Spirituality includes all religions, religious views and spiritual beliefs. Spirituality is not organized religion. Spirituality is not Spiritualism, a belief in communicating with the dead. Spirituality is not a New Age term, nor is it associated with the occult or anything subversive, secretive, mysterious or irreligious.
The dictionary defines spiritual as of the spirit or of the soul as distinguished from the body and the material matters. We are body, mind, and spirit. Spirituality is everything related to the spirit, which is separate from our mental or emotional mind and separate from our physical or material world.
I like a definition provided by philosopher Ken Wilber:
Spirituality is an intelligence that is separate from intellect, emotions or any other aspect of our lives but just as valuable.
Body, mind and spirit. We are a combination of all three. Spirituality, or the study of that third aspect of our lives, is all-inclusive and not limited to any one set of beliefs. In spirituality, there is the moment of spiritual awareness. Deepak Chopra discusses the similarities of spiritual awareness in all religious and spiritual traditions.
Perhaps the word is enlightenment or illumination, since finding or seeing the light is one way to express this encounter, which when experienced, is clear yet often difficult to describe. Chopra suggests this experience as taking us from the material world to a virtual reality not available to our five senses. Heaven is imagined as a place free from the bonds of earthly life where gravity no longer holds down the body, but this virtual reality is within.
Spiritual awakening is the connection to a different level where the invisible and the visible merge. Many of us have experienced such a moment when we knew we were connected to something greater than ourselves:
Maybe it is standing in an old Native American ruin, with the energy encompassing all and, even though others mingle nearby, there is a feeling of transcendence.
Maybe it is standing on the ocean's edge, feeling the lapping of the shore as if it were cleansing the soul and leaving a sense of peace and togetherness while the sand between the toes continues to assure a grounding.
Maybe it is driving through the mountains with the peaks rising high on all sides, highlighting a feeling of insignificance and humility in the presence of a much larger scene.
Maybe it is meditating, feeling totally encompassed with love and a sense that, at that moment, everything is wonderful, forgiving, lasting.
Individual experiences vary, but similar feelings unite us. Spiritual awareness is a common bond despite different beliefs. Spiritual awareness guides our Spirituality. Everything is connected to the spirit, the third aspect of our lives, that combines with our body and mind to remind us we are spiritual beings having a human experience.
Cheryl A. Chatfield, Ph.D. is a writer, teacher and inspirational speaker. This article is an excerpt from her recent Do It Yourself Guide To Spirituality: Seven Simple Steps. Visit http://NottInstitute.org to download and read this 40-page booklet or to sign up for the free monthly Practical Spirituality Newsletter. The Nottingham Institute is a nonprofit organization that promotes materials for an everyday, practical spirituality for those who don't find answers in traditional religions.
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