What is spirituality?
the sacred work of being human
Who are we? Why are we here? How are we to live?
What is spirituality?
Spiritual formation encompasses an inner adventure of self-discovery, searching for a place of belonging within a greater Story of Life that gives meaning and purpose to our existence and mortality. When we experience belonging, we feel at home in our world because we know who we are, why we are here, and how we are to live. In turn, we experience personal wholeness and authentic communal responsiveness. Daily life is animated by joyful humility, trust, awe, and reverence for the mystery of Life itself. Also, significant life events are celebrated with meaningful rituals. Seeking a life-affirming shelter of belonging at any given time and place in history is the sacred work of being human.
An important note: In Western culture, spirituality is primarily viewed as a personal endeavour. And yet, Western societies are currently being challenged to lift their collective gaze toward reimagining a new cultural shelter of belonging. This is a new frontier for spiritual exploration. So, spirituality currently encompasses both the personal and cultural experience of seeking a shelter of belonging. In line with such an understanding, this page will begin by outlining the characteristics of a shelter of belonging. From there it will delve into personal spirituality, followed by collective spirituality.
Page contents: Faith or non-faith - is that the question? What is a shelter of belonging? Will any shelter of belonging do? Transitioning from one shelter to another. A symbol for the inner adventure. Personal spirituality - tethered by unity of being. Collective spirituality - tethered by a new cultural identity. Spiritual activism. Spirituality and various disciplines of human endeavour.
Faith or non-faith - is that the question?
Spirituality is usually equated with religion. As a result, faith is associated with individuals who find their home of belonging within a religious tradition. Non-faith is associated with individuals who do not. Is faith or non-faith the question? My exploration into this question revealed that faith is an intrinsic quality within the human spirit. Faith is a creative action that drives us to give meaning to our existence and mortality. Meaning is derived through a set of beliefs crafted into a sacred narrative that situates our identity within a larger Story of Life itself. This larger narrative is tethered by our knowledge and beliefs about the nature of Reality and how the world was formed. We can see this innate creative action of faith within the First Nation peoples of Australia, whose set of beliefs crafted into a sacred narrative named The Dreaming gives meaning to their existence and mortality. So, faith is not a destination in the form of a specific belief system about God and religious rituals; faith is a creative action that drives each of us toward a belief system from which we derive meaning and purpose. Faith is a quality we all share, regardless of our belief system. We are all people of faith.
What drives faith? We are driven to give meaning by our innate longing to belong. Belonging refers to a deep sense of connection between the three interrelated dimensions of human consciousness: the intrapersonal (within our skin), the interpersonal (within community), and the transpersonal (where our identity is situated within a larger narrative of life itself). This larger narrative may sit within a religious tradition, but not necessarily. Our human longing to belong does not exist in a vacuum. There is an enduring Call of belonging within the deeper rhythms of Life itself to which our human longing responds. As a result, faith is driven by the interplay between our human longing to belong and the Call of belonging within the very nature of Life itself.
What is a shelter of belonging?
“The human heart longs to belong. We long to discover who we are. Yet if we cannot discover a shelter of belonging in our lives, we can become a victim of our longing.”
In response to our innate desire to belong, a shelter of belonging comprises a set of beliefs crafted into a sacred narrative that gives meaning to our existence and mortality. A shelter enables us to situate our experience of identity, purpose, and values within a greater Story of Life itself. In turn, we know who we are, why we are here, and how we are to live. A meaningful shelter generates a deep sense of connection to our inner selves and the external world. Conversely, an absence of a meaningful shelter can lead to feelings of disconnection, disorientation, or even a crisis of meaning. So, an authentic shelter of belonging enables us to give meaning and experience belonging within Life’’s ongoing creative dance of being and becoming.
A shelter of belonging
a set of beliefs crafted into a sacred narrative that gives meaning and purpose to our existence and mortality.
Will any shelter of belonging do?
Seeking an authentic shelter of belonging is our sacred work as human beings. But will any shelter do? What characterises an authentic shelter? An authentic shelter will make sense in the world as we know it. As such, it will resonate with our mind and heart. Mind refers to a coherent response to our spiritual questions in light of our worldview. Heart means that we must be able to integrate the expected and unexpected joys, sorrows, fears, frustrations, traumas, and mystical experiences we encounter over our lifetime. When our shelter of belonging resonates within mind and heart, we experience inner connection.
Inner connection is not sufficient. An authentic shelter must also foster connection with the common good of all. This connection ensures that our shelter of belonging does not detach us from global events or compel us to wreak havoc upon our world. So, an authentic shelter will connect our inner selves with the external world. With an authentic shelter in place, we can stand in our own ground, openheartedly, aware that our shelter is both unique in its own right and interwoven into the diverse tapestry of human shelters across the globe.
Transitioning from one shelter to another
“It’s lovely to have a home, habits etc. But when that beautiful home becomes a prison. . . it’s time to walk out of the door or listen for the knock on the door.”
We may experience more than one shelter belonging over our lifetime. Why? Our lives unfold within a rhythmic dance of being and becoming. Being refers to living with a clear sense of identity, purpose, values, and belonging. Becoming entails shifts that break through and transcend our current self-perception. (For more on being and becoming see my web page The art of transformative living). Within this dance of life, belonging is experienced through the interplay of four elements:
1) Our intrinsic longing to belong.
2) Our current lived experience.
3) Our current understanding of the nature of Reality and the origins of our world.
4) The pressing needs of the world around us.
Among those four elements, our yearning to belong remains unchanged. The others are constantly evolving. As a result, a once authentic shelter of belonging may become inauthentic over time.
When our shelter of belonging has become inauthentic or more like a prison, how do we walk out of the door? We embark on a sacred adventure of self-discovery amidst our present landscape and discover a shelter that now resonates with mind and heart. Such spiritual exploration is more than an intellectual exercise, it is a contemplative one. For more on the practice of contemplative inner exploration see my web page Contemplative self-enquiry. For more on transitioning from one shelter of belonging to another see the Resources page/Finding our way home: being and becoming.
A symbol for the inner adventure
The labyrinth is a symbol of the sacred adventure of seeking a shelter of belonging. As a symbol, the labyrinth picks up something of T. S. Eliot’s poetic words:
“With the drawing of this Love and the voice of this Calling, we shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time.”
living in the shallows . . . on the other side of the deep
A labyrinth has a single, twisting pathway that draws each spiritual seeker from the outer edge to the centre, then back out again. The outer edge represents the shallows of their daily lives. The path twists and turns its way from the outer edge into the centre, all the while inviting each seeker to reflect upon and explore the limitations of their current shelter of belonging. The centre represents the deep, their innermost orientating reference point beyond personal identity. The deep comprises the generative energies of faith, hope, love, and collective wisdom. When each seeker connects with the deep, they experience unity of being. The pathway then twists and turns its way back to the outer edge enabling each seeker to integrate their insights into a refreshed, or completely new shelter of belonging.
Why does the path commence and conclude at the shallows of daily life? We are not meant to make our home in the deep. Rather, we are meant to make our home in the shallows of daily life - on the other side of the deep.
Personal spirituality - tethered by unity of being
Seeking a personal shelter of belonging is tethered by an experience of unity of being. Unity of being involves living each day with the conscious awareness that our inner-orienting reference point is the formless ground of all being, transcending yet inseparably intertwined with all forms of being. When the ground of all being orientates our living, it is as if our heart pulses in rhythm with the heartbeat of Life itself. Loch Kelly described such an experience of unity of being as:
“a dance between formlessness and form, without landing in either one.”
What is the ground of all being?
The ground of all being is not like a barren wasteland. Rather, it resembles an untamed wilderness resplendent with the life-giving energies of faith, hope, love, and collective wisdom.
Faith ~ a creative action within the human spirit that drives and enables us to give meaning to our existence and mortality, at any given time and place in history.
Hope ~ the possibility of inner transformation, grounded in reality.
Love ~ situated within the deeper rhythms of Life itself, drawing us toward a profound experience of belonging with self; with a wider web of human and nonhuman relationships; and with Life itself.
Collective wisdom ~ the rich tapestry of universal wisdom teachings accumulated within human experience from ancient times until now.
Uniqueness is celebrated
When we experience unity of being we find that our unique being is not sacrificed but welcomed, required, and celebrated within Life’s ongoing creative dance of being and becoming. At the same time, our selfhood is held lightly because we know it is not the centre point of who we are. Consequently, we can figuratively stand in our own ground, openheartedly.
Unity of being
standing in our own ground, openheartedly.
Helpful spiritual practices for seeking a personal shelter of belonging via unity of being are: meditation and contemplative self-enquiry. For more on these practices see the Contemplative practices page. See also Finding our place of belonging/Gentling integrating our shadow-side & Forgiveness: a pathway of inner healing.
Collective spirituality - tethered by a new identity
“No problem can be solved by the same consciousness that created it.”
Global social, economic, and climate conditions mean that our world is crying out for change; change toward a more equitable world for all life forms. Yet significant social change cannot take place without a new cultural shelter of belonging, tethered by a new identity. Why is identity the axis of social change? Our cultural identity determines our collective purpose. Our collective purpose determines our values system. Our values system determines how we, as Western societies, live within and act upon the global village. So, our cultural identity determines our collective actions in the world. Without a radical change in identity, there can be no significant change in the way we live. Consequently, while the call of our era is toward significant social change, the deeper spiritual call of our era is toward change from the INSIDEout; lifting our collective gaze toward a new cultural shelter of belonging. For more on Collective Spirituality see Resources/The what why and how of shifting the cultural mindset.
The spirit of the age - a call beyond individualism
In light of the above, the spirit of our age is inviting each of us to engage in the shared spiritual practice of shifting the cultural mindset. The shift is away from individualism which fostered a values system geared to the flourishing of the individual above all else. The shift is toward reestablishing our collective identity within the broader community of life, grounded by a principle of interconnectedness via unity within diversity. Situating our collective identity within the broader community of life will naturally foster a values system geared toward the flourishing of all life forms - human, flora and fauna, and planet Earth itself.
The shared spiritual practice of reimagining a new cultural shelter of belonging is a new frontier for Western societies. For more on this topic see the web page Evolutionary spirituality - a new frontier.
For more on lifting the cultural gaze toward a new cultural shelter of belonging see the Contemplative Practices page & Resources/The What, Why, and How of Shifting the Cultural mindset. See also the book entitled Call of the Era: being the Change through changing our Being by Kaye Twining
Spiritual activism
The spiritual call of our era could be named spiritual activism. Spiritual activism draws together the inner work of spiritual exploration with the outer work of social change. Or more particularly, the inner work of spirituality becomes the catalyst for social change. In this context, spiritual intention and practice include but also transcend individual experience. They cultivate a new cultural mindset and collective experience of belonging in the world. Consequently, spiritual activism encompasses and surpasses social activism; it aims not only to alleviate the symptoms of an unjust world but also to transform the underlying causes.
Spirituality and various disciplines of human endeavour
What is the interplay between spirituality and the three disciplines of philosophy, psychology, and the sciences? Well, spirituality both embraces and extends beyond each of those disciplines in the following manner:
Philosophy: spirituality considers the wide range of philosophical responses to existential questions. At the same time, spirituality goes beyond intellectual theories of philosophy, to the experience of belonging in response to such understandings.
Psychology: spirituality considers the wide range of psychological theories and therapies that focus on a healthy self-concept within community. Spirituality, however, goes beyond such theories toward the experience of belonging within self, community, and a greater Story of Life that gives meaning to our existence and mortality.
The sciences: spiritual exploration takes place within the light of current science-based knowledge and beliefs regarding the nature of Reality, the origins of the world, and the workings of the human body/mind. Even so, spirituality goes beyond knowledge about the world, to a life-affirming experience of belonging in the world.
Thus, spirituality is not a stand-alone discipline. Rather, spirituality includes and transcends the disciplines of philosophy, psychology, and the sciences. Consequently, spirituality is the sacred work of being human.
Resources
John O’Donohue, Eternal Echoes: Exploring our Hunger to Belong
Beverly Lanzetta, The Monk Within: Embracing a Sacred Way of Life
AnaLouise Keating, Transformation Now: Toward a Post-Oppositional Politics of Change
Loch Kelly, Shift into Freedom: The Science and Practice of Open-Heartedness Awareness