Spirituality

“Spirituality involves the recognition of a feeling or sense or belief that there is something greater than myself, something more to being human than sensory experience and that the greater whole of which we are part is cosmic or divine in nature.” – Dr. Maya Spencer

The article stated above is one of the many unending views on what is the real meaning of spirituality, which I find it as the most standard of all, well at least to my own level of wisdom and understanding on this delicate topic. Many people have their own understanding of the true meaning or definition of being spiritual or spiritualism, none can be truer than the other, I am inclined to think that everyone is right depending on the circumstance he or she find themselves in.

Several times spirituality and religion have been interlinked at the extent of been seen as one and the same, but I feel that is wrong and spiritualism should not be one sided or pushed to be one concept as it is a very broad theme and requires open-mindedness at all costs.

It involves a process of making one's mind free from fears or worries and experiencing peace and living in harmony, it is an individual's search for ultimate or sacred meaning and purpose in life, furthermore it is about living in the present, looking beyond self and seeing the beauty of things at most if not at all times in a realistic perspective as far as life is concerned. Different people have different meanings as to why they exist, their objectives, their goals, their beliefs- for example;

Why am I here?

I do believe everything that is created or built out of nothing has intended purpose to achieve, thus we were created to achieve a goal whatever that may be, in fact if that purpose or goal is not met for whatever reason there is a great sense or feeling of emptiness in one’s heart that cannot be redeemed unless that particular goal is achieved. No amount of materialism or pleasures of life can replace this feeling of emptiness, when we were young and in school for instance, we were taught on the values of hard work to achieve success or rather one can achieve anything as long as you stay committed and put all your efforts to it; but sometimes this is not always the case, life has never been a straight line no matter what you believe in, human beings are programmed to have challenges well at least once in their life time.

It is our spiritual sense that enables us to overcome or not overcome these challenges because challenges are part of human nature which everybody should understand if they really want to achieve that purpose, and so when it is not met or you don’t really know why you exist a feeling of importance lacks in you and that is when a sense of ego gets the better of you- this also answers the question of why we exist in this universe in the first place.

Ego is a person's sense of self-esteem or importance; it is the part of mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity. Sometimes rather most of the times spiritualism has been used negatively as far as egos are concerned. The belief that because I am a man I should not be seen crying or showing my emotions to the universe is off to be honest, as a man I should not feel pain or rather I should not show it, a man is not allowed to go through some staff- there are some staff I cannot live through, do you know who I am? Having an ego is there for everybody it is naturally in the spirit, how you use it determines rightfully so your character. It is a feeling of entitlement, it is an over belief, over confidence about yourself which if not controlled in a right way may have a false impression about ones' purpose in this world.

How did we come to be?

Some people I included often link spirituality as I said earlier with religion. Well, I am of the opinion that they are intertwined or interdependent, they cannot work in isolation. The faith you believe or not believed in notwithstanding; our belief systems form a basic and integral part of why we exist and how we got into this earth in the first place.

In the Christian belief or perspective…” in the beginning God created [ by forming from nothing the heavens and the earth – the earth was formless and void on a waste and emptiness and darkness was upon the face of the deep (primeval ocean that covered the unformed]. The spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding over the pace of the waters…” ?for Christians they believe that God created them out of nothing and brought them to this world to fill and create even more that is to be his co-creators as is written in the book of Genesis 1:27- “so God created man in His own image and in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female he created them…”

The reason as to why I have put that verse is that most devoted Christians believe that the bible is their spiritual being or reference, that is their meaning of spirituality. In the bible we are told of how the world was formed, how we came into existence and the purpose we are supposed to fulfill for example in this case to multiply, fill the earth and most importantly to have authority over God's creation that is He had given us the power and the mandate to be innovators and creators like him.

The same book or tells us to take care of the creation, what we are supposed to do to have a successful and purposeful life, in this book there are rules to be met; there are as any other rule or law dos and don’ts, which by the way if not met there are consequences. We also learn above everything else that God is a spiritual being and a God who demands order. Now whether we admit or not more often spirituality cuts across all this themes (if I may call them that) in more ways than one.

It answers the question: ?of why we are here- to have dominion over the universe, and that is the goal; how we were created-from out of nothing; it also answers the question of if there is life after death. This is what spirituality is all about;

It is about knowing yourself in Christ, it is about knowing your purpose, it is about having a stand regarding issues or vices about life and the universe at large. Are you yes, a, yes? Do you compromise? What is your contribution to the nation's economy? Are you working? Do you feel the desire to help those in need? Do you pay your taxes to your respective governments, do you go to church? What is your view about going to church? Do you give tithes? – Jesus said to give to Cesar what belongs to Cesar and God what belongs to God, and last but not least do you have integrity?

All these rhetorical questions form the basis of spirituality for Christians and even most of the religious organizations- Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, New Age et cetera. It has rules or laws to be met, I would even dare say spirituality is a standard to be reached for Christians as it is not accessible to everybody and anyone- one has to have a great fellowship with his maker to receive the fruits of spiritualism such as; peace, joy, acceptance, contentment, and thankfulness.

Some traditional practices have gone a notch higher in believing in life after death, in ancestral beings in matters to do with health and medicine, education, and so on. No matter what one may think. These traditional practices and beliefs, one has no choice but to respect these as those beliefs and practices form their spiritual identity, it is what give them meaning and purpose in there lives, it gives them a unique sense of belonging and identity for both themselves and the community they live in.

Medicine?

Traditional religious practices or even some religious organizations( some regard them as cults) believe that when one get sick he or she should not go to the hospital or take any “westernized" medicine for that matter but rather should be treated using unorthodox ways; some are prayed for rather very violently? I must say- if you have happen to see most of our African movies especially where traditional priest or medicine men are involved you will get hold of what I mean; for some religious faiths believe it is some kind of demon that has attacked a believer that needs cleansing or been driven out.

Others go to the extent of seeking divine intervention or consulting beings from the higher being such as ancestors or even God himself. Some believe when you get sick or ill especially if that illness is recurring, as kind of punishment for your wrong deeds, they believe that there is some kind of iniquity or transgression you did that you need to repent of or do something to appease the “gods". Such practices may include but not limited to; pouring of libations, offering a burnt sacrifice et cetera.

Some cults or faiths don’t necessarily believe in any spiritual being- please note that I strongly believe every religion be it Christian or Islam or Hinduism or Buddhism or even paganism, new age et cetera is cult to anyone who doesn't have the same beliefs as yours for example Christianity is a cult to atheist and vise versa, so respect to everyone's belief or lack of is very key as everybody as I had earlier said in the beginning of my story is right in one way or another depending on the circumstance of the said individual.

That said, they are those who don't conform to any spiritual being but rather believe in values or circumstances or certain practices. I once watched an interview in one of our major television stations where the two guys were giving their stand on what and why they believe in what they believe in- one was a Christian (a preacher to be precise) and the other was an atheist). There views were both right and wrong depending on where I stood (also you who might happen to read this story in future…).

An atheist doesn’t believe in God as a spiritual being, he or she doesn't believe that God created as out of nothing or “in God everything is possible" or without God there is nothing you can achieve in this earth, you won’t be able to achieve your purpose or your full potential when God is not on your side. They do not even believe in heaven and earth that good and bad people will go to heaven and hell respectively after death. These people believe in values such as hard work, meditation et cetera.

It is not that they do not have any belief system, it is a rejection of existence of spiritual beings to dictate life, some do willingly others I believe is how they were raised or circumstances they find themselves in. Now that is their spiritual identity- themselves. More often than not what they believe in are more ways than one similar to that person who beliefs in a spiritual being. The values of hard work, joy, meditation and mindfulness is evident in these individuals; those values are what makes them wake up everyday to work, those values are what gives them meaning, it is what gives them purpose, it is why they exist.

The mistake we do is being judgmental both I as a Christian and them as each of us wants to force our beliefs which were also taught in the first place into others. As many have said we live in a free world (well not really free) and so we should be respectful of each other faiths and beliefs no matter what you may think of those believes. Furthermore, all these believes gives out an identity and a sense of belonging to one self. Every being that calls itself human and breathes life every day is spiritual in a sense, maybe may not be aware of it, spirituality is like the heart in a human body without it you cannot live and if you do live, you live in turmoil with lack of purpose; you live a life of bitterness and remorse.

Every human being craves for purpose if lacking and peace and contentment, everybody wants to be happy rather I want to be happy I crave for that peace of mind, I believe there is a reason I was brought to this world other than getting angry that my team lost a game, or a friend I confided in disappointed me greatly, or? I did not get that job, how did that opportunity slipped out of my hand or what I thought I wanted I did not get- I crave for sense of fullness of life a sense of gratitude, I want to discover and experience the adventures and wonders of the world, of our creation et cetera, I want to be free. Well! Well! Well! Guess spirituality answers all these questions in one way or the other.

Apart from religion spirituality also can be thought to mean the same as thoughts and emotions. All that I have stated above as rhetoric are at first thoughts, I first thought of them, when those conditions (for lack of a better word) are met they bring out emotions which are positive in nature, I start to feel happy “hurray! Mama I have made it”, my self-esteem and self-confidence is high, a feeling of peace creeps in but woe unto you when these feelings or conditions lack; the emotions that come out are egoistic and toxic to the least- it channels an inevitable bad behaviors which starts to affect the people you associate yourself with, they or you start to isolate yourself from people, you feel remorse and emptiness you feel like you have lacked purpose.

You go as far as questioning your very existence, you start to wonder why and how you got yourself here in the first place, you start to feel entitled, that you must get anything you want by hook or crook, it is your birthright but guys really that not life. No matter how spiritual you think you are, you are not living in real times, you are living in denial. Some practices one has to do to reap the fruits of spiritualism, these practices I believe are not rules to be followed or if not adhered to you will not achieve that or this and all those threats. I believe everybody who wants to be successful has undergone a practice that works for him or her;

Meditation

“the book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read and meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything in accordance with all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will be successful”- Joshua 1:9

If a human being wants to experience spirituality or understand him or herself then they should try the act of meditation. I may be mistaken to be thought that I am more inclined to the Christian meaning of meditation which maybe true because one of the goals in life is knowing your identity and being realistic and in this case I happen to be a Christian, however I believe I have been objective as I could possibly be. As I said in the early parts of my article that spirituality is a broad concept and cannot be fixed into a box and therefore requires one’s mind to be open to a different view or opinion.

As according to Houston university, spiritual meditation is an experience that takes you to the depths of who you are – in the process, one experiences joy and peace. A feeling of love and light warms up your being, it makes you realize the eternal truth and let go of all that happen and will happen. Meditation in simpler terms is having a meeting with oneself, having time alone communicating with yourself and God in a silent environment that is free from noise or distractions of any kind or nature. It leads you to a process of discovering oneself, having a fellowship with your God or any other spiritual being you subscribe to. It teaches you to take life as it is, and gives you the courage and the strength to tackle your challenges with victory in mind. The results of meditation bring joy, and a sense of peace and purpose.

Meditation makes or helps you to understand yourself better, to key down with pen and paper what you aspire to achieve and how you intend to achieve them, it allows you to let go of what could have been and enjoy the present, it encourages acceptance and lastly it enables you to ?be optimistic about the life ahead. I don't know of any effective practice other than meditation if one wants to discover his or herself, if one wants to know their purpose and there very existence, of what they are intended or supposed to achieve and discovering their full potential after all we are co-creators of this world as the almighty has given as dominion over the world.

I feel that spirituality is indebted in each one of us and should not be limited or thought to mean any religious or traditional beliefs. Life is spiritual in every sense and spirituality is part of life. For instance, the human body is made up of three parts; the body itself, the soul (where the spirit is residing) and the mind. These parts have to worked interdependently with each other so as the human being can have peace or be able to live in a state of joy, acceptance, contentment and gratitude. Can you imagine a situation whereby the body, mind and the soul are not in agreement, it would bring confusion to the human? Perhaps I should give an illustration so as to get the point;

Imagine a situation whereby your mind tells you to attend a new year eve party, but your body feels weak to make the matters worse you feel like your spirit is not in line with the theme of the party but the mind or the body craves to go, you oblige and so you attend, at the end something tragic happens may be you get attacked or you fell very ill or you collapsed? Having spiritual values which are strong enables one to have a stand, to have authority over oneself or issues of the world that is you cannot in any way or circumstance feel obliged or coerced to compromise on your values- you know when it is time to say yes and when it is time to say no and be firm on the standards or rules or principles.

In conclusion…if you want to be happy, if you want to have peace of mind, to have contentment, to show gratitude, meditation should be your daily dose, being prayerful is very important your faith notwithstanding, being mindful of those around you and not only of oneself will save you a great deal of problems. One should also master the act of living in the present, it reduces stress, anxiety and egos, strive to see the beauty of things, the beauty of life, of people of the universe, reading books that improves your sense of spiritualism, it maybe the holy books from your respective faiths or motivational books or people experiences and advices; in a nutshell just associate yourself with things and people that improve you as a spiritual human being.

All these values and practices defines the meaning of spirituality- live right, live peacefully the mantra.

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