The dictionary definition of 'spirit' is "The vital animating principal of something." Therefore, to pursue spirituality is to become aware of 'the vital animating principal', the nonphysical essence, of things. The definition of 'metaphysical' is 'beyond the physical'. Therefore, the path of spirituality is a path of opening awareness, of raising consciousness beyond physical causes and appearances.

As you become more and more aware, you will naturally be opening your awareness and raising your consciousness to Spirit, which leads naturally to union with Spirit. The further you follow this process, the more in union you will be with it. This is why it leads inexorably towards empathy, compassion, understanding - all 'spiritual' values flow naturally from the continuation of this process, as you gain a deeper and fuller awareness of Spirit.

All the trappings of spirituality - the meditation, the monasteries, the discipline, the techniques, the self-reflection, etc - are but a means to an end, aimed at reorienting from the egoic (physical) perspective to the spiritual perspective. Ultimately, it leads to complete union, complete awareness, infinite expansion.