What Is Spirituality? Can You Lose It?

a reply to: Itisnowagain

Agreed, brother.

“Come, come, whoever you are,
Wanderer, idolater, worshipper of fire,
Come even though you have broken your vows a thousand times,
Come, and come yet again.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.” -Rumi

originally posted by: Itisnowagain

originally posted by: calstorm
Too look down on the nonspiritual is not love or spiritual. It is excessive pride and ego.

To look down on the unspiritual is to not realize that all is spirit.
The one that all appears in is not made of anything other than all that is appearing. Or to put it another way - all that appears is not made of anything other than spirit.
If there is a thought which says one is more spiritual than another then there is a belief in more than one - so the point has been missed.

So if you look down on you negative traits and do something to eradicate it then it is wrong. Ia that what you mean? Do you mean we should keep all our bad habits because they are part of us.

We are here to perfect the spirit; to cleanse it as it were. That is the point of our existence.

Sadly the world sees Spirituality as not being compatible with cracking the whip and being tough. No wonder there are no spiritual people heading big companies, in politics or any place of power. The "politically correct" or shall we say "spiritually correct" people are just sitting quietly and not having the courage to confront and accuse and restore justice where is is required.

I heard that a lot of saintly peole such as mother theresa were quite tough individuals who swore and had tempers and if they considered someone to be out of line they would confront.

We need strong individuals to go in politics and not be afraid to point their fingers at those who are taking us for a ride and causing pain in the world. That can only be done by accepting that there are people out there who are functioning below the minimum level of decency and spirituality and take them to task.

Otherwise just carry on sleeping and meditating while the world quickly becomes a jungle of Dog eat Dog.

a reply to: crowdedskies
If one is seeing negative and positive, right and wrong, good and bad then one is trapped in duality and there is no peace to be found. If you are not at peace then you are in conflict with the world and will fight with it.
All is arising presently in you as you but there is an idea that you live in a world - that there are two things (you and the world) - realization of spirit is to realize that there is not a you and a world, that instead there is only the space of now and what arises and subsides as it.

originally posted by: crowdedskies
So if you look down on you negative traits and do something to eradicate it then it is wrong. Ia that what you mean? Do you mean we should keep all our bad habits because they are part of us.

If looking at yourself you see something wrong then you are suffering - you want something which isn't - does that make for contentment? The human condition is to want (seek) something which isn't - it is impossible to seek something which is. One looks outside this present experience for something other, something more, something better - when in reality there is only ever what is actually happening - the thought about other is just appearing as part of the one scene that is appearing.
Realizing that all is appearing now and subsiding now may make one realize one has no control over what is happening - but thought pretends it has control and chatters on about how things should not be the way they are and that someone should do something about it.
Just notice that the mind can be noticed - mind is nothing but thought appearing presently. Notice that which is witnessing (noticing) - it is there but gets overlooked.

a reply to: Itisnowagain

Yep, that's why we aren't here to pursue perfection. Perfection and imperfection are pairs of opposites and leads to dualism. We are here to make whole. Only unconditional love and compassion can do that.

That's why Christian mysticism, as epitomized in The Cloud of Unknowing, is about letting go of concepts and judgments and taking only love into the Cloud.

originally posted by: BlueMule
a reply to: Itisnowagain
Yep, that's why we aren't here to persue perfection. Perfection and imperfection are pairs of opposites and leads to dualism. We are here to make whole. Only unconditional love and compassion can do that.

There is only the unconditional and because it is unconditional it allows everything, including what some may call evil - absolutely everything is allowed to happen/appear. That which appears never repeats, it is so diverse and unconditional.
This is realized.
The dream of separation makes one believe one is separate to the experience so one feels one can control the present happening - this happens because of the belief in other times, just because thought tells stories with words like past and future but thought can only speak and be heard presently/now.
All happens in the space of now - you are now and now constantly appears different.

originally posted by: St Udio
spirituality is a lost-cord...it is as truly attainable as the 'Philosophers Stone'...good luck with living in a dream world...

All those who believe that spirituality is a lost-cord are in reality the ones living in a dream world.

All of us are spirit beings whether we choose to accept it or not.

Choosing to bury your head in the sand seems to be a flaw in the human mind.

People choose ignorance on purpose in order to feel comfortable.

It is basically an indication of weakness.

a reply to: Itisnowagain

But, we can affect change, yes? It is within our power to do so isn't it? Unconditional allows all possibilities (even ones we may consider negative), but it cannot be a lost cause to choose love. And if more and more (everyone) chose it there would be much more ease of experience and much less suffering. Just because unconditional allows the 'negative/evil/bad' does not mean we NEED to just tolerate it.

We are here to experience and that hunger for growth was put within all of us--unconditional or not it seems a fallacy to ignore it and label it as a distraction into dualism. Dualism is what we are here to experience and if that means working our physical life to 'move up' in the world, study and change ourselves to 'fit in' with the world then so be it.

Honestly though, I feel like I've come full circle here lol. Sorry if I've just confused everyone.

I'm thinking that a perceived loss of spirituality is intentional. Part of the (your) plan so to speak. And it obviously wouldn't follow the same path for everyone. You feel you are experiencing yours after having some profound experiences, but I don't know if it could be because you were using the experiences and good feelings the wrong way. IF they were wrong they would only remain so if you never dig deeper then that in your future. Then again ALL experiences are relevant and come from a place of freewill.

I feel I've experienced my 'fall' as well several years ago. I'm only just now getting to a place where I've realized that I can choose to say/believe one of a few option:
"I have not recovered yet from this loss of spirituality"
"I am still recovering from this loss and have more to 'deal' with"
Or "This loss is not the now and I have already taken what I needed from that experience".

My loss of spirituality did not come during a time when I was particularly spiritual, but it did show me that I'd been standing on a specific base of beliefs built from childhood. And, I dunno, that base just seemed to shatter after a dramatic reaction to a suicide in my extended family. I share this I guess to reiterate the uniqueness of these spiritual chasms we are meant to attempt.