SPIRITUALITY IS NOT…?

There are a lot of things in the world that present themselves as spirituality that really aren’t. And these things can become frustrating and painful detours on our spiritual journey. It’s so important to recognise what we’re really seeking for on our spiritual quest—and what we’re not looking for.

In this episode of the EvoFaith podcast, we explore what spirituality is NOT and why it’s important to identify things that draw us away from the deep and rich life we seek.

HOW WE COME TO SPIRITUALITY

Most of us come to spirituality in one of two ways. Some of us inherit our spirituality from our families. We are raised in the family faith and we adopt it as our own. Others come to spirituality out of some experience of grief or trauma, or some awareness that we’re missing something deeper and more meaningful in our lives, or from a longing to be more fully alive. 

However we may come to spirituality, we almost always stay because we experience some pain that we hope our faith will heal, or we have a need that we hope our spirituality will meet, or we aspire to a better life that we hope we will find through our spiritual practice. 

And usually, as we begin to seek that sense of healing and ‘More’ that we need, we turn to some kind of community or organisation. We hope that if we join with others who are seeking what we are, they will help us to learn what we need to know and find what we long for.

For many of us, that works for a while. But over time we begin to realise that there is a difference between the organisation we belong to and the experience of spirituality that we long for. And then we begin another quest. We start to search not for a religion or a community, but for a greater sense of reality, life, authenticity, meaning, and mastery within ourselves. 

And that’s why I want to spend the next few weeks talking about spirituality—what it is, what it isn’t, why it’s important, and how to nurture a customised, life-enhancing spirituality for yourself. I think it’s really important for us to examine these questions and I hope you’ll join me as we explore them together. 

WHAT SPIRITUALITY IS NOT

Let’s begin with this one: what spirituality is NOT. You may find it helpful to identify your own thinking about this. Take a few moments and complete the following sentence in as many ways as you can: Spirituality is not…

There are a lot of things in the world that present themselves as spirituality that really aren’t. And these things can become frustrating and painful detours on our spiritual journey. It’s so important to recognise what we’re really seeking for on our spiritual quest—and what we’re not looking for.

So here are some things that often get called spirituality that aren’t—at least not in themselves:

Spirituality is not religion

The first that needs to be mentioned is religion. Religion is often thought of as synonymous with spirituality, but it really isn’t. Religion and spirituality are two completely different things. As a friend on Facebook commented the other day, “Religion is but a container; spirituality will not be contained.”

Spirituality is not God

The second important thing that needs to be mentioned is God. It is common to think that spirituality is all about God. It’s about believing in a god, following a god, obeying a god, worshipping a god. And if that is helpful for you, then that’s wonderful. But it is also possible to have a rich spiritual life and practice without reference to a God at all.

Spirituality is not separate from physicality

And finally, we may make the mistake of thinking that spirituality is about things that are not part of our physical world, universe or reality. We often fall into this dualism where we see spirit as completely different and separate from matter. Spirituality then is about the spiritual realm, the ‘other world’ that isn’t human, isn’t the earth, isn’t physical. But this is a false separation. I don’t believe that there is a spiritual world separate from the physical one. The two are completely one and spirituality is not only about parts of life or parts of the universe. It is about everything.

SO WHAT?

What would you add to this list? Leave a comment below and tell me what else, you would say, may seem like spirituality but actually isn’t.

Why is this important? Well, quite simply, because when we view things as spirituality that really aren’t they distract us and mislead us. We give our time and energy to things that don’t bring us the meaning, fulfilment, wisdom, love, connection, and life we seek. And some of these things can even do us harm because they control us and use our energy for their own benefit and not ours. So it’s really important that we recognise what we really seek, what we really need, and what will really help us get there.

If you’ve found this post helpful, then I encourage you to pop over to EvoFaith.com and sign up for our free email newsletter. When you sign up you’ll receive fuller versions of my podcast posts that include tips on how to apply these ideas to your life in practical ways.

There are so many ways you can learn to show up more fully, authentically and courageously in your life. I don’t have all the answers, and I can’t predict what will help you. But I can offer some ideas that you may find helpful and that may guide you to find what works best for you. So I hope you’ll join me in the next two weeks as we explore what spirituality really is, and how to create a life-enhancing spiritual practice for yourself.

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