SPIRITUALITY: What Is It?

By John Maerz BA LMT

     In this day and time a lot of attention has been give to being spiritual. With so many philosophies and approaches to life, it’s obvious that there will be many differing perceptions of what spirituality is. When someone says they’re spiritual, what does it mean to them and what are they trying to say about themselves to others?

     Webster’s defines spiritual as “of or pertaining to the spirit or soul, as distinguished from the physical nature.” From this we can assume that being spiritual might be freedom from any physical encumbrances that the physical world may present that seem to interfere with what we think the tangible expression of the soul should be. Yet, isn’t the true manifestation of the soul the cleanest rendition of our expression in the physical? Isn’t, then, what is spiritual much broader than what the dictionary might assert?

     How many times have you heard someone say that their goal is to live a spiritual life? What usually then follows is a description of an attitude toward life that anything of a disturbing physical nature is labeled as bad or to be shunned. Listening to that, we can only shake our head in disbelief at the torrent of illogic and impracticality about living on this earth that follows. How can we live a spiritual life with no body? We still have to eat, have a home, raise our kids, drive a car, shop in supermarkets, right? No matter how spiritual we may claim to be, the fact is, we still have a body to take care of, if not a family. Yet, many of us spout the metaphysically inherited statement that all life is an illusion or is composed of Maya. We then have to ask, “What, then, is the physical?” Why is there a physical world? Is it truly an illusion? We’re also told that that in order to be spiritual, we’re supposed to learn to live without desire. Does our hunger just evaporate when we’ve accepted Jesus? Does our pain go away when we put our trust in Allah? When we ignore our body and the physical world are we at peace in being at one with all that is? It’s my belief that we have become so overly immersed in the physical world and the fear of it “infecting” our purity of spirit that we’re left feeling that the only way to feel whole is to be free of it. At the crux of the matter is the fact that we view life in polarities. We constantly try to push away that which we think doesn’t fit into our idea of “holy.” That usually includes, oddly enough, all those qualities and issues within ourselves that contribute to our recognizing ourselves in others and that include what we do and don’t like about ourselves. If we push black away, can there still be white? If we push away pain and suffering, can we still feel love and joy? If we eat ourselves silly do we end hunger? If we have many lovers, do we banish loneliness? These may seem like ridiculous questions but they make a very valid point. To banish any part of a polarity from our awareness, its opposite vanishes from our experience with it as well. If we banish our sensitivity to pain, we lose our ability to feel joy and love. If we banish hunger by gorging ourselves, we lose our ability to taste. If we surround ourselves with many lovers, the possibility of specialness is gone. Have you ever eaten a full box of chocolate? How long was it before you could tolerate another morsel?

     To become “spiritual,” it is necessary to rise above the polarity of preferences that we so vehemently ascribe to. That means accepting the polar opposites as part of the whole. THIS is what is meant by being unconditional. This means accepting pain as an intrinsic part of love. This means accepting bitter in the savoring of heavenly flavors. In the same vein, accepting the hedonistic tendencies in ourselves, our animal nature and our bodily cravings that run so contrary to our “expected civilized behavior” is also necessary to become aware of the finer beauty and peace of our more subtle nature. To accentuate or deny this aspect of our nature overshadows the peace that we could be living in. Union is the force that relaxes the polarization of them. It is a not so much a function of letting go but of allowing. The personal resistance in the polarizations of what we do and don’t accept is what creates the imbalances in the chakras that restrict the free and upward flow of Kundalini. Allowing the natural reunion and cycling of these yin verses yang forces is the epitome of Zen stating that “all is as it should be.” This is where the I Ching states that “there is action in non-doing.” This is what is referred to in the Tao Te Ching as the “uncarved block.” Think about this and mediate on it. To be somebody incurs struggle and defense. To be a nobody brings peace and contentment. Most people who are ambitious see this as laziness. The spiritually aware man knows that it takes more strength and courage to allow nature to run its course than to “save face.” The business man grows through separation and daily gain. The wise man, or truly spiritual man, grows through union and daily loss. Think about it…