Re: What DOES "spiritual" mean, anyway??? Posted by Douglas on January 07, 19100 at 10:13:15:
In Reply to: What DOES "spiritual" mean, anyway??? posted by John on January 06, 19100 at 12:45:29:
Hi again: (and, of course, this is not in the spirit of “a one page limit”)
Spiritual Experience:
Spiritual experience entails pain, desperation, heartbreak, despair, calamnity, or in the Buddhist vernacular, “Dukkha” — suffering. It is
a long list. Emerson would describe life as: “a perpetual instruction in cause and effect.” Instruction is a form of Injunction.
Nevertheless, one is motivated to make sense or nonsense, as the case may be, of one’s experience — to describe it. In the former
instance, that of making sense, one may adopt a religion, philosophy, theory, belief system, or even an ill defined idea to illuminate this
vale of tears. In the latter instance, that of making nonsense as in the absurd, one may conclude that the former is nothing more than
an exercise in rationalization, that life is a “futile passion,” to quote Sartre, and that it is the individual’s responsibility to create
meaning in their lives.
In either case, the description is secondary and the experience is primary. When all is said and done, the description is by way of
consolation and I find the description, personally, of little comfort.
Spirituality and Mindfulness:
William James thought the spiritual experiences could have objective reality. As such, they are not dependent upon description yet
injunction and indication may be in order. It is not that one needs an exercise for pain and suffering — although I suppose one could
be provided — or that one is blind to the trials and tribulations of this life, albeit Jesus thought otherwise. It is that one needs a modus
operandi to awaken to the awareness that the spiritual experience that we seek is not a life defended from desolation, disaster, and
despair but one that embraces, rather than recoils from, the ”Full Catastrophe” in the moment — directly.
My apologies Coach, I cannot define or describe what I mean by the term “spiritual”, nor do I have the recipe, I can only indicate the
experience.
Now, you may be dissatisfied by this study in semantics. I, on the contrary, while being contrary, am satisfied that I have begun to
answer the Koan:
“The practice of making A Bigger Container” is essentially spiritual because it is essentially nothing at all.”
Douglas
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