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What is SPIRITUALITY?....Discuss

I know it has been while between blogs – but I am back – probably not back for good, or back more reliably – but for the mean time, I am back in black blogging (actually I am looking quite fetching in grey today, but that is a different blog…)

This semester I am taking a couple of classes – both of which are really interesting me, enlivening me and renewing my passion for study. In particular, I have entered the realm of spirituality but engaging with the subject “Issues in Australian Spirituality”. Thus far, it is really good – an although we had a ‘red hot go’ at defining spirituality, I thought I would put it out there (hoping that someone, somewhere will read this and respond) and ask the question –

For YOU, what is spirituality?

When I had to come up with a definition, I drew a blank. Nothing. I even struggled to come up a linkage between spirituality and the Christian ‘Holy Spirit’ – and I related that back to my traditional Churches of Christ upbringing, where it was all about God the Father, God the Son, and God the one that we don’t want to mention (Don’t mention the Holy Spirit – I did once, but I think I got away with it!!) because it doesn’t fit into our rational world view, so does spirituality have something to do with spirit?

What is spirituality? I would be interested to read anyone opinion and view on this – and I am not searching for the Christian answer – even though that is my tradition – but I am seeking anyone’s view – How would we define spirituality?

Blog On.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 17, 2006 at 8/17/2006 04:24:00 pm. You can skip to the end and leave a response.

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2:16 pm, August 29, 2006

Hey Sae,

Totally missed this post when I was on here the other day. It's a pity because I've been thinking a lot about Spirituality since last semester when I took the Spirituality subject that can lead into the one you're talking about.

We also started with a definition of what is Spirituality. Even after a semester of studying I have a hard time putting it in to words. Through the semester I found that it involved a lot of time for God and space. That's a big part of what my Spirituality is.    



11:19 pm, August 30, 2006

Hey Kim,

Good call - "God and Space" - is a great place to start trying to define spirituality.

Some definitions that I have come across from class, and other places:

David Tacey wrote, "Spirituality is about our sense of connectedness with the invisible sacred"

Jill Manton wrote that, "Spirituality is our lived response to the questions Life/God asks of us."

Tim McCowan wrote that, "Spirituality is our relationship with the spiritual dimension of life that is active in all living things - how we notice it, experience it, are changed by it, and respond to it in daily life."

while Hans Urs von Balthasar reassures us that, "No mission, no spirituality, is capable o being definied in its living centre. They all come from the infinite variety of the divine life, which always exceeds the compass of the human mind"    



2:18 am, September 19, 2006

I think McCowan definition as you have cited it is not bad. I would also draw a distinction between real and imitation spirituality.

Real spirituality involves a connection with the Holy Spirit, with the real sacred divine, with God.

What I have referred to as imitation spirituality involves the elevation of some other experience of new understanding to the position of spirituality.    



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