Here is an interesting article on Spiritual practice. For those who chose to take this path or for those who are curious as to why their friends are taking this path, read on. This is Part I in a three-part series and I will post it as it comes out.
Shedding some light on spirituality in practice
April 20, 2008
By Michael J. Murschel For The Courier News
April 20, 2008
By Michael J. Murschel For The Courier News
Editor's note: This is the first of a three-part series on spirituality. We start by describing what spirituality is and, more importantly, what it is not. Next will be what spirituality means in the lives of individuals. Third, we explore the role of organizations in fulfilling spirituality for their members.
Today, it's a buzz word. But it has been a practice for millennia. It spans cultures and continents, peoples and politics, the sacred and profane.
While it pervades everything and everyone talks about it, no one person, group, religion, cult or sector understands it the same way.
It is spirituality -- a primary building block of theology, politics, power, marketing and fads.
Its phantom fluidity came into focus for me several years ago when I hosted several radio shows on religion. Among those joining me were clergy and leaders from the Baha'I, Baptist, Islamic, Jewish, Lutheran and Unitarian communities. When asked if they would be interested in doing a show on spirituality, the conversation quickly turned to what that meant.
Does spirituality deal with our relationship with God? Which god? Is it about our relationship with other people? Our environment? The list went on with questions as different as the faiths represented.
Spirituality is not religion, though religion contains a spiritual component. One can have spirituality with neither faith nor religion.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines spirituality as "relating to or affecting the human spirit as opposed to material or physical things; or relating to religion or religious belief."
Faith is "complete trust or confidence; or strong belief in a religion; or a system of religious belief."
Religion is "the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods; or a particular system of faith and worship; or a pursuit or interest followed with devotion."
Think of spirituality as part of a holistic approach to effective living. Holism is embraced by a host of health and wellness venues today, including hospitals, counseling centers and health clubs among them. It refers to the integration of body, mind and spirit to care for the entire person or organization.
Religion, the physical expression of faith, relates to body. Faith, the interpretation of the experience of spirituality, relates to mind. And spirituality, well, relates to spirit.
As a practitioner in the wellness field, I have found over the years that 95 percent of individuals and congregations who consult with me find adding spirituality to their sessions translates into more rapid progress toward their goals.
Most confusing is not everyone considers a sense of God as part of their spirituality and as a result don't think they have any spirituality because they don't acknowledge or relate to God in any sense. (Does that mean atheists have spirituality?)
By definition, spirituality is whatever a person or organization holds or recognizes -- or what it holds most sacred -- as central to its functioning and interpretation of its world or marketplace. Could be that God doesn't show up on the radar screen at all; it might be money, or prestige, or raw power.
But who am I and why am I qualified to lay all this on you? My private practice involves working with individuals and communities of faith to more fully understand the workings of the sacred, to plan and implement ways to more effectively integrate this into their experience and communicate it to others through clarifying their sense of the sacred, their identity and image.
I bring to this a master's with emphasis on pastoral care and local theology from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago; decades of writing about, studying and consulting for faith communities and the spiritual experience; and working on staff in congregations and seminaries. I am in the process of earning credentials in spiritual direction through Batavia-based Innermission's School for Spiritual Companioning.
In working with individuals and a wide array of denominations, I have discovered that although the language of spirituality is blurry and often confusing, there are basic building blocks to be applied across its varied waterfront.
How all this begins to fit together is the focus for next time as we consider the role of personal spirituality.
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