الخميس، 15 أغسطس 2013

Spiritual Growth And Why It Makes A Difference

مرسلة بواسطة Unknown في 7:31 ص
By Therese Yemana


Spiritual growth has long been an important part of a person's sense of wellbeing, even before man has conceptualized the word and broke it down in many ways in which it eventually ended up in different methodologies on how one can build upon it. You name it - yoga, karma, or perhaps reincarnation. There are so many that they range from the most mystical to the most practical. But even if you are treading your own "spiritual path", or in deep need for spiritual fulfillment, an in-depth understanding of what spirituality is can be quite useful in more ways than one.

In order for us to fully comprehend what spirituality means, perhaps it is essential that we discuss the meaning of the root word itself, which is spirit. Spirit is an intangible property, one that alludes to something incorporeal, something mysterious and not bound by the material world. The most hailed scholar and physicist, Albert Einstein, alluded to spirituality through these words: "The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious - the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science." This brings us to the two things that he mentioned - art and science. These two indulgences have dominated human's consciousness in the process of achieving answers to the mysteries that have confounded us about the universe. These two distinct establishments, polar opposites they may be, have paved the way to advancement in the realm of technology and human awareness.

The search for answers is deeply rooted to our innate need to gain knowledge about ourselves, and how we are connected to everything around us. Mundane activities like fixing a car engine or observing an ant farm are unconscious manifestations of that need, and in consequence, related to spirituality. You only have to read Robert M. Pasig's magnum opus, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, to understand what I'm talking about. While this contradicts the idea of spirituality as something not bound in the material world, these physical avenues are helpful channels that allow us to achieve that transcendence, and in turn present to us a peek into the mysterious.

Many people achieve spiritual sustenance through meditation. Meditation is a process of serious contemplation, or turning inward to attain a profound condition of peacefulness, focus and awareness. The idea of meditation came from the Eastern cultures, and it has been developed by the West as a form of prayer. Buddhist monks are astute in their belief that meditation is the best way to Enlightenment, which explains the sanguine temperament through which they deal with others.

A typical false impression many people make is having the notion that spirituality is exclusive to religion. While it's true that religion has helped many people to lead spiritual lives, it only suggests a few aspects that constitute the whole concept of spirituality. Spirituality is a confluence, a heightened understanding of what we are and how we are connected to the whole spectrum of life, and the discernment that everything is equally important and dependent on each other.




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