All right, what the hell does 'spiritual' mean?
You're tired of living for paychecks and shopping, but you definitely don't go to church on Sundays. Welcome to the land of "spiritual but not religious."
Jesus pointed out that God didn’t hang out inside church spires and pews. Buddha made it clear: we’re all already Buddhas, we just haven’t realized it. So I bet they’d be cool with this report from Pew: 27 percent of U.S. adults said in 2017 that they’re “spiritual but not religious.” That’s up from 19 percent in 2012.
Forget eating crackers at churches. Forget Zen retreats at monasteries. Embrace spirituality without the formality. Sure, great. But I have no idea what “spiritual” means. That does’t stop me from using the word, just like everyone else. But if we’re throwing around such a heavy noun, shouldn’t we know what we mean?
I’ll start here: I do know I tend to label some thoughts, feelings, and actions as spiritual. They involve concepts like these:
The concept of “I” is an ego-constructed, occasionally useful, but often destructive illusion separating me from the truth that all beings—living, dead, organic, nonorganic, bug or stone—are one.
Separation is bad. Unity is good.
Devaluing activities that feed the ego-driven concept of “I.” Examples: Chasing awards, racing after wealth, or hoarding possessions, experiences, or relationships. This is problematic because the entire purpose of the capitalistic culture I live in is to do exactly the things I intuit are not spiritual.
Much of what I think and feel is a story constructed by my biology, psychology, and society to acquiesce to social norms and elevate selfish, material, ego-driven needs.
Generosity, love, protection, sharing, gentleness, connection, and truth should guide my actions, words, and thoughts.
This life will pass quickly. How I live my life—how I treat others and all elements of life itself—will matter infinitely more than the Objects of “Successful” Life (OSL) I have won according to the rules laid down by the culture I happen to live in.
What our bodies are screaming out for right now is often not what we need. It’s the yowl of animal looking for a victory. I’m not talking about being thirsty or hungry.
Great. Got my bullet points. If I carry them around, does that make me spiritual? Or do I have to go into a building and talk about them with other people? Buddhism sees your community of fellow travelers—Sangha—as one of the three pillars of the practice. But isn’t that getting awfully close to practicing a religion? Augh! But do I even need them if I already believe we are already one? Augh! And have I turned a spiritual practice into just another tool for trying to accumulate relationships, material comforts, and achievement, but “spiritual” versions of them? Augh!
Don’t know if there is a way out of this circle. Better go meditate on it.