Is spirituality a phase from which you return back from or a life-long pursuit?

Originally Posted by BigJohn

Just look at this Forum and you will see a lot of threads devoted to trying to define Spirituality with apparently none seeming to draw a conclusive definition.

Yup. None seeming to draw conclusive definition. Does it matter? Not anymore.

[Starman]

Originally Posted by traceyacey12

Hi everyone,
Is spirituality a phase from which you return back to the material world or a life-long pursuit?
Thanks :)

In Hinduism and Buddhism there are different categories of spiritual practice, i.e.

The Householder is someone who practices yoga and meditation while running a house and maybe living with
a spouse and children, working, etc. They are dealing with the material world while practicing spiritual aspiration.

A Monastic, who may live in a monastery or ashram, and rejects most of the material world for a stronger
focus to their spiritual practice. Most monks, nuns, and priests are monastic. They usually live in a spiritual
community.

An Ascetic, is someone who seeks freedom from the material world. They practice a very strict spiritually
based self-discipline and abstention from human comforts. They own no material goods and may live an
isolated life.

Different yoga paths, keeping in mind that the word “yoga” means “union,” and often means a spiritual union.
Some people may choose to practice only one of these paths, while other people may combine different
paths together using many methods simultaneously:

Karma Yoga: which is doing selfless service for others.
Ghani Yoga: deals with studying religious and spiritual texts, etc.
Hatha Yoga: deals with the physical body and spiritual health.
Raja Yoga: deals with the mind and its development, going beyond thought.
Bhakti Yoga: focuses on the love and devotion to God.

There are many other yoga paths; Astanga Yoga, the eightfold path, etc. These paths condition a person
to a certain lifestyle, way of living and perspective. But it is widely believed that all paths lead to the same
source. People gravitate towards what touches them in their heart, and they may change paths many times
during their life, or stick with one path their entire life. Although, in my opinion, there is a difference between
a religious practice and a spiritual practice.

Originally Posted by traceyacey12

Is spirituality a phase from which you return back to the material world or a life-long pursuit?

Neither, you are your Spirituality and what it is or is not are relative to your definitions of it. You decide what Spirituality is and what to believe and you create your own personal belief system. People having different definitions of what Spirituality is comes from their own personal beliefs.

Spirituality will tell you that there is nothing or nobody that isn't Spiritual, everything else is the Jungian ego.

[Native spirit]

That is also true


Namaste

[FairyCrystal]

I'm wondering why you think you leave the material world behind?

And if you're truly on your spiritual path it is a lasting thing. You awaken and realise there is more. And you want more. Growth, evolving etc.
It is basically personal development. And once you know you cannot un-know.
For me it's who I am, not what I do. It's not like a hobby or activity. It's me. My life.

[Guillaume]

Originally Posted by traceyacey12

Is spirituality a phase from which you return back to the material world or a life-long pursuit?

To the Now you mean? Yes, it should, in my opinion.

Then once you are back to it, you recover your forgotten psychic abilities from your childhood (if you had some), your feelings and senses from your childhood, and then .... then I don't know!
Depends at which age people awaken and how awaken they were in their childhood.

Speaking for myself I've always kept a thread to the spiritual, I just told people I was superstitious.
But I had no clue in what **** people were, really.

Then making your own belief system compared to exploring other dimensions of life ... I'll go for the exploration, I'm a scientist. ;)

[Guillaume]

Ha, I may add ...
Osho's video in connection with the moment of this thread, about a tribe where everyone's blind almost at birth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnkhjTf3deM

And that there are points of no return. Once you activate certain pathways, it's much harder to fall back to previous bad states of body and mind than keeping the practice.
In line with Miss Hepburn's metaphor, if you had fine wine (or beer, there are fine beers too), abstinence is better than having the gross ones.

[lemex]

Originally Posted by BigJohn

And to make things more confusing, what one considers to be spiritual might not be considered spiritual in their near future.

But isn't this something that is suppose to happen if it is needed. One gets rid of the confusion. One is suppose to change. Don't people tend to resist. I just don't have that fear.

[lemex]

Originally Posted by Greenslade

Spirituality will tell you that there is nothing or nobody that isn't Spiritual....

I think this a great observation.

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by Greenslade

Spirituality will tell you that there is nothing or nobody that isn't Spiritual...

Oh, I missed this ...excellent and profoundly true. Deeply true.
Spirit is the glue holding everything your eyes see 'together'.
I wish for everyone, one day, to directly experience this for themselves.