Spiritual Journeys - Some Definitions

Spiritual Journeys – Some Definitions

 Back when I was at the University of Georgia, before I had arrived at any particular set of religious beliefs, I had a roommate named James who was spiritual in the most cliché sense of the word.  He lit a lot of incense and candles and owned lots of crystals and pictures of the moon.  I basically thought of James’ view of the world as silly but mostly harmless.
James also had a girlfriend whose belief system ran along similar lines.  However there was one particular practice that this girlfriend engaged in that bothered me.  Whenever things went wrong, whenever she was disappointed, she would repeat this mantra to herself, “Everything is perfect, everything is perfect.”   I think I loosely understand the underlying philosophy behind the mantra – that the plans of the universe are too complex for us to fathom as individuals.  But it was apparent to me that the mantra was in fact terribly destructive for this young woman.  Every time she said this mantra, “everything is perfect, everything is perfect” her stress and anxiety levels seemed to increase.  She didn’t seem to be comforted at all by her mantra.  In fact, quite the opposite, it almost seemed like a form of self-punishment, a way to suppress the expression of her true feelings and frustrations.  It’s no wonder that when we come across examples of spirituality such as this one, the ones practiced by my roommate James and his girlfriend, that a lot of us might be skeptical about what it means to engage in spirituality or spiritual practice.

 So allow me begin with some definitions and observations, based on my own insights into the universal nature of the human condition as inherently spiritual.

So, what do I mean by the word “spiritual”?

 What I mean by “spiritual” is the intuitive sense of connection that we have with all life and all creation.
If you believe in the inherent worth and dignity of all people, I would argue that that belief is grounded in some kind of spiritual intuition.  We cannot really know what it is like to be another person, yet we have a profound belief that our common humanity connects us.
If you believe in the welfare of animals for their own sake, then you have a kind of spiritual impulse welling within you.
If you feel a sublime beauty when you see the ocean or the night sky then perhaps it is accurate to say that you have a spiritual sense moving within you.
More specifically, I do not believe that to be spiritual requires any kind of belief in God or any other supernatural power.  It simply means that you believe we are all connected in ways subtle and profound, and that you find meaning in listening to those callings to connection.

While I would argue that we are all inherently spiritual in some sense, and that spirituality occasionally visits all of our lives whether we set out to meet it or not, it is a very different thing to embark upon a spiritual journey.  A spiritual journey is usually a journey that is embarked upon with intentionality, in order to deepen our spiritual understanding.

 So, what do I mean by a spiritual journey?

 One of things that has surprised me most about my own spiritual journey is how I fundamentally misunderstood the nature and direction of spiritual journeys.  Previously, I thought to be spiritual was to be more like an angel – pure and clean in intention, word, and deed.  I thought that the spiritual path was an upwards one towards enlightenment.  I imagined myself garbed in white, floating slightly above the ground, bestowing blessings on lesser mortals.  Well, what I imagined about the nature of spiritual journeys could not have been further from the truth of my own spiritual journey.

Now I know that the direction of the spiritual journeys is primarily downwards, not upwards.  As Parker Palmer explains in the insightful book “Let Your Life Speak,” the spiritual journey is one that plumbs downward into the ground of your own being.  And it is usually a path that leads downward towards humility, stripping away our pretenses at being in control.
I have discovered that my own pride and ambition were sometimes just a thin veil masking some deeply felt vulnerabilities.  I have found that long established habits of thought and action were based upon beliefs that I no longer held but had merely become accustomed to.  Basically I found that for all I thought I knew about the world, I really knew very little about myself.  It is a mystery, isn’t it, that we can be with ourselves all the time, all day and all night, and yet we spend very little time listening to our inner voice and its callings.
The essence of the spiritual journey is to try to see things, inside of us and outside of us, as they really are.  And the starting point for seeing things as they really are is to see yourself as who you really are.  The only way to do this is to spend time focusing inwards, to spend time searching your own depths and your own shadows.

So, who needs to go on a spiritual journey?

 Your readiness to go on a spiritual journey has nothing to do with your theology.  It doesn’t matter if you are Athiest, Christian, Buddhist, Wiccan, Jewish.  There is, however, I believe one critical requirement: you have to be willing to think with your heart.  If you find yourself unable to trust the thoughts of your heart, if you only trust thoughts that come from your mind, you may not be able to plumb downwards into the ground of your own being.
Here are some signs that you might be ready for a spiritual journey:
  • The roles you have taken on, which once meant so much to you, don’t seem to make sense anymore.
  • You feel that even when you are doing good things, that there is something essentially fake about what you are doing.
  • You are so busy that life just seems like a struggle to get things done.  And when one set of things is done another pops up in its place.

What might happen to you on your spiritual journey?

 The reason why we call it a spiritual journey and not a spiritual destination is that no one really knows what will happen.  The path is dark and mysterious and it is impossible to predict the outcome in advance.  In specific, the spiritual journey typically seems to be full of twists and surprises – it winds in a way that the rational mind cannot anticipate or expect.  Part of the challenge of the journey is being willing to engage in the unexpected, being willing to go along for the ride.

But here are some things that might happen to you on your spiritual journey:
  • You might spend an hour in full appreciation of your time here on this earth
  • You might find that you are able to give more freely from the hidden well of love within you
  • You might find the bravery to look at your own or others suffering without flinching, and therefore you may be able to take the first step in the long journey of healing

My own spiritual journey, first into Unitarian Universalism, and then later into the Wellspring program, has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.  It has truly transformed me, from the inside out.  Now when I claim to be a Unitarian Universalist, I do so not with embarrassment, but with pride.  I know who I am as a Unitarian Universalist, and how my faith informs my life.

I would encourage you to find your own spiritual journey with the folds of Unitarian Universalism.  If the structure of the Wellspring program appeals to you, I would encourage you to strongly consider signing up.  My fellow Wellspring alumni and I would be happy to be your companions on your own unique Unitarian Universalist spiritual journey.

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