What is spirituality? \ stacker news ~spirituality

3243 sats \ 59 comments \ @anna 20 Oct spirituality

This word has such a broad definition, with so many different ways of phrasing it, that I do not think it is worthwhile to attempt to sum it up in a sentence.

What lights you up? Is there a practice that brings you to a state of bliss? Do you have a place you go to feel connected?

To me, the practices of spirituality persist to guide the many bodies in this Universe towards wholeness. Whether it is through organized religion, physical practices, personal mantras, scientific analysis, pursuit of knowledge, working with nature, something outside of words.. I want to believe all methods are valid and lead us to unifying in love.

We all feel the weight of separation in our lives. This is part of the duality of living here. Maybe we can inspire each other to feel a little more connected, whole, and loved during this lifetime.

What does spirituality mean to you?

42 sats \ 2 replies \ @plebpoet 21 Oct

In my youth, music was my connection to eternity or perfection. Now, I can't turn off my analytical mind in the same way, getting out of my own way in order to connect. I find that connection is most available when I pursue something true in secret. Writing often lends itself to such a framework.

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @anna OP 21 Oct

I think music, writing, any artistic pursuits are a great way to tap into a higher truth. I love to write and sometimes it doesn’t really feel like it’s coming from me.

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 21 Oct

I relate to this comment in a big way. I think that which we keep to ourselves is so special.

21 sats \ 5 replies \ @0200374f73 21 Oct

"Spirituality" is a psyop for the weak.
Embrace the religion of your birth, and stop being a little bitch complaining about it, saying how you're better than it, blah, blah, blah... all so tiresome.

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 21 Oct

Wanting to evolve is weakness? I don't agree. Transformation requires strength. Staying with what you were given is staying comfortable and scared.

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @anna OP 21 Oct

I have the same questions as the other replies. I wasn’t raised with a religion, I started exploring religion and spirituality later in life. (Religion is a form of spirituality in my eyes..)

Is there something wrong with changing your views as you age? I’m grateful that I came to practice religion/spirituality, it has helped me see the beauty of my life

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 21 Oct

I wasn't assigned or raised with any religion at birth. I do agree there are a lot of people that use spirituality as an escape. That has nothing to do with my journey. I have always been a seeker. I need to have my own understanding of my experiences.

22 sats \ 0 replies \ @plebpoet 21 Oct

some truth in there, but I wonder why? when there are so many religions, practices, traditions, what makes the one of my birth significant? or is it just that it happens to be there, the programming that was live at the time

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 21 Oct

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42 sats \ 3 replies \ @doubleplusgood23 21 Oct

As a younger person I had a pretty materialist and nihilistic views on spirituality.

As I grew up life became a lot more "real" and paradoxically it made me do a complete 180 on the immaterial. This spiritual change of heart also made me do a lot more "real" material things like volunteering. I think that interaction between immaterial thoughts and beliefs turning into material actions is a key factor in understanding spirituality.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @anna OP 21 Oct

I agree. You could call it Karma Yoga - doing work without attaching to the results. It took me some maturing to start practicing that as well.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 21 Oct

I agree. I have a had a similar journey in that sense. I am now looking for ways to give back every way I can and connect.

32 sats \ 0 replies \ @plebpoet 21 Oct

yes, I agree and it's why "actions speak louder than words" is simple and effective to live by

44 sats \ 3 replies \ @zapsammy 20 Oct

holistic intelligence: summoning my entire breadth of life experience, coupled with with other people's stories and supplemented with strategic reading, questioning, and searching. this information then passes thru my logical thinking as well as abstract thinking, and once i am ready, i activate my balls/guts and take action.

21 sats \ 2 replies \ @anna OP 21 Oct

I do believe there is a teacher in every person we cross paths with. I love that you mention both using the logical mind and trusting the gut (or balls if you have them haha)

22 sats \ 0 replies \ @zapsammy 21 Oct

thought has the logical and the abstract modes (left and right, roughly speaking).

unbalanced thought results in mediocre actions. oftentimes, the correct action, due to the suppression of what is the right thing to do, takes a lot of guts. that's why it feels like going against the stream, because so much of our thinking is indoctrinated, i.e. unbalanced into too much logic or too much abstract.

48 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 21 Oct

251 sats \ 4 replies \ @jbschirtzinger 20 Oct

After I wrote my sci fi book which I put here on stacker news for free, I wrote a smaller version of this book which was the pre-first edition: https://app.thebookpatch.com/BookStore/how-to-do-nothing-well---a-guide-to-meditating-actively---third-edition/cc022d00-f877-4a28-bc22-ea9e87038b00

It is a how-to manual on a modern method of meditation with updates to some older versions of meditation which were outlined in the book The Holy Science which was written by the teacher of the famous yoga fellow Paramahansa Yogananda.

There is a free read of How To Do Nothing Well here: https://books.beiteshelpublications.org/wp/free-web-read/ along with epubs and pdf versions.

I mention all this since these works are a very thorough treatment of what spirituality is in terms of the practices I wrote about there.

111 sats \ 1 reply \ @DesertDave 21 Oct

This is Important work. Thanks for the share. 💚

22 sats \ 0 replies \ @jbschirtzinger 21 Oct

Thank you! Enjoy!

120 sats \ 1 reply \ @anna OP 21 Oct

Wow, thank you for sharing! I glanced through the introduction and your book looks fascinating - I’m very excited to dive in and learn more about your perspectives / bridging the gaps between Eastern practices and Christianity. Yoga is the core of my spiritual practice. It is what I could understand as a teenager when I still identified strongly as an atheist. What I love about practicing Yoga is that it always grows with me and always supports my learning, even if it falls under other traditions.

22 sats \ 0 replies \ @jbschirtzinger 21 Oct

I'm glad you expect to enjoy it! Yoga is the science of yoking the body and its spiritual channels to the etheric world. You can, of course, get yoked to something you shouldn't be yoked to, but it's the same whether you are doing yoga or not.

54 sats \ 4 replies \ @7e6e393a56 20 Oct

I think spirituality is the search for a greater meaning in life. Religions were very important for creating morals and ethics in civilization. I have my moments of doubt, but I prefer to believe

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @anna OP 21 Oct

Absolutely. I felt very nihilistic in my younger years and doubtful that there was truly meaning to life. But I think once I learned to observe my ego and the pain that I was feeling, it became easier and easier to find meaning.

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 21 Oct

Having faith in something is so important. Even though I don't subscribe to one specific religion, I find that people who have faith in something seem to lead happier lives and offer more to their fellow man.

22 sats \ 1 reply \ @zapsammy 21 Oct

I prefer to believe

what is the difference between knowing and believing? beliefs are unique, everyone's got their own, but is it possible to know something to the point of total conviction? the cult of solipsism is strong.

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 21 Oct

I don't know anything for sure. I have faith. And I think our beliefs shaped our reality.

299 sats \ 9 replies \ @thatastrologydude 20 Oct

I am a far traveler on the road called "mysticism". There is "a way" and there is "the way". The artery is truth. The path eventually goes there, if you can swallow the bitter medicine. The bitter becomes as honey, and the world becomes an upside down joke until its corpse is redeemed and all is returned to where it began.

121 sats \ 6 replies \ @zapsammy 20 Oct

there is mysticism and then there's occult knowledge.

Latin mysticus "mystical, mystic, of secret rites"
Latin occultus "hidden, concealed, secret"

although similar, something that is secret (mystic) is a distraction for the public, to keep them away from inquiring into the real things. something that is occult can be unveiled. easy filter for me is that the -ism's are a facade. people who have more time and curiosity can venture beyond the facade and find out really interesting things - the truth.

good example is the cult of NGU: many people unfortunately get stuck in the numerology of bitcoin price. some wise few venture beyond the mysticism of bitcoin price and discover... literally everything under the sun. i think making memes about the price is helpful to activate the right-brain thru humor. like after the $69,420 we have the $77,777 and then $100k is a meme also, tho not as strong.

43 sats \ 2 replies \ @thatastrologydude 21 Oct

There is also a place where those labels no longer matter because everything is and everything is not and the world is an illusion and the reality is that which is spiritual of which the world is but a mere shadow.

32 sats \ 0 replies \ @zapsammy 21 Oct

yes, one day everyone shall leave the matter matrix, for a moment or forever =)

i use this analogy: the ladder to ascend into higher consciousness has many broken rungs, and our job is to fix the rungs for ourselves and for people who wish to ascend.

yea, yea, it's a cult and all. they made some good memes nonetheless.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 21 Oct

🙏

42 sats \ 2 replies \ @DesertDave 21 Oct

Great example. For me Bitcoin is very much part of my awakening.

32 sats \ 1 reply \ @thatastrologydude 21 Oct

The implementation is a lamppost on the path of zen. The subsequent adoption has been an exercise in grasping.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 21 Oct

Beautiful.

73 sats \ 0 replies \ @anna OP 20 Oct

A wonderful reminder of the power of perspective. It is interesting to look back with hindsight on all the ways I have created misery for myself and put blame on outside sources. That has been a bitter medicine to swallow during much of my soul searching

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 20 Oct

Beautiful. 🙏

22 sats \ 1 reply \ @ET_AI21634172398 20 Oct

I am happy this territory is here now. We have much to discuss. Much needed in the space. Thank you @anna

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @anna OP 20 Oct

I’m glad you are open to the discussion 🙏🤍

62 sats \ 15 replies \ @voxmagdalenea 20 Oct

That is an excellent question, and very hard to pin down. I started my journey being born to a mother who was searching for answers to questions, and she raised me to ask questions, search, seek. For me currently it is seeking after the Kingdom of God, whatever that is, and being open to ideas of what that is, asking those questions.

Matthew 6:33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.…

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @anna OP 20 Oct

That is a beautiful quote. I think we have a lot of distractions that keep us stuck in focus on the past and future. It is so helpful to hold onto a clear goal of what we are seeking.

32 sats \ 11 replies \ @nym 20 Oct

I'm still searching for that also. I didn't see, hear, or recognize any signs early in life, but the older I get the more I see or recognize. Partly due to loss and missing people maybe, but I think there is more to it than just that.

22 sats \ 10 replies \ @voxmagdalenea 20 Oct

Yes! I have always seen patterns and signs, but I kept it mostly quiet, when I was young my mother would tell me to keep quite about things I saw or would talk about, she told me people wont understand. We were in a small town in the 60's and 70's, things were different then. People might think its different now, but its not honestly, it seems there are acceptable things still even in the world of spirituality that can be talked about, but still separated into cliqs and groups. I think that time is changing.

25 sats \ 9 replies \ @DesertDave 20 Oct

When I started acknowledging synchronicity, it changed anything for me. I had no faith in anything before. Now I see infinite magic and possibilities all around me.

22 sats \ 8 replies \ @nym 20 Oct

I'm not really familiar with that concept. Is there a resource you could recommend?

129 sats \ 6 replies \ @voxmagdalenea 20 Oct

The concept is simple. Either everything means something or nothing does. Some say well some things mean something and some things do not, then the question begs who is the Judge of what means something or what does not? So at the point I went through an awakening process, in the ancient days they called it a Fire Rite. The awareness raises so that one can start to see all the connections and the story that it is forming. My husband and I went through this awakening process together.

So a way to explain it is you notice say a name or a word or a number, or a color, any type of information, an animal etc....Then you see it again, and again, as if something was attempting to show you something. You then will have probably some personal association with seeing or hearing this thing. It could be a song. So here is an experiment. I will go to Youtube and look and see what the first song is I see in the moment, and will follow the 'code'. Its like a drop of water on a window that starts to form and collect into a stream.

Heh....Lots of ways to follow this stream...LAMB. Is the first thing that I already saw today. It was clothing made with silver lining :)

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 21 Oct

Great explanation. 💚

126 sats \ 4 replies \ @voxmagdalenea 20 Oct

Everyone has a different way they understand synch. One thing I think about is who am I speaking to? So I can look at the name NYM and use Gematria to understand a little more...

Ah I see this already came up for me today tied to Mountains. I was talking to my husband about the Mustard Seed and Yahshuah (Jesus) saying to this mountain if you have enough faith you can move it. Which also connected to the night before my friend brought me some art he made that was a mountain range, his name means Sweeping or Broom. And it just keeps going in this long thread or stream of speaking, telling a story. I've been doing this for many years now, and at first it was very scary and intense, but then it just is. things just are :). The question then is what do I do with it?

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 21 Oct

It is what we make of it. Great comment. 💚

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43 sats \ 2 replies \ @nym 20 Oct

Thanks for the explanation. I have experienced those things as well. I will start to pay attention a little more now!

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16 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 20 Oct

I don't have anything to recommend. But it's understanding that everything happens for a reason right exactly on time. Believing that we may receive signs from the universe or God. Have you heard about seeing 11:11?

71 sats \ 1 reply \ @DesertDave 20 Oct

It's all about the now. The only time there is.

32 sats \ 0 replies \ @voxmagdalenea 20 Oct

I think that sums it up perfectly.

62 sats \ 3 replies \ @DesertDave 20 Oct

I absolutely agree with you and I don't know how to say it better. Thank you for discovering this space. I am so excited to have more conversation here based around faiths and our practices of finding higher truth. Thank you. 💚

62 sats \ 2 replies \ @anna OP 20 Oct

What practices resonate within you? I’m happy to have you here!

61 sats \ 1 reply \ @DesertDave 20 Oct

Sun gazing is my favorite. Even though I don't always practice regularly. I think anything that helps me find more stillness and silence is best for me. I always strive to more present than I was before.

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @anna OP 20 Oct

I love it. I do believe we require silence and presence to tune into truth. Our guidance can be very quiet when it appears :)