What is spirituality

I talk about a daily spiritual practice, but what is spirituality? Well, the idea is fairly intangible. But here we go.

The idea of spirituality is based in the concept of there being a realm or a place beyond the material world. The world of the soul. Now of course, there are entire books and learned people investigating what is a soul, so I’m not going to go into that here. For now – I will merely allow that it is a place of spirit, of ether, of that intangible part of us that is neither physcial, nor mental.

Any science behind this?

Well, yes! A quick search on Google Scholar for “What is Spirituality2?” got me about 2,940,000 results (0.13 sec)… I’m going to be honest here. I have not read all 2.94million results. I did however browse through four of them.

• Lepherd, L., 2015. Spirituality: Everyone has it, but what is it?. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 21(5), pp.566-574. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ijn.12285)
• George, L.K., Larson, D.B., Koenig, H.G. and McCullough, M.E., 2000. Spirituality and health: What we know, what we need to know. Journal of social and clinical psychology, 19(1), pp.102-116. (https://journals.lww.com/hnpjournal/Citation/1989/05000/Spirituality__An_analysis_of_the_concept.11.aspx )
• Wuthnow, R., 2001. Spirituality and spiritual practice. The Blackwell companion to sociology of religion, pp.306-320. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9780470998571#page=323)
• Murgia, C., Notarnicola, I., Rocco, G., & Stievano, A. (2020). Spirituality in nursing: A concept analysis. Nursing Ethics, 27(5), 1327–1343. (https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733020909534)

(Yes, this is the sort of reading I do in my spare time!)

Murgia et al above tell me that:

In Sanskrit, the term Atman [self] has been defined as: “Spiritual essence of life”.

Murgia, C., Notarnicola, I., Rocco, G., & Stievano, A. (2020). Spirituality in nursing: A concept analysis

Now, that’s a definition, but pretty much all the papers above mention the difficulty in setting “spirituality” aside from “religion”. I’m not gonna lie – it’s difficult. I am going to try though. Whether I succeed or remains to be seen. Lepherd (2015) tells us: There seem to be almost as many definitions of spirituality as there are writers on the subject. Yes, it does bear a remarkable resemblance to my attitude to Brigid.

Vague science, then?

Indeed. When it comes to defining spirituality, most researchers veer away, being more comfortable using terms like “describe” rather than “define”. However, let’s have a go…

There are few items that are mentioned frequently:

• sense of interconnectedness with the cosmos, nature
• reverence for life
• transcendence
• meaning in life

Sense of interconnectedness

This aspect of spirituality can be a connection to a Higher Power, deity, something like that. Or it can be considered a connection to the world around us. And sometimes – a combination of both.

What does this mean?

Well, in terms of my own spiritual practice, I look at this in terms of noticing the little things. Whether it’s the ray of sunshine peeking through the clouds or an unexpected present or even just a nice compliment for something… Noticing positive, pleasant or otherwise happy things in life has become an important part of my spirituality. And it helps me feel connected to the world.

Some of my worst bouts of depression have been associated with a lack of that sense of connection with the world, so I value it highly. But I also have to work to maintain it. It’s not something that happens naturally with me. And so, we come to the concept that spirituality might an element of work.

Reverence for life

The more I work with Brigid, the more I feel that reverence for life. And it’s mentioned often in terms of spirituality. Now, this doesn’t mean that someone is against all killing. I enjoy eating a nice bit of meat the same as the next person.

But, for me, it does mean that the meat I eat was treated with respect, both before and after it stopped breathing. (Or in the case of fish – whatever it is fish do!) This is a common theme through papers. It’s not necessarily that all life is equal or sacred. No one will ever convince me that ants have the right to enter my kitchen! But it is the feeling that all life has the right to exist. Just… not in my kitchen…

I think this is an off shoot of the connection to the world, to be honest. I can’t see how you can feel connected to the world, to nature and not feel reverence towards it. It’s an integral part of the whole thing for me.

Transcendence

OK, I have to admit, I have an issue with this one. Transcendence appears to be the will or ability to “rise above” our mundane, physical life. Above the dirt, the grime, the reality of the world to a “higher plane” of some sort.

And that’s ok for some people. But I think it leaves out a lot of the reality of the world. To me, this gives the impression of someone gone beyond the mundane existence of most of us, as if that mundane existence has no value. And I accept that this is probably one of the chips on my shoulder… but it’s still a belief.

If I redefine it slightly though, it works a bit better. So, if I see it as being, not ignoring the reality of life, but being able to acknowledge the beauty in all life… Maybe even have reverence for all life. Even the dirty bits. Because, let’s face it – it doesn’t matter how evolved you are, there’s very few people in this world that can survive without food and water. And once you consume, you also produce waste. For me – if you can achieve transcendence while sitting on the toilet, I’ll accept the reality of it!

Moreover, spirituality serves as a catalyst for personal growth and transformation, illuminating the path towards self-realization and inner harmony. By cultivating virtues such as compassion, gratitude, and empathy, individuals embark on a journey of self-discovery that transcends the confines of the ego and embraces the interconnectedness of all beings. In doing so, spirituality fosters a sense of unity and belonging, bridging the perceived divides between individuals and fostering a deeper sense of community and collective well-being.

Meaning of life

Ah the big one. When people ask “what is spirituality”, this is often where we end up. Finding meaning in life is hugely important, in my opinion. It doesn’t have to be a grand plan. Most of us won’t be changing the world.

But we can affect the world around us. Whether that’s starting off a smile outbreak, or just making the effort to make someone else’s life just that bit easier. Saying thank you to a tired waiter. Being patient when on hold to a call centre. (These are ideals, I don’t always manage it! I have been known to tell a call centre worker to put me on to their manager, since they don’t get paid enough to deal with the amount of outrage I’m feeling, though!)

We can all make small differences to the world. We can all make a difference in this world. Come back to the connection piece of the question. What part of the world do you most connect with?

Some ideas for meaning in action might be:

• organising a beach clean up
• speaking to a girls’ school about introducing girls to male-dominated professions
• supporting a charity of choice monetarily
• raising a family
• supporting a local sports club
• founding a community organisation – or indeed volunteering with them
• pick your cause of choice: homelessness, poverty, abuse, oppression… let’s face it, there’s loads of them. But do something with it.

Where does this leave us?

Well, this is only an introduction, of course. I did say this would end up being a series of posts and in the next one I’ll look at religion I think. But I hope this is enough to get you started on considering what spirituality means to you!

Because, let’s face it, spirituality is, above all, personal. Maybe some of what I’ve written here resonates with you. If so, brilliant! If not, I’m sorry. But please feel free to comment below or email me with your thoughts on the matter!