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

[Starman]

There is a conscious spiritual journey and an unconscious spiritual journey. As a U.S. Army medic in Vietnam during
that war, watching people kill each other on a large scale, I had no consciousness of spirituality. I also saw
Buddhist monks in Vietnam set themselves on fire as a form of protest. Most of us who saw that had no idea
what it was all about. It was not until I lost my eyesight and went blind to this world that I began a conscious
spiritual journey. In many ways my going blind was a gift, as I then came to realize my deeper being and how
spirit is all there is, and also that spirit was always with me, even in the very tragic times that I witnessed in war,
and also in my own times of suffering. Spirit has always been there.

Namaste

[iamthat]

Going back to the original question, it also makes a difference whether a person is involved in a spiritual group, perhaps following a particular teacher, or whether a person is treading their own path. Both have advantages and disadvantages. In either case it can be a lifelong pursuit or one can give up and return to "ordinary" life.

Being in a spiritual group provides group support, group encouragement, group activity, group aspiration and group pressure. This all helps maintain discipline and practice. And if that group is centred around a particular teacher then there is a focus for guidance and devotion which can be a lifelong commitment.

But being in a group can also be restricting, with pressure to conform and be a certain way. And the group dynamics can sometimes be difficult. So people may choose to leave the group and return to ordinary life.

Treading one's own path provides a lot more freedom in terms of choice of practice and pursuing one's own interests, but it also requires a lot more self-discipline.

Having been part of a group following a particular teacher for many years, I appreciate that this established a foundation for my spiritual practice. Yes, the group dynamics were difficult, but left to my own devices at that time I would never have been so disciplined.

But having left the group over 30 years ago I much prefer the freedom to follow my own path. I still do the same practices but without all the nonsense which can occur in groups.

But in the end, whatever choices we make, we are all following our own path.

Peace

Originally Posted by FairyCrystal

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

I guess because I haven't yet integrated spirituality with the material world so right now spirituality makes me feel sort of floaty and detached from the world. Hope I'm making sense.

Also, thank you everyone for your thoughtful responses.

[pixiedust]

Originally Posted by Greenslade

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

I’ve heard that said a lot in the prison system but every spiritual teacher that has lived has been very clear on what spirituality entails - including Carl Jung

[Starman]

Originally Posted by pixiedust

I’ve heard that said a lot in the prison system but every spiritual teacher that has lived has been very clear on what spirituality entails - including Carl Jung

I did a social work internship at a State prison and what surprised me was how spiritual lots of inmates
on death row had become. Many had alters of various religions, or to various spiritual teachers, in their
cells. Death row was almost like going into an ashram or monastery.

[Altair]

I suppose it's a life long pursuit. There is only the illusion that sometimes you are not..
But what is it that makes one think one isn't spiritual? Who makes these categories?

Originally Posted by Greenslade

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.

Yes. And then people argue over what is and isn't spiritual, which reminds me of chest-pouncing..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaQa...nnel=Goualougo

We humans have more means of communication, but are we really that different?

[pixiedust]

Originally Posted by Starman

I did a social work internship at a State prison and what surprised me was how spiritual lots of inmates
on death row had become. Many had alters of various religions, or to various spiritual teachers, in their
cells. Death row was almost like going into an ashram or monastery.

Yes, I suppose death helps people focus on what is eternal.

[pixiedust]

Originally Posted by Altair

Yes. And then people argue over what is and isn't spiritual, which reminds me of chest-pouncing.

Here's a hint: rape is not spiritual. Violence is not spiritual. Abuse is not spiritual. Division and spite talking is not spiritual.

But hey if you have to be told that, then maybe it really means everything is spiritual to you. No need to beat around the bush for those who already know it all.

pixiedust

[JustBe]

Originally Posted by pixiedust

Here's a hint: rape is not spiritual. Violence is not spiritual. Abuse is not spiritual. Division and spite talking is not spiritual.

But hey if you have to be told that, then maybe it really means everything is spiritual to you. No need to beat around the bush for those who already know it all.

pixiedust

You make a good point pixie.

In my view of spirituality it’s clarity of understanding life as life is and bringing them into a place of self awareness.

Many people will often intellectualise things they haven’t had a direct experience with.

So it’s in this way, they’ll dismiss the bigger picture as a direct experience and place everything into the same basket.

Which of course fits in relation to the totality of life experiencing itself as spirit in human form.

But the spirit nature understands much more than just this alone.

Originally Posted by FairyCrystal

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

There are a few possible answers to this one. One of them is escapism, sometimes people either can't or won't deal with the 'real world' so they try and run away from it, but the problem is that if they are as Spiritual as they'd like to think they are they'd find out that the 'real world' was their creation all along. And the Spiritual world they escape into. The other possibility is they're dissociative, and that's a personality issue.

The Spirituality is not in the leaving the material world behind, it's in questioning and being honest about the reasons. Interestingly the people who want to leave the material world behind still eat and read Spiritual books, and they haven't done enough introspection to realise that again they are trying to leave behind what they themselves have created.