Source: Pixabay
You know I have read few articles that suggest that humans are special. Because of their special traits, like language, this sets them apart from other species and the natural world is deemed to be a place unto itself. A place where spirituality does not exist and if it did then animals would not have the same capacities as humans do. These articles are published by well known media outlets and are accepted and applauded as the norm. No one dares question some of the age old beliefs and norms espoused without batting an eye lid. You see it is this type of belief system perpetuated over time that becomes an accepted truth regardless of whether it is or not.
So today I asked myself what makes humans spiritual? In many of these articles I noticed that no one has even defined what spirituality is. It is assumed that everyone has the same idea and the same experience. This creates a veritable error in understanding and the developmental process. So let's define spirituality. What was once the study of the Soul - psychology (for this is what psychology means) - turned into the study of behavior and emotions based on external factors that show intrinsic states; so psychology is no help at all. I define spirituality to be concerned with experiences of the Soul. The Soul is an unidentified essence of being and is related to consciousness. Do you see how difficult this subject really is when you begin to look at it from the limited language mind. A mind that is defined by what it already knows and is unable to move beyond the limitations set therein by socio-cultural norms. Definitions that are based on tangibles, using our 5 physical senses, goes awry when we talk about spirituality because it is inevitably connected to consciousness. Consciousness although known to exist through our every day lives is a complete mystery to the scientific mind. The mind that likes to label, likes to define, placing limitations upon the observable and falsely placing itself in the state of the observer (subject vs object).
But can we truly separate subject and object?
Science provides many stories about correlations and linkages they are believed to be affected by one thing or another. But how do you really know? Does a p.value (statistics) tell you that this is so? Does it give you a believable story because it gives you proof? Does nature behave in a linear fashion or does the entangled web bring a complex set of variables that are undecipherable using a linear mental state? We are very good at story telling and we are good at looking at patterns and finding meaning in everything that we sense in the world. This is what the contemporary world thrives upon. From stocks to entertainment - everything is based on the attribution of meaning to something that we value or that we can understand to bring what we consider true. But couldn't there be millions of truths out there that are static for a second in time-space only to fold in on itself and become obsolete? I would say so - nothing is linear, nothing is static - only our thinking is. Nothing stays the same.
How does this all fit into spirituality? Here are a few things to think about - no one has a true definition for spirituality for the following reasons:-
It is subjective and is a personalized experience.
The experiences are then broken down into their contents by the analytical mind to make sense or find meaning and the outcomes are wholly incumbent on the emotional, psychological and physical maturity of the individual. This reduces the value of the experience off the bat.
The experiences are also explained in ways that fit the socio-cultural belief system of the individual. Again devaluing the experience and confining it to a limited mindset.
Spirituality is not something that you only do it is a state of being - this means different things to different people.
Spirituality changes as one moves through life and finds new 'meanings'.
We are influenced by our past traumas and our filters are determined by them. This 'noise' gets in the way of being.
We are influenced and easily led as a species because we are social, have the need to belong and be liked.
Yet we are asking the age old question - what is our purpose?
What if I told you there is no purpose? What if I told you that just being alive is the greatest spiritual gift that one has in the moment? What if I told you that there is no meaning to the experiences we have they are just that - experiences? What if I told you that the spiritual is all around you?
Because, you see, we are not special. We are part of life. We are all alive. Being spiritual means one is in not concerned with doing certain rituals or following certain gurus or even ways of thinking. Being spiritual is recognizing that in everything there is a piece of us. We are not disconnected from the natural world or the cosmos. Every single living being within its beingness is spiritual. When we understand this - we understand the idea of oneness. Without the elements, every single one of them, life would cease to exist.
Isn't it a gift then that we have life? Isn't it a gift to see that there is no meaning, there is just being.
Being spiritual is not special to humans.....it is the freedom of the mind therefore it is in every living being.