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The Benchmarks of Spirituality: Introduction
Author’s Note: The following set of articles will appear in successive issues of OMNI as a contribution towards a better understanding of what spirituality means and entails. They will explore the history of this subject with the hope that this may provide some direction for the future.
The Benchmarks of Spirituality
Introduction
There was a time, not many years ago, when it was considered bad taste to discuss two subjects in public. This was certainly true when it came to dinner table conversations. To broach these topics was a sure fire way to ensure being ostracized from future guest lists. The first was politics, and to a large extent it is still a matter that has to be approached with extreme caution and sensitivity. Enemies can be made instantly with little hope of reconciliation.
The second subject was religion. Religious beliefs were considered very personal and it behoved every one around the table to stay clear of either betraying one’s private life, or making even the most subtle enquiry into another’s belief and value system.
This could have been the result of the prevalent Protestant tradition that salvation was a personal matter between oneself and God, and no outside authority or person had any right to question one’s status with the Almighty.
This is probably still true today. But something has taken its place and it is becoming a very familiar phenomenon. It is the increasing interest to discuss matters relating to spirituality. There seems little hesitation to use the word. People are prepared to speak about the spiritual aspects of their lives without any sense of embarrassment or defensiveness. And all this is done in an atmosphere of impartial and unbiased enquiry. There is no flag waving partisanship and certainly no attempt to make converts. It is just good conversation and open for general participation.
It is also becoming evident that conferences on the subject of spirituality are burgeoning. Canada probably holds more events on this subject than any other country in the world. Book stores display the latest publications up front and not, as in the past, relegating them to the back lower shelves. And recently I visited the CBC Building in Toronto and in the atrium they were displaying books for sale on a variety of subjects. By far, the table that was gaining the most attention was the one marked “Spirituality”.
But what has brought all this about? What is it that interests people? What are they searching for and how will they know when they have found it? Are there certain benchmarks to indicate that certain activities can bear the title spiritual?
The most appealing thing about the subject of spirituality is its amorphous quality. You can use the word freely without being labelled with a particular organization, or to a particular set of beliefs and values. This means that you can enter the discussion without having to defend anything or give the impression that you have committed yourself to a prescribed way of life. Spirituality can stand for nothing in particular, and everything in general. It is a safe subject and no one gets hurt. When all this is coupled with the fact that belonging to a religious organization is no longer a prerequisite for engaging in a discussion on spiritual matters, there are no strings attached to becoming involved.
But maybe this too superficial an explanation. And I say this because there are critics who are writing off this phenomenon as just the trendy manifestation of an intellectual elite, people who have become bored or disillusioned with most other topics of conversation. It has also become apparent that everything from soup to nuts can fall under the category of spirituality. Anyone who has a particular service to offer that will benefit the human race can climb on the spiritual band wagon and ply their wares. It may be a unique form of meditation, a new method of achieving emotional wellness, informed nature walks, or some new form of liturgical expression. As a result this can give people the impression that the term spirituality can apply to everything under the sun. In all fairness, it may very well be the case that what these people have to offer has a spiritual dimension, but how can we be sure? What are the signs that something deeply spiritual is happening?
It is often the case that the people who are responsible for initiating this renewed interest are themselves emerging from an established religious base. And although they may be experiencing a kind of healthy dissatisfaction with that base they are, nevertheless, deeply committed to a new journey of faith that reaches beyond their present position. It is not necessarily done out of anger or spite. It is not that they want to abandon the past and throw out everything that has shaped their lives up to this point. It is more a pursuit that has the characteristics of an exploration. It is reaching out for new words, new thoughts, and new perspectives on what is truly meaningful in life. It is really the unique and innate characteristic that makes us human. It is the desire to grow beyond where you are and take a step closer to understanding of what is good, beautiful, and true in life. This is a genuine pursuit and worthy of our attention.
The Elusiveness of Spirituality and Spirit
When people use the term “spirituality”or “spirit” to describe an experience or an aspect of their inner lives, there is usually one common thread in everything they say. They betray a confident ability to articulate what it is not, and an uncanny inability to describe what it is. They will make it very clear that it is not another religion, it is not a new set of beliefs and values, it is not a creed, it is not a prayer book, it is not a new repository of holy writings. But when it comes to describing what it is there is a definite absence of clarity.
Those who are more tolerant and patient may conclude that this is just a passing phase in the quest for a new understanding, and that if we wait long enough a clearer definition of what spirituality is will emerge in due course. This tolerance and patience is no doubt fuelled by the expectation and desire that everything should be clearly circumscribed with a kind of objectivity in order to give it credibility. If it can not be analysed in an objective and rational manner, then it is not worthy of consideration. This may be the prevalent attitude in an age of scientific reasoning, but it was not always the case. There was a time when the inability to articulate a profound truth was not only accepted, but also held in high regard. This was certainly the case with “spirit-talk”.
In virtually every language and culture the word spirit has been used to refer to the inexplicable and undescribable, a part of our reality that does not have the same boundaries and parameters as non-spiritual things. Within Hebrew literature the words “ruach” and “nephesh” were used as reference points for spirit. In the story of Creation “ruach” was the wind that moved above the waters, and in the course of time gave shape and form to the world, and “nephesh” was the breath that infused humankind and gave people life.
Spirit was something conceived externally as the wind - “ruach” - and internally as the breath of life - “nephesh”. In both cases, it was something you could not put your finger on until it achieved some kind of living form. In itself, it was elusive and lacking objectivity. In its influence, it gave life and meaning to the objective world. Consequently, as soon as you try to define spirit it immediately loses its spiritual character and becomes something else. Small wonder that people can tell you more about what spirituality is not, than what it is.
John Spong, in his book “Why Christianity Must Change or Die”, describes this elusive quality about spirit. He says: “Spirit is a nebulous, hard to define, totally subjective concept. It is therefore amenable to a wide variety of interpretative data. This word appears to point to a presence that is assumed to be real but cannot be easily described. It speaks of a discontent rising out of the human situation that compels us to venture into the unknown. It carries within it hints of transcendence or limitlessness, a destiny perceived but never fulfilled or a reality acknowledged but never proved. It is almost a universal human habit to interpret with the language of spirit our holy moments, our God experiences, and our glimpses into that which may be beyond out grasp.” (p.101)
But in spite of its elusiveness, Spong does use some interesting words to describe the characteristics of spirituality and the experiences associated with spiritual activity. He speaks about the inability to adequately explain and describe the experience, the discontent associated with the experience, the compelling nature of the experience, and its transcendent and limitless nature. Spong is really making reference to what could be called the benchmarks of spirituality.
The purpose of the following chapters will be to try and identify these benchmarks more closely, with the hope that a clearer understanding of these characteristics will give us the assurance that we are indeed engaged in some form of spiritual enquiry. In other words, what are the benchmarks in the history of spirituality that have benefited human kind? But in order to do this we need to look at spirituality with respect to other important subjects such as religion, philosophical enquiry, multifaith traditions, religious experiences, and other areas of life where spirituality might have had some impact.
Paul Chidwick is the Editor of OMNI.
Posted by editor on September 30, 2003 10:54 AM