WTF does "spiritual" mean?
Sounds kinda touchy-feely to me...
1
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I've read a few posts, and I think there is an answer to this question. If someone says to me, "I'm not religious, but I'm spiritual'" I interpret that in the only rational way I can. They reject organized religion and they probably reject a personal relationship with a deity, but they are still theists. They don't reject a God concept or a self-aware living designer of everything. They usually will admit to not having any evidence for this, but they enjoy the security of having a way of escaping annihilation of self at death. I think a tiny part of me is Atheistic for the opposite irrational reason, which is a fear of eternal self. I have no desire what so ever to exist forever.
paul1967
Level 8
Feb 22, 2018
0
Yes, wtf is right! The"I'm not religious, but I'm spiritual" is a meme that is as useless at the overused word awesome for everything. I attribute this partly to vocabulary laziness and most people having absolutely no idea what they are even saying. It is frustrating to hear it , no doubt.
historyman62
Level 1
Feb 21, 2018
0
It can mean many things, depending on who is using it. If the person is religious it's simply a weasel-word. If the person is me, it refers to open-mindedness; I'm not superstitious at all, but am open to the possibility of additional discovery (although I'd be far more impressed with empirical evidence than anecdotes, impressions, or feelings). We once probably would have described energy as a ghostly manifestation. We now know it's real, and not supernatural in nature.
Jakester
Level 2
Feb 21, 2018
0
Whatever anyone wants it to mean.
mordant
Level 8
Feb 21, 2018
0
I want it to mean rocky road ice cream but that doesn't make any sense. All I'm saying is that your reply isn't an answer. I think a better, more accurate response would be, the question doesn't interest me enough to warrant an investment of my time considering and forming a response.
@paul1967 All I'm saying is that spirituality is in the eye of the beholder. It doesn't have an objective definition, or even really a widely agreed / held / used one. And if you try to pin most people down on it, they just move the goalposts around. I have therefore concluded that spirituality is a bullshit term and attempting to define it is a fool's errand.
Better?
Humility? A recognition that we are part of something much larger? An appreciation of the elegance in nature? An emotional reaction to art? A uniquely deep connection with another human being? Introspection without self-absorption? Peak experience, as described by Maslow? Understanding something about reality for the first time? Seeing a natural phenomenon, such as witnessing for the first time a total eclipse of the sun or the birth of a foal, and realizing that one's jaw has dropped in complete amazement? Hearing the final chord fade away into oblivion from a 30,000 pipe organ in a massive cathedral? Viewing a sunrise from a peak you've just strenuously climbed?
One could go on, but suffice to say, to me at least, a 'spiritual' experience is often characterized by a recognition of one's place in the universe, along with a deep sense of gratitude, as well as a calming awareness of the moment in time. It is awe... it is joy... it is now... it is 'spiritual.'
pnullifidian
Level 7
Feb 21, 2018
1
@SACatWalker Spirit-like is the furthest thing from my mind. We don't have, in my view, a soul or spirit that runs in parallel to, or as a part of, our consciousness. If religion has succeeded in doing anything, it has shanghaied our sense of awe and wonder regarding the natural world. And as we don't appear to have a non-religious term for it, I am quite comfortable secularizing my spiritual experiences.
Your answer is beautiful. Many years ago, I was in Paris and visited the Jeu de Paume. And I was overcome with emotion as I viewed the paintings and thought about the suffering of many of the Impressionists. Many great writers have brought me to tears with the beauty of their prose: Faulkner, McCarthy, Chabon, etc.
It has nothing to do with god, but with celebrating the achievements of mankind, which are tangible and real. Take a stroll thru St. Peter's in Rome and look up at the dome. Another moment that brought me to tears. And this poem, "
Damnit! I think I may be a bit "spiritual," after all. Don't tell anyone.
Your description of what it means uses perfectly good descriptive and more precise words.why muddy the water calling those things spiritual since that word alludes to a thing, "a spirit" that would leave me thinking you believe in an afterlife.
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