What is Spirituality, Part I: A Different Way to See the World

Do you think of yourself as a spiritual person? Probably not. Why?

Because I have met very few people who claim to be spiritual, although they often are.

In a way spirituality is simple, although never easy. And it is not the same as being religious. You can be religious and not be spiritual, and you can be spiritual without many traditional religious elements.

Religion tends towards the intellectual and the institutional. It has to do with belief systems, creeds, rituals and involvement in groups, such as congregations or synagogues or other groups one finds throughout the many religions of the world. Religion has been an essential part of my life, and I still find deep meaning and purpose through my religious faith and church connections.

Spirituality is more individualistic and, in some ways, private, having to do with how one see’s the world, God’s relationship to that world and what one senses God is calling one to do and be in the world. This does not, however, mean always going it alone. Just stop by a Franciscan monastery or a Sisters of Charity convent and you will find spiritual people not only praying together, but also working and serving together. You can find the same, in a different way, in many churches and social movements, such as  Witness for Peace, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, Catholic Charities or Jewish Family Services.

I have been writing this blog,  Meandering Spirituality, with some 65 posts over 8 years, without ever actually reflecting on what, exactly, is spirituality. Over the next several posts I will share what I have learned about spirituality and what my experience has been trying to grow as a spiritual person as a way of helping you reflect on your own spiritual journey.

Let me begin with what we call Spiritual Direction, which is done under the tutelage of a Spiritual Director, who is a person, often a priest or pastor or Catholic sister, who has been trained and certified as a Spiritual Director.

I have had two Spiritual Directors over the years, both Protestant clergy, one Methodist and one Lutheran. The person I worked with the most is the late Pastor Scott Haasarud (you can find my Tribute to him in the list of topics on the right side of this blog.) Scott was a Lutheran pastor who was also trained in Jungian psychology and in Spiritual Direction (including teaching others to be spiritual directors).

I had many profound experiences driving up to Scotts’ house, walking in the door left open for me, climbing the stairs to his office, sitting in a very comfortable chair surrounded by walls of books, with Scott’s dog, Taz, at my feet. And Scott would usually begin with a question, something like: “So, Brian, what is God doing in your life right now?”

And, as is typical in any kind of therapy session, I would begin by sharing a challenge I was facing, something I was worried about, a decision I was trying to make, a problem I just couldn’t get my head around. Yes, Spiritual Direction has a psychological dimension, and Scott, like any good therapist, would often point out that aspect of my issue. But, unlike a traditional psychologist or therapist, the psychological was not the main point: it was a beginning point moving towards the spiritual, which might include questions such as: What do you think God is calling you to do in this situation? What might you learn about God and God’s world through this experience? What do you think Jesus would do with this problem or challenge? Do you have friends or other church members who can support you as you try to find a spiritual path through this experience?

My description of this blog from the beginning has--as you can see on the top of this page—tried to highlight this perspective: “I am a theologian. Everyone is a theologian. If you look at your life, if you look at the world, and you reflect on the relationship of God to your life and the life of the world, you are a theologian. You are a spiritual person.”

This is the sense in which, as I said at the beginning, spirituality is rather simple. It “simply” has to do with looking at what is going on in one’s life and searching for God’s relationship to whatever that experience is. But that is where it can quickly get complicated, right? Figuring out where God might be leading us, or what God might be trying to teach us, or how one might respond spiritually with people with whom one might be in conflict, is not always easy. And, even when one gains insight, carrying that insight into action also may not be simple.

For example, right now our lives have been turned upside down by this once- in-a-hundred-years pandemic. And we likely spend plenty of time thinking about and talking about the scientific, economic, and political dimensions of this crisis. Spirituality simply adds a whole other (and, I would argue, the most important) set of questions. What can I learn about God through this experience? What can I learn about other people? What can I learn about myself? Is my spirituality calling me to a different perspective on what is happening? Is this a time to really do a “values clarification,” and figure out what is most important to me in life (and what I can let go by the wayside). What is God calling me to do (or not do) right now? What does it mean in this context to “love my neighbor?” What does it mean to trust the future to God? For what might I pray? Is this a time to deepen my faith and spirituality? If so, how might I do that?

In future posts I will reflect on some of the perspectives and practices of spirituality. Most of us have probably never been given a time such as this when we have a unique opportunity to reflect on our spirituality and to practice spiritual disciplines that might take us deeper into life and the world.

However, before doing that, in my next post I will discuss one way a spiritual person might reflect on our present trauma, focusing on suffering and love.