What is spirituality?
the sacred work of being human
Who are we? Why are we here? How are we to live?
What is spirituality? An inner adventure of self-discovery, in search of a place of belonging. When we experience belonging, we feel at home in our world because we know who we are, why we are here, and how we are to live. In turn, we experience personal wholeness and authentic communal responsiveness. Daily life is animated by joyful humility, trust, awe, and reverence for the mystery of Life itself. Also, significant life events are celebrated with meaningful rituals. Seeking a life-affirming shelter of belonging at any given time and place in history is the sacred work of being human.
An important note: In Western culture, spirituality is primarily viewed as a personal endeavour. And yet, Western societies are currently being challenged to lift their collective gaze toward reimagining a new cultural shelter of belonging. This is a new frontier for spiritual exploration. So, spirituality currently encompasses both the personal and cultural experience of seeking a shelter of belonging. In line with such an understanding, this page will begin by outlining the characteristics of a shelter of belonging. From there it will delve into personal spirituality, followed by collective spirituality.
Page contents: What is a shelter of belonging? Transitioning from one shelter to another. A symbol for the inner adventure. Personal spirituality - tethered by unity of being. Collective spirituality - tethered by a new identity. Spiritual activism. Spirituality and various disciplines of human endeavour.
What is a shelter of belonging?
“The human heart longs to belong. We long to discover who we are. . . Yet if we cannot discover a shelter of belonging in our lives. . . we can become a victim of our longing.”
In response to our innate desire to belong, a shelter of belonging is formed by a set of beliefs assembled into a sacred narrative that addresses our existential questions and thus gives meaning to our existence and mortality. Meaning refers to an experience of identity and purpose, situated within a greater Story of Life concerning the world's origin and ongoing existence. Meaning cultivates a profound sense of belonging, both internally and in connection with the world around us. Conversely, an absence of meaning can lead to feelings of disconnection, disorientation, or even a sense of crisis. So, a shelter of belonging enables us to give meaning and experience belonging within Life’’s ongoing creative dance of being and becoming.
Many individuals find their shelter of belonging within the world’s diverse religions. For many First Nations peoples of Australia, their shelter of belonging is found in The Dreaming. Additionally, a growing number of people now identify as spiritual but not religious. They also seek their shelter of belonging. No shelter of belonging is superior to another. Every life-affirming shelter has a place within the wider human community.
A shelter of belonging
a set of beliefs assembled into a sacred narrative that gives meaning to our existence and mortality.
Transitioning from one shelter to another
“It’s lovely to have a home, habits etc. But when that beautiful home becomes a prison . . . it’s time to walk out of the door, or listen for the knock on the door.”
Over our lifetime, we may experience more than one shelter belonging. Why? Our lives unfold within a rhythmic dance of being and becoming. (For more on being and becoming see my web page The art of transformative living). Within this dance of life, belonging is experienced through the interplay of four elements:
1) Our intrinsic longing to belong.
2) Our current lived experience.
3) Our current understanding of the nature of reality and the origins of our world.
4) The pressing needs of the world around us.
Among those four elements, our yearning to belong remains unchanged. The others are constantly evolving. As a result, a once authentic shelter of belonging may become inauthentic over time.
When our shelter of belonging has become inauthentic or more like a prison, how do we walk out of the door? We embark on a sacred adventure of self-discovery amidst our present landscape and discover a shelter that now resonates with mind and heart. Such spiritual exploration is more than an intellectual exercise, it is a contemplative one. For more on the practice of contemplative inner exploration see my web page Contemplative self-enquiry. For more on transitioning from one shelter of belonging to another see the Resources page/Finding our way home: being and becoming.
A symbol for the inner adventure
The labyrinth is a symbol of the sacred adventure of seeking a shelter of belonging. As a symbol, the labyrinth picks up something of T. S. Eliot’s poetic words:
“With the drawing of this Love and the voice of this Calling, we shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time.”
living in the shallows . . . on the other side of the deep
A labyrinth has a single, twisting pathway that draws each spiritual seeker from the outer edge to the centre, then back out again. The outer edge represents the shallows of their daily lives. The path twists and turns its way from the outer edge into the centre, all the while inviting each seeker to reflect upon and explore the limitations of their current shelter of belonging. The centre represents the deep, their innermost orientating reference point beyond ego-identification. The deep comprises the generative energies of faith, hope, love, and collective wisdom. When each seeker connects with the deep, they experience unity of being. The pathway then twists and turns its way back to the outer edge enabling each seeker to integrate their insights into a refreshed, or completely new shelter of belonging.
Why does the path commence and conclude at the shallows of daily life? We are not meant to make our home in the deep. Rather, we are meant to make our home in the shallows of daily life - on the other side of the deep.
Personal spirituality - tethered by unity of being
Seeking a personal shelter of belonging is tethered by an experience of unity of being. Unity of being involves living each day with the conscious awareness that our inner-orienting reference point is the formless ground of all being, transcending yet inseparably intertwined with all forms of being. When the ground of all being orientates our living, it is as if our heart pulses in rhythm with the heartbeat of Life itself. Loch Kelly described such an experience of unity of being as:
“a dance between formlessness and form, without landing in either one.”
What is the ground of all being?
The ground of all being is not like a barren wasteland but rather resembles an untamed wilderness resplendent with the life-giving energies of faith, hope, love, and collective wisdom.
Faith ~ the drive and ability to give meaning to our existence and mortality, at any given time and place in history.
Hope ~ the possibility of inner transformation, grounded in reality.
Love ~ situated within the deeper rhythms of Life itself, drawing us toward a profound experience of belonging with self; with a wider web of human and nonhuman relationships; and with Life itself.
Collective wisdom ~ the rich tapestry of universal wisdom teachings accumulated within human experience from ancient times until now.
Uniqueness is celebrated
When we experience unity of being we find that our unique being is not sacrificed but welcomed, required, and celebrated within Life’s ongoing creative dance of being and becoming. At the same time, our selfhood is held lightly because we know it is not the centre point of who we are. Consequently, we can figuratively stand in our own ground, openheartedly.
Unity of being
standing in our own ground, openheartedly.
Helpful spiritual practices for seeking a personal shelter of belonging via unity of being are: meditation and contemplative self-enquiry. For more on these practices see the Contemplative practices page. See also Finding our place of belonging/Gentling integrating our shadow-side & Forgiveness: a pathway of inner healing.
Collective spirituality - tethered by a new identity
“No problem can be solved by the same consciousness that created it.”
Global social, economic, and climate conditions mean that our world is crying out for change; change toward a more equitable world for all life forms. Yet significant social change cannot take place without a new cultural shelter of belonging, tethered by a new identity. Why is identity the axis of social change? Our cultural identity determines our collective purpose. Our collective purpose determines our values system. Our values system determines how we, as Western societies, live within and act upon the global village. So, our cultural identity determines our collective actions in the world. Without a radical change in identity, there can be no significant change in the way we live. Consequently, while the call of our era is toward significant social change, the deeper spiritual call of our era is toward change from the INSIDEout; lifting our collective gaze toward a new cultural shelter of belonging. For more on Collective Spirituality see Resources/The what why and how of shifting the cultural mindset.
The spirit of the age - a call beyond individualism
In light of the above, the spirit of our age is inviting each of us to engage in the shared spiritual practice of shifting the cultural mindset. The shift is away from individualism which fostered a values system geared to the flourishing of the individual above all else. The shift is toward reestablishing our collective identity within the broader community of life, grounded by a principle of interconnectedness via unity within diversity. Situating our collective identity within the broader community of life will naturally foster a values system geared toward the flourishing of all life forms - human, flora and fauna, and planet Earth itself.
The shared spiritual practice of reimagining a new cultural shelter of belonging is a new frontier for Western societies. For more on this topic see the web page Evolutionary spirituality - a new frontier.
For more on lifting the cultural gaze toward a new cultural shelter of belonging see the Contemplative Practices page & Resources/The What, Why, and How of Shifting the Cultural mindset. See also the book entitled Call of the Era: being the Change through changing our Being by Kaye Twining
Spiritual activism
The spiritual call of our era could be named spiritual activism. Spiritual activism draws together the inner work of spiritual exploration with the outer work of social change. Or more particularly, the inner work of spirituality becomes the catalyst for social change. In this context, spiritual intention and practice include but also transcend individual experience. They cultivate a new cultural mindset and collective experience of belonging in the world. Consequently, spiritual activism encompasses and surpasses social activism; it aims not only to alleviate the symptoms of an unjust world but also to transform the underlying causes.
Spirituality and various disciplines of human endeavour
What is the interplay between spirituality and the three disciplines of philosophy, psychology, and the sciences? Well, spirituality both embraces and extends beyond each of those disciplines in the following manner:
Philosophy: spirituality considers the wide range of philosophical responses to existential questions. At the same time, spirituality goes beyond the intellectual understandings of philosophy, to the experience of belonging in response to such understandings.
Psychology: spirituality considers the wide range of psychological theories and therapies that focus on a healthy self-concept within community. Spirituality, however, goes beyond such theories toward the experience of belonging within self, within community, and within a greater Story of Life that gives meaning to our existence and mortality.
The sciences: spiritual exploration takes place within the light of current science-based knowledge and beliefs regarding the nature of reality, the origins of the world, and the workings of the human body/mind. Even so, spirituality goes beyond knowledge about the world, to a life-affirming experience of belonging in the world.
Thus, spirituality is not a stand-alone discipline. Rather, spirituality both includes and transcends the disciplines of philosophy, psychology, and the sciences. Consequently, spirituality is the sacred work of being human.
Resources
John O’Donohue, Eternal Echoes: Exploring our Hunger to Belong
Beverly Lanzetta, The Monk Within: Embracing a Sacred Way of Life
AnaLouise Keating, Transformation Now: Toward a Post-Oppositional Politics of Change
Loch Kelly, Shift into Freedom: The Science and Practice of Open-Heartedness Awareness