Spirituality: It is a strange sort of word, but what does it mean? It is not like cat, or dog, or mat or anything like that. Grammatically it is supposed to be a noun. But is it? It does not describe anything concrete. Its meaning cannot be described or even defined. When you look into it, it seems to mean different things to different people. So how can we know what we are talking about when we talk about spirituality? Or can we talk about spirituality?
It is easy to say that perhaps it is like ‘rock’. After all, there are many kinds of rocks, but even here, we can describe what kind of rock we are talking about, so we all know what kind of rock we are talking about. But spirituality is not the same. We can talk about Buddhist spirituality, or Hindu spirituality, or mystical spirituality, or Christian spirituality … but each is so different from the other. And then there is the simple fact that with each ‘sort’ of spirituality, there are myriad ways of defining and describing the spirituality we mean. For example, I long ago found a calmness in Zen Buddhism; a kind of spirituality I suppose, but nothing like the more Christian spirituality I so deeply believe in and trust and practice … to the extent that spirituality can be practiced. But even in this there is marked difference. For example, I once tried what is loosely called Ignatian spirituality, a very Christian spirituality; a set of spiritual exercises devised by the great saint, Ignatius of Loyola. Permeated by the faith in which I so strongly believe (the Catholic faith), I none the less find Ignatian spirituality difficult, uncomfortable and not at all to my liking.
In conclusion I have decided that spirituality is an experience; a very personal experience, unique and somewhat intimate to each person. What is more, I think each spiritual experience, even to the individual experiencing it, is unique. And let me say here, I do not believe there is a human being alive today, yesterday or will be tomorrow, who knows nothing of the experience I call ‘spiritual’. Those who do not believe in anything outside their own confined space of existence, none the less know innately a spirituality they call something else; premonition, or gut instinct, or intuition. There are any number of ways to describe an intangible ‘something’ we cannot intellectually grasp.
The Human Sciences, especially mental health professionals, have built an image of ‘human person’ they say is physical, intellectual and emotional. The dimension that generates intuition, creativity and imagination … oh, and belief in a transcendent reality … that dimension is ignored. Why? Men and women have fought and died for a ‘something’ they believe in. People say religion generates war, but that misses the original point. People do not die for a belief system. They die because they believe in something that comes from a dimension we call ‘spiritual’.