that animates and runs our body, when we are awake and conscious can also direct our lives, when we are open and allow it to.

[VaughnB]

What did you think of the video?
I like Oprah. A lot of people are against her for her stance more towards spirituality vs. religion but I think she's worked hard and really tries to do good for others.

I finished a blog on the monatomic gold, really sadden by Laurence Gardners death, I feel he still had much to offer. I've contacted a distributor on the gold, would like to try when I'm working again.

As for our topic, I'm all into experiencing but still struggle with the "fear factor", lack, no roof, security thing...not to any great degree but it's there ya know. Especially when you're hungry. I mean I've got tons of skills, lots of experience, run several companies even, I have to just let it be.

Do you ever think a lot of people live in fear? Especially in the U.S. and that shuts us off from our connections with one another. I'm living in Tijuana in a very close knit neighborhood where everyone knows one another, when you have too many taco's you share with your neighbors, someone needs help with their car, taking care of the kids, it's very communal. There's still disparity, a lack of consciousness for the environment but basic human values are intact.

I wonder if our spiritual paths can grow any place, any time whether shuttered in a corporate office, some shanty town, on the street, or even smothered in wealth and opulence?

[bearcow]

My definition of spirituality, trying to improve yourself, most specifically your character

[WhiteFeather]

Spiritualism has many vast and great paths to choose, thus it eventually takes you to the main road which is enlightenment.

[exchange student]

Spirituality in my book is to be one with yourself, to discover the real nature of our consciousness. To discover our "true self". The beauty of it is that it can be found by manny different spiritual pathways.

"When you do things from your soul you feel a river moving in you, a joy." ~ Rumi

[RedeZra]

if life is about growing then spirituality is about pruning

an acorn sprouts into an oak

who says a soul did not begin as a seed ?

[enfoldedblue]

My definition of spirituality has changed dramatically along my journey. In essence for me it has gotten simpler and simpler. Now I see it as being all about alinging with LOVE, which is our true nature. The 3D world that most of us experience teaches us that we are seperate, that we need to compete, to compare, to judge. We learn that we need to prove our worth. Conscious or unconscious fear is the driving force for many people on this planet. But as we learn to love we start to discover our true selves and how we fit seamlessly, magically in with everything else. When we come into alignment with our heart we come into alignment with all. When this happens ego is able to trust and relax and stop feeling the need to always be in control, and we can let go and be in the moment, in the flow. For me this is what it is all about. It is not easy...but it is simple, and the more conscious and honest we are with ourselves and others the swifter the journey from fear based reality to love based reality becomes.

[Ernie Nemeth]

I had a lot of trouble understanding there even was a difference between religion and spirituality. I was taught that God is in all things. What a conundrum that one was. I filed it as a paradox of the highest order. But spirituality?
The best I can come up with is the focus on or contemplation of similarities - sameness.
It doesn't take long to momentarily reach the level of "God in everything" and catch a glimpse of that eternal truth: We Are All One.
From there it can take a moment or a lifetime to surrender to the truth and realize your potential - our potential!
Then there is only follow where Spirit leads, remembering to intentionally Move torward it.
One of my personal favorite definitions of spirituality is: "the journey of the known to the unknown and back again, without ever going anywhere or doing anything".

[David Hughes]

Knowing that there is a magic in the air that extends far beyond your level of awareness.

[Anchor]

Hard to define spirituality without defining spirit.

I find that "Body Mind and Spirit" are normally used together to describe the sum of what we are; the mind is the layer between Body and Spirit, Spirit as the connection with all - of which our soul is the individualised part of that "all".

Spirituality, then, for me, means the ongoing process of the concious apprehension of this as a reality and fact of my existence, rather than just being intellectually aware of it as a theory or principle. The spiritual path is the path of seeking in the realms of spirit and soul from here in the "real" world.

[Bollinger]

Interestingly, one of the definitions of the noun "spirituality" is: property or income owned by a church.

If the official definition is what we're after, we can easily look it up and dictionary.com says that the root word "spirit" has the following meanings:

1. the principle of conscious life; the vital principle in humans, animating the body or mediating between body and soul.

2. the incorporeal part of humans: present in spirit though absent in body.

3. the soul regarded as separating from the body at death.

4. conscious, incorporeal being, as opposed to matter: the world of spirit.

5. a supernatural, incorporeal being, especially one inhabiting a place, object, etc., or having a particular character: evil spirits.

If it's a personal definition we're after, I suppose we have to think about what it means to us in general when the word spirit is used in the context of something that is incorporeal. So, for what's it's worth here is my personal definition.

When a person dies and you lift up the eyelid, staring back at you is a dead eye. The difference between when that eye could see and now, is the spirit.

[markpierre]

"Spirituality" is how I learned to cope with guilt, how I learned to heal it, and then how I learned to forget what it was. After that, everything was spiritual.

Spirituality doesn't have a definition anymore. It would have to be in contrast to something else.

Somehow we like to look for meaning in definitions. But meaning is in the purpose of something, not the definition.

[Newlyn]

Good topic! I would say that spirituality is LOVE, and to grow in love. Let me explain.

Spirituality is to Live of the Spirit.

The spirit is in a constant connection with the vast sea that we all are part of and is the reason we exist at all. I like to say that we are swimming in God! :)

This force is Life, gives Life and makes us want to live! We can try to analyze it with our minds, make systems out of it etc., but the fact is, that when this love-force hits us no system or thought construction is enough. It brakes in, opens our hearts (that are in constant comunication with God) and transforms us. We become truly alive, in a spiritual sense!

If you have heard this call then your lifejourney is spiritual. That is not the same as having a "spiritual interest". This is LIFE! :)

How can one explain something so profund and extraordinary? I find it much harder now to put this in words than what I did before. I talk less now, and love more. i am tired of words and empty blah blah full of ego and superior thinking! Love is a power so so strong, and I am so thankful that it came to me. Love is everyones birthright! It spreads it's beautiful but oh so powerful (frightening to some!) wings and creates it's rippleeffects on people and makes them find their inner source of Love to! I think that the goal of living of the Spirit is to become a living instrument of Divine Love. The more I get in contact with this amazing Love, the more humble I become. I understand more and more what I truly am, and that is Love.

The feeling of love is the soul remembering, remembering our divine heritage, and comunicating with the source. That word did not mean much to me before. Now it means everything.

http://starchildglobal.com/starchild/fetus.jpg

With Love, Albin.

[Zx9rams]

Spirituality to me is a discovery, connection and exploration of my soul, spirit, higher self.

[Herbert]

Spirituality is hard to define with words because it is a feeling. And we all recognize it when we feel it. Here is my best attempt:

Spirituality is the creative feeling force behind benevolent magic . . . a Petronas Charm of the heart, that releases a sensible and tangible, positive energy force to the world.

When people meditate (presumably to clear their minds and reach their true spiritual selves), they attempt to focus on ‘nothing’ by letting go of that which has been created by the linear mind. This is often a difficult task because we have creation upon creation upon creation . . . to let go of. There is a common malady known as confusion – delusion – confusion which seems to be, at least in part, caused by the suppression of feelings in a bureaucratic civilization where standardization of everything in order to maintain the status quo is essential. This puts tremendous pressure on the individual to hide their emotions by conforming – going about their daily work as if nothing is wrong. They are essentially being told to ignore their body’s naturally organic need to be real. So we meditate on nothing which is also an illusion of the matrix because even when you remove the paint, there still exists the canvas - which is something. This something is the continuum upon which all layers of creation are built. It is source. It is magnetic (without the electricity of the mind). It is infinite and its cornerstone is love. People often fail to understand the meaning of infinite. They may ask “but who created source?” In asking this question they fail to grasp that “infinity” by definition means that “nothing” is an illusion. ‘Nothing’, ‘mathematics’ and ‘sacred geometry’ are illusionary tools of the matrix. You are infinite and like the continuum, your cornerstone is love. You are magnetic attraction. You are the divine feminine. You are a multidimensional Universe. You are a creator. And you will always have an individual core soul personality. There is no such thing as a heart that is totally bereft of love. You are your feelings and they are now bursting at the seams; about to put you in vertical time.

[another bob]

I couldn't think of anything. How's that for a start......

"You're getting warmer!"

:yo:

[minkton]

My definition of spirituality, trying to improve yourself, most specifically your character

Well, WOW YES thanks bearcow. I agree very much indeed that one's character development is an indication of how one is developing. What do you make of coyote adherents who are fine with lying and witholding as a means of creating change or making others think. I think you have to be pretty sorted as a character to assume the coyote mantle, and I am unsure about it altogether unless one is shamanically designated as coyote. I have a feeling we need truth more now than smoke and mirrors, as teaching methods.

I hope this makes some kinda sense... I feel like I been having my head messed with lately and whilst I can learn a lot from it... it's an interesting mode of 'developing character' by someone having an integrity that is multi layered like the coyote.