Spirituality is the same cup after the original pellet of poison has been taken out, and only the dissolved portion remains—a little less directly lethal, but still not good for you.
To the extent that spirituality is about privacy, discontinuity, lonliness, experientialism, faith and mysteriousness I must say I’m not a huge fan of spirituality either. As Michael has alluded to, there are other elements that some people would label ‘spirituality’ that are healthier and more compatible with the striving for an accurate understanding of our world. That’s ok, I have no particular interest in defending any particular use of the word ‘spirituality’. It is, after all, far too nebulous to be particularly practical as a descriptor.
Spiritual experiences, as I would describe them, involve a feeling of oneness with all of humanity and in wonder at the universe. From memory it has something to do with increased function in the left temporal lobe and a calming of the part of the brain that emphasises the seperateness of the self. I could speculate that such experience could both cut through some of the feeling of detachement that comes from seeing the universe through a lens of increasingly abstract mathematics and reinforce a motivation to set out and actually try to achieve something for that sea of humanity they feel such connection with.
In fact, were I to give description of Light Side spirituality, a spirituality that I could advocate, it would sound something like this:
...to just look up at the distant stars. Believable without strain, without a constant distracting struggle to fend off your awareness of the counterevidence. Truly there in the world, the experience united with the referent, a solid part of that unfolding story. Knowable without threat, offering true meat for curiosity. Shared in togetherness with the many other onlookers, no need to retreat to privacy. Made of the same fabric as yourself and all other things. Most holy and beautiful, the sacred mundane.
Call it ‘spirtuality’, call it ‘simple humanity’, it sounds good to me. Mysteriousness as prompt for curiousity, a marvel at the feast of understanding that stil awaits us. A whole universe of potential that lays in wait for humanity, should we choose to reach and and grasp it. A prompt to shut up and do the impossible, not out of naive faith in what we know isn’t true, but because it is what needs to be done and we know that solutions exist out there that we are yet to fathom.
To the extent that spirituality is about privacy, discontinuity, lonliness, experientialism, faith and mysteriousness I must say I’m not a huge fan of spirituality either. As Michael has alluded to, there are other elements that some people would label ‘spirituality’ that are healthier and more compatible with the striving for an accurate understanding of our world. That’s ok, I have no particular interest in defending any particular use of the word ‘spirituality’. It is, after all, far too nebulous to be particularly practical as a descriptor.
Spiritual experiences, as I would describe them, involve a feeling of oneness with all of humanity and in wonder at the universe. From memory it has something to do with increased function in the left temporal lobe and a calming of the part of the brain that emphasises the seperateness of the self. I could speculate that such experience could both cut through some of the feeling of detachement that comes from seeing the universe through a lens of increasingly abstract mathematics and reinforce a motivation to set out and actually try to achieve something for that sea of humanity they feel such connection with.
In fact, were I to give description of Light Side spirituality, a spirituality that I could advocate, it would sound something like this:
Call it ‘spirtuality’, call it ‘simple humanity’, it sounds good to me. Mysteriousness as prompt for curiousity, a marvel at the feast of understanding that stil awaits us. A whole universe of potential that lays in wait for humanity, should we choose to reach and and grasp it. A prompt to shut up and do the impossible, not out of naive faith in what we know isn’t true, but because it is what needs to be done and we know that solutions exist out there that we are yet to fathom.