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What does it mean to be spiritual?

Tude

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Aug 20, 2011
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I realize this is a stupid question, but I was hoping for clarification as far as being spiritual goes. I hear people describe themselves as such every once in a while, but I don't get it. People say they're Christian, or agnostic, or like me, atheist. I get that. But spiritual? What does that mean? Would someone be kind enough to enlighten me (no pun intended)?
 
to me a spiritual person cares about people, animals, the planet. a spiritual person knows that we are all one, connected, everything is one. ponders life, the universe, everything. awakened
 
Looking for Unity within Multiplicity. Respecting the Multiplicity within the Unity.
 
thank you! I can't quite reckon what the term refers to either. I like the creative stabs made thus far...but they appear somewhat specific to the Buddhist/Pantheist/Daoist take (sorry for the imprecision).

ebola
 
Hard question to answer - my guess is that it is about the way you feel and how that makes you act.
By this I'd like to think that the values applied to actions are consistent with a viewpoint you truly hold within yourself.
I don't think spiritual values have to be about peace & love, they can be about destruction.
Anarchism is a spiritual value to some people I believe.
I think it easy to hold false values - I do it all the time.
At the end of the day it is really about you answering to yourself about why you do what you do - not what society wants not what your delusions want you to want to be but who you truly are - a perilous journey perhaps & almost certainly an unexpected destination - destination point could be termed as the first opportunity to exercise freewill.
It's an individual matter in the end.
 
IMO it means that your mind is in touch with your body and the world around you... I don't think a lot of religious people in the traditional sense are very spiritual. Denial is essentially the opposite of spirituality, as I see it, and a lot of people considered to be religious in the traditional sense certainly have some amount of denial built up. There are traditionally religious people who are spiritual however, I just don't think there is any necessary correlation.
 
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to me a spiritual person cares about people, animals, the planet. a spiritual person knows that we are all one, connected, everything is one. ponders life, the universe, everything. awakened

This is called compassion/reverence, not spirituality.

I believe spirituality is either something you get or you don't. It's a blessed state that comes about through some sort of A-Ha moment. It's a connection to one's self, in that you understand that you don't actually know yourself or anything at all. The spiritual person is one who always questions other's beliefs as well as their own. The spiritual strive to attain understanding in meaning while at the same time recognize the lack of meaning in understanding. The spiritual person is one who exemplifies moderation and one who holds off on pleasure for eventual greater gain. The spiritual person is not caught up or self absorbed in worldly achievements like wealth, status and power, but rather uses his life wisely to satisfy his deepest purpose. Aristotle called this purpose one's Telos. Spirituality is the root of religion, and is the tool religion uses to congregate the mainstream audiences. The spiritualist lives a much harder life than the religious because he is burdened with the challenging obstruction of seeking out his own purpose, the process of which is his purpose. The spiritualist is not just given the answer, but eventually comes to its conclusion by bringing out the answer that lies innately within. The spiritualist goes where all others either fear or are too lazy to follow. Spirituality is about going out in search of yourself because you have the revelation you haven't even met yourself yet.

"What a man desires to know is that [the external world], but his means of knowing is this [himself]. How can he know that? Only by this." --School of Chi

"The unexamined life is not worth living." --Socrotes (meaning you don't know what you're made of until you've been tested)
 
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I tmeans to have an irrational idea/explanation of why humans don't appear to be robotic even though we are.
 
This is called compassion/reverence, not spirituality.

I believe spirituality is either something you get or you don't. It's a blessed state that comes about through some sort of A-Ha moment. It's a connection to one's self, in that you understand that you don't actually know yourself or anything at all. The spiritual person is one who always questions other's beliefs as well as their own. The spiritual strive to attain understanding in meaning while at the same time recognize the lack of meaning in understanding. The spiritual person is one who exemplifies moderation and one who holds off on pleasure for eventual greater gain. The spiritual person is not caught up or self absorbed in worldly achievements like wealth, status and power, but rather uses his life wisely to satisfy his deepest purpose. Aristotle called this purpose one's Telos. Spirituality is the root of religion, and is the tool religion uses to congregate the mainstream audiences. The spiritualist lives a much harder life than the religious because he is burdened with the challenging obstruction of seeking out his own purpose, the process of which is his purpose. The spiritualist is not just given the answer, but eventually comes to its conclusion by bringing out the answer that lies innately within. The spiritualist goes where all others either fear or are too lazy to follow. Spirituality is about going out in search of yourself because you have the revelation you haven't even met yourself yet.

"What a man desires to know is that [the external world], but his means of knowing is this [himself]. How can he know that? Only by this." --School of Chi

"The unexamined life is not worth living." --Socrotes (meaning you don't know what you're made of until you've been tested)

Excellent post.
 
This is how I feel about spirituality as I have experienced it. It may go by another name and the post that follows gives no consideration of the etymology of the word. It is simply my opinion:

I always thought of it as an unfocused and abstract existentialism. And by unfocused its not specifically a god or gods with which our interactions are representations of. There is definitely a sense of communion with nature, somewhat like what I have been led to believe the druids practiced.

Its something like elation when a deer crosses your path, and contentment when a dog rests on your lap, and being humbled by a thunderstorm. I guess its like being with nature rather than manipulating or interacting with it.

When I feel this way its like observing purely with no analysis of what you are watching. You become so engrossed by the majesty of nature that you forget your name and your obligations. You are appreciative of the shade of a tree, and of a kind breeze keeping you cool. You lose your connection to society and your materialistic desires. Its simple and enchanting.
 
this thread cannot possibly be answered with words or explanations, as spirituality cannot be defined confined. the very definition: "incorporeal or immaterial nature" doesn't do anything to help the OP.
 
this thread cannot possibly be answered with words or explanations, as spirituality cannot be defined confined. the very definition: "incorporeal or immaterial nature" doesn't do anything to help the OP.

I'm pretty sure you can get the idea across with enough explanation. I don't think anyone here is going to post a book on the topic though. For what it's worth, I'm understanding other people's definitions and noticing a lot of similar things that others have said that also factored into my opinion.
 
^its true, only the way you said it sounded to fanciful;-) - Dreamers crave the safety of the bed that has been made for them.


"Eureka" is only chased in Science alone - Religion/Spirituality needs Science too, though.
 
For me spiritual means that you have some form of spirituality in your life and/or you believe in a spirit world. I think spiritual is somewhat of a new age term. A fancy word for religion perhaps.
 
well it came from our evolution from unconscious animal to conscious being
thats when we started to bury our dead
because we started to have the capacity to wonder about life as a whole and what it means to be alive (or to be dead for that matter)

so "What does it mean to be spiritual?"
it means to be connected with the notion that you could be dead right now, that you will inevitably be dead at some point, that everything that is living right now is gonna die at some point too
and that realization can bring forth a change in you






edit : i would like to also say that "Elephants are the only species on Earth other than Homo sapiens sapiens and Neanderthals known to have or have had any recognizable ritual around death. " and "Elephants are amongst the world's most intelligent species. ...elephant brains are larger than those of any other land animal"
i find that interesting :)
 
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Much was already said but I would also add: Knowing instead of just believing.
 
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