What Does it Mean to You to be Spiritual?

originally posted by: Klassified

originally posted by: Thetan
a reply to: Klassified
That was a cool definition. So tell me, how does one know when they're experiencing a true connection to all that exists as opposed to a false one? Also, does one have to know all that exists to know when one is experiencing connection to said all-ness?

I'm no sage, but there is a scene in Star wars, in which Yoda takes Luke to a cave, and tells him he must go in. Luke asks him what is in there, and Yoda says "Only what you take with you". To me, everyone must enter their own cave, and come out the other side. Once you "know thyself" as the Dr. above me quoted. No one will need to tell you a real experience from a false one. Or when you are connected. We're getting all metaphysical and philosophical tonight. Lol.

The truth doesn't need to come from Dr's, we just all learn to know ourselves.

originally posted by: BubbaJoe

originally posted by: Klassified

originally posted by: Thetan
a reply to: Klassified
That was a cool definition. So tell me, how does one know when they're experiencing a true connection to all that exists as opposed to a false one? Also, does one have to know all that exists to know when one is experiencing connection to said all-ness?

I'm no sage, but there is a scene in Star wars, in which Yoda takes Luke to a cave, and tells him he must go in. Luke asks him what is in there, and Yoda says "Only what you take with you". To me, everyone must enter their own cave, and come out the other side. Once you "know thyself" as the Dr. above me quoted. No one will need to tell you a real experience from a false one. Or when you are connected. We're getting all metaphysical and philosophical tonight. Lol.

The truth doesn't need to come from Dr's, we just all learn to know ourselves.

Lol. I was referring to the member above me. Not a literal doctor.

originally posted by: Klassified

originally posted by: BubbaJoe

originally posted by: Klassified

originally posted by: Thetan
a reply to: Klassified
That was a cool definition. So tell me, how does one know when they're experiencing a true connection to all that exists as opposed to a false one? Also, does one have to know all that exists to know when one is experiencing connection to said all-ness?

I'm no sage, but there is a scene in Star wars, in which Yoda takes Luke to a cave, and tells him he must go in. Luke asks him what is in there, and Yoda says "Only what you take with you". To me, everyone must enter their own cave, and come out the other side. Once you "know thyself" as the Dr. above me quoted. No one will need to tell you a real experience from a false one. Or when you are connected. We're getting all metaphysical and philosophical tonight. Lol.

The truth doesn't need to come from Dr's, we just all learn to know ourselves.

Lol. I was referring to the member above me. Not a literal doctor.

LOL, I know, was just following the spiritual trail.

I was wondering...
Although there can only be one truth,
could there be a different ''inner truth'' to each of us?
Is this why there is not only one way to spiritualism,
Each persons mind is a different cosmos on it's own.

Look at the various cultures (and subcultures) around the world
There are many forms of exploring spiritualism
From shamans and Gurus to Mysts and Priestesses
From religion and mysticism, to sex, arts and science.

Spirit is what the ''soul'' is made of, and everything can lead you to spirituality if you ''put your soul'' in it.

Music for ex. is like a religious experience for some artists.
At the first level we enjoy some melodies.
in reality we enjoy maths, patterns of frequencies in time
Isn't it weird how some frequencies (vibrations) have an effect on our consciousness.
isn't everything around us a result of vibration?
Vibrations/notes also have an effect on liquid matter and create patterns just like the pasterns on snow.
But could the ''shadow'' of the spirit in this 3d universe we are experiencing
be the micro vibrations (electrons?) that hold all matter together?

Anyway Imo there is a cosmological truth behind every spiritual expression of Man,
and that could very well, be his own connection with the divine.

originally posted by: Dr1Akula
I was wondering...
Although there can only be one truth,
could there be a different ''inner truth'' to each of us?
Is this why there is not only one way to spiritualism,
Each persons mind is a different cosmos on it's own.

Look at the various cultures (and subcultures) around the world
There are many forms of exploring spiritualism
From shamans and Gurus to Mysts and Priestesses
From religion and mysticism, to sex, arts and science.

Spirit is what the ''soul'' is made of, and everything can lead you to spirituality if you ''put your soul'' in it.

Music for ex. is like a religious experience for some artists.
At the first level we enjoy some melodies.
in reality we enjoy maths, patterns of frequencies in time
Isn't it weird how some frequencies (vibrations) have an effect on our consciousness.
isn't everything around us a result of vibration?
Vibrations also have an effect on liquid matter and create patterns just like the pasterns on snow.
But could the ''shadow'' of the spirit in this 3d universe we are experiencing
be the micro vibrations (electrons?) that hold all matter together?

Anyway Imo there is a cosmological truth behind every spiritual expression of Man,
and that could very well, be his own connection with the divine.

You have put a whole lot of words out there to explain, embrace yourself. You are the spirit, hold on to your self.

originally posted by: BubbaJoe
You have put a whole lot of words out there to explain, embrace yourself. You are the spirit, hold on to your self.

I like your Spartan minimalism on words...

originally posted by: Dr1Akula

originally posted by: BubbaJoe
You have put a whole lot of words out there to explain, embrace yourself. You are the spirit, hold on to your self.

I like your Spartan minimalism on words...

sending ya a beer, short on words here

It's gone the way of "awesome" "genius" and "amazing". The bar is too low, so it's pretty well meaningless.

I'd shudder if someone tried to call me "spiritual".

Spirituality's right here, right now.

a reply to: sekerofknowlege

To be religious is to believe in, and adhere to, the existence of natural laws for will/spirit.

To be spiritual is to practice said laws as a way of life.

originally posted by: pl3bscheese
It's gone the way of "awesome" "genius" and "amazing". The bar is too low, so it's pretty well meaningless.

I'd shudder if someone tried to call me "spiritual".

How can the bar be to low, if I embrace my life, take care of others, and enjoy what I have?

For me it is a mixture of things. An innocent curiosity into the workings of the universe, a calming feeling of "everything is going to be okay" and a hint of purpose in this life - like everything happens for a reason and each event is guiding us all somewhere.

Sadly those things passed years ago now for reasons beyond my control and I wouldn't consider myself spiritual anymore. That's not to say I don't believe in what I used to believe, but the feeling which once went along with them just isn't there as it once was. I still lucid dream and have Obe's once or twice a year though, but I don't actively pursue meditation or visualization.

It's sad really but I truly do miss it, but once it's gone it is near impossible to get back! Maybe one day I won't find it but it will find me

Anyway, interesting post!

a reply to: BubbaJoe

Not a way of being. Good on you. I'm talking about the people who are oh so spiritual with their Chai tea and organic superfruit with love from child slave labor camps. That kind of "spiritual" LOL

originally posted by: pl3bscheese
a reply to: BubbaJoe

Not a way of being. Good on you. I'm talking about the people who are oh so spiritual with their Chai tea and organic superfruit with love from child slave labor camps. That kind of "spiritual" LOL

Oh we are talking about people claiming to be spiritual, I treat them the same way as I do people claiming to be religious.

I live my life everyday trying to be a better person, nothing waiting for me on the other side, than my ashes tossed in the river.

If the big guy upstairs is watching he knows his followerers have some very f'up'd ideas.

a reply to: sekerofknowlege

spir·i·tu·al

spir·i·tu·al [spírrichoo əl]
adj
1. of soul: relating to the soul or spirit, usually in contrast to material things
2. of religion: relating to religious or sacred things rather than worldly things
3. temperamentally or intellectually akin: connected by an affinity of the mind, spirit, or temperament
spiritual mother of the young artist

4. refined: showing great refinement and concern with the higher things in life


n (plural spir·i·tu·als)
1. folk hymn: a religious song, especially one arising from African American culture
2. things of spirit: matters concerning the spirit
He was deeply concerned with anything to do with the spiritual.

[14th century. Via French spirituel < Latin spiritualis < spiritus (see spirit)]

-spir·i·tu·al·ly, , adv
-spir·i·tu·al·ness, , n
Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

1. of soul: relating to the soul or spirit, usually in contrast to material things

As you can see there are different interpretations of the term spiritual.

I tend to make a complete distinction between being spiritual and being religious.

You can be religious and not be spiritual and you can be spiritual and not be religious.

I happen to think that being spiritual should be paramount over being religious.

Religion is a man made concept. Being spiritual transcends the human construct and pertains to a deeper understanding of the soul. The soul does not require religion. The soul requires energy and the ability to recognize a deeper meaning to the connection to the source.

Religion serves to put barriers rather than embrace the collective energy that we are as souls all a part of.

Now, words have meaning because we have been forced to communicate with them in order to convey ideas and theories about a range a many subjects and spirituality is but one.

Every soul has the power to understand without words what the existence of energy and the connection to the source is all about.

It is what it is, be what you are, embrace to power and energy that the soul provides and instead of trying to convey religious concepts about whatever god you think is the better choice, understand that human construct that has been bullied into the heads of unsuspecting naive souls is just man made semantics for the same thing.

What being spiritual means to me is being able to remove yourself from the incredibly ridiculous concept of materialistic crap and see a bigger picture, one that is designed for more than just the selfish greedy narcissistic human construct that essentially leads every civilization to it's downfall.

There is no need to try to be spiritual.
Everyone is already a spiritual being in this material spiritual realm.

I had an impulse to object to the premise that being spiritual is to suffer.


Then I thought I should be more precise -

One, being spiritually focused is to a large extent, being introverted: focused inwards.
It is the knowledge of self, delving into the deepest layers of ones internal world.
That is often stimulated by circumstances which encourage one to turn within - certain states of suffering, in which the person is unable to take action to attain what they need from the world, or fulfil desires and drives.

Powerlessness is conducive to spiritual seeking.

I consider my first few years in a foriegn country, where I could not communicate ith anyone, had no friends or relatives, my "time in the desert", because I was so isolated, and ended up doing nothing but hiking alone and meditating, thinking....
I might not have been forced inwards without those conditions.

On the other hand, with more knowledge of the self, the relationship of self and exterior can then be studied, and it brings about a more grounded exploration of spirituality - but spiritual all the same.
I don't think any extreme conditions of suffering are necessary at that point, on the contrary, they can be a hindrance to learning more.

I think a person might observe a correlation which happens, but it would be a mistake to conclude it is indistinguishable. That could become a blockage at a certain point in the path, to further growth.

Humans are spiritual beings in physical bodies experiencing one of an infinite number of realities.

Humanities spiritual evolution is learning how to use ones consciousness to its full potential.

Everything is spiritual, spiritual evolution is different for each person, everyone is evolving spiritually at their own pace.

Spiritual evolution and science are the same thing, they just haven't realized it yet.

Religion is the dead end of spirituality.

Suffering is only one experience of a spiritual existence. I see suffering as the ultimate low in a spiritual existence. I see it as an experiment in individual and collective consciousness to be as far as disconnected from the truth as possible.

a reply to: sekerofknowlege

So by your definition I am to understand that starving people in Africa are highly spiritual beings?

Spirituality is whatever we do to reach beyond our material needs.
Suffering is a very praised christian concept, but from my experience it mostly makes people bitter, resentful or hateful. I'm never impressed with people who make a point from how much they suffer for their spirituality. If they suffer, they've missed the point. In my opinion, of course.

All the masters I have ever met, christian believers included, who reached a certain level of spiritual development were serene, joyful or at peace.
And of them favorite quote was "the highest joy is the highest truth".

a reply to: WhiteHat
Actually, yes I would consider them spiritual beings. The slaves that were brought to the Americas, for example, endured some of the worst living conditions ever, and they were considered highly spiritual as they even created religious songs called "Spirituals". You would think that with all that wickedness around, they would lose faith, but they held their faith and some scholars claim it made their faith even stronger and actually helped some of them survive.

I would also have to disagree with about your second point; in my experience most people who have "started with nothing" and worked their way up are more humble, intelligent, and considerate as they themselves remember where they came from, no matter how rich they get.

This contrasts with a rich kid who never had to work hard for anything in his life, and never really felt that "am I going to be able to eat tomorrow?" feeling, there typically the three attributes you described lol; bitter, rude, no respect, etc. they never had that real struggle in life so they lack that humbleness.

Just my opinion however and obviously we can agree to disagree.