What is Spirituality?

Many have asked and attempted to explain exactly what the meaning of life is through the ages of history. Philosophy created innumerable schools of thought but none that where fully able to satisfy the craving of our insatiable minds. Through the interplay of these unanswered philosophical questions, Religions were born out of the few noble individuals who took a step further and attempted to give answers to the mysteries of life. Through acclaiming answers to life's outstanding mysteries, Religion and its leaders have attempted to give meaning and hope to innumerable lives through their stone-cut dogmas. It is through this system of enthralled ethics that religion created which has shaped the steps for spirituality to ascend. The impact of religion is important to understand within the evolution of human society within the context of spirituality, because it is through this evolution that ultimately gave birth to spirituality in all the ways it is perceived today. It is important to understand that being religious is not always being spiritual, and that being spiritual is not always being religious. Spirituality is something that is much different than a set of beliefs, theories or dogmas; for it is the way we swim within the ocean of life, and not what we think while we swim that allows us to be spiritual.

   The word spirit is derived from the Latin root word spiritus which simply means to breathe. The word spirituality by definition indicates the act of breathing, which is the act of giving life. Spirituality therefore can be seen as the way we give ourselves life, or even the way that we live. It seems simple in definition, but knowing this opens you up to the complexity of the many different ways we can live life. It would not be proper to call a murderer spiritual just because that is the way they lived life. Since this definition is to broad, we will narrow it down to something that fits the current understanding of this word a little more. We will define spirituality as the way to live a wholesome life, a life free of hurt, and free from giving or receiving pain or ill intentions. Even this definition, still toned down a bit, leaves the gates of heaven opened very wide, wider than most Religions will explain anyhow. To me this still does not accurately fulfill what I see as spirituality, because all I did was explain a short system of ethics. On top of wholesome living, spirituality is also seeing a certain sacred quality to the unfoldment of life, an intrinsic mystery that leaves you awestruck by the creation we exist within. This is what we will come to understand as the beauty of spirituality, because as we will further investigate, spirituality is not something that wants to mold you into a cookie-cutter set of beliefs and actions, it is rather a very wide road that many people will walk differently.

I have been on and off of this road through the past years of my life (which are young) exploring different methods of wholesome living and really becoming fascinated with the many different paths of life. Though I am still very much confused as to an absolute truth of existence, I have come to a solid and tangible realization that I had not been leading a very healthy life, and still push myself to progress on the path of living in harmony with noble ideals. The purpose of this blog is to record some of my experiences, emotions, thoughts, and practices to create an example of what living spiritually does to someone, and how and if such modest living can lead one into a life of lasting happiness and success.