The spiritual is traditionally contrasted with the material, the temporal and the earthly. A perceived sense of connection forms a central defining characteristic of spirituality — connection to a metaphysical reality greater than oneself, which may include an emotional experience of religious awe and reverence, or such states as satori or nirvana. Spirituality is the personal, subjective dimension of religion, particularly that which pertains to liberation or salvation (see also myst

Spirituality

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Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit, a concept closely tied to religious belief and faith, a transcendent reality, or one or more deities. Spiritual matters are thus those matters regarding humankind's ultimate nature and meaning, not only as material biological organisms, but as beings with a unique relationship to that which is perceived to be beyond the bodily senses, time and the material world. Spirituality in this sense implies the mind-body dichotomy, which indicates a separation between the body and icism and esoterism).

[edit] The spiritual and the religious

While the words religion and spirituality are often incorrectly used interchangeably, an important distinction exists between spirituality in religion and spirituality as opposed to religion. In recent^[update] years, spirituality as opposed to religion often carries connotations of a believer having a faith more personal, less dogmatic, more open to new ideas and myriad influences, and more pluralistic than the doctrinal/dogmatic faiths of mature religions.^[1] There are, however, non-creedal mature religions (e.g., Unitarian Universalism) whose adherents can be spiritual in the sense of having a more personal faith.^[2]

It also can connote the nature of believers' personal relationship or "connection" with their god(s) or belief-system(s), as opposed to the general relationship with a Deity as shared by all members of a given faith.

Those who speak of spirituality as opposed to religion generally believe in the existence of many "spiritual paths" and deny any objective truth about the best path to follow. Rather, adherents of this definition of the term emphasize the importance of finding one's own path to whatever-god-there-is, rather than following what others say works. In summary: the path which makes the most coherent sense becomes the correct one (for oneself). But just as aspects of spirituality can be found in many religions and traditions, spirituality based on spiritual practice rather than belief, with the aim simply of developing inner peace, is another option. This secular spirituality (QV) is consistent with holding any supernatural belief, or importantly with holding none.

Many adherents of orthodox religions who regard spirituality as an aspect of their religious experience tend to contrast spirituality with secular "worldliness" rather than with the ritual expression of their religion.

People of a more New-Age disposition tend to regard spirituality not as religion per se, but as the active and vital connection to a force/power/energy, spirit, or sense of the deep self. As cultural historian and yogi William Irwin Thompson (1938 - ) put it, "Religion is not identical with spirituality; rather religion is the form spirituality takes in civilization." (1981, 103)

Some modern religions see spirituality in everything: see pantheism and neo-Pantheism. Religious Naturalism in a similar vein has a spiritual attitude towards the awe, majesty and mystery seen in the natural world.

For a Christian to refer to themself as "more spiritual than religious" implies relative deprecation of rules, rituals, and tradition while preferring an intimate relationship with God and/or talking to Him as one's best friend. Their basis for this belief is that Jesus Christ came to free man from those rules, rituals, and traditions, giving them the ability to "walk in the spirit" thus maintaining a "Christian" lifestyle through that one-to-one relationship with God. Some excellent resources that further explain the "spiritual Christian" are found in the Bible, Gospel of John 4:24 for example, and in the works of Watchman Nee.^[3] Nee probes deeply into the building blocks of mankind and derives that we are Spirit, Body and Soul.

[edit] Spirituality and personal well-being

Though many people practise prayer and believe it affects their health (for example adherents of Christian Science), only limited scientific evidence supports the efficacy of prayer. In keeping with a general increase in interest in spirituality and complementary and alternative treatments, prayer has garnered attention among a growing number of behavioral scientists. Masters and Spielmans^[4] have conducted a meta-analysis of the effects of distant intercessory prayer, but detected no discernible effects. They review the literature regarding frequency of prayer, content of prayer, and prayer as a coping strategy; then make suggestions for future research, including the conduct of experimental studies based on conceptual models that include precise operationally-defined constructs, longitudinal investigations with proper measure of control variables, and increased use of ecological momentary assessment techniques.

Spirituality has played a central role in self-help movements such as Alcoholics Anonymous: "...if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead...."^[5]

[edit] Relationship to science and technology

A number of authors have suggested that there are spiritual consequences of quantum physics. Examples are physicist-philosopher Fritjof Capra;^[6] Ken Wilber, who proposes an "Integral Theory of Consciousness"; theoretical nuclear physicist Amit Goswami, who views a universal consciousness, not matter, as the ground of all existence (monistic idealism); Ervin László, who posits the "quantum vacuum" as the fundamental energy- and information-carrying field ("Akashic field") that informs not just the current universe, but all universes past and present (collectively, the "Metaverse").^[7]

Since 1954 the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science has debated the merits of combining scientific thinking with religious perspectives.

Renewable energy practitioner Anil K. Rajvanshi has written extensively on the relationship of spirituality and technology.^[8]. His thesis is that spirituality together with technology can lead to sustainable development.[1].

[edit] Opposition

Science takes as its basis empirical, repeatable observations of the natural world, and thus generally regards ideas that rely on supernatural forces for an explanation as beyond the purview of science. Scientists regard ideas which present themselves as scientific, but which rely on a supernatural force for an explanation, as religious rather than scientific; and may label such idea as pseudo-science. In this context scientists may oppose spiritual claims, especially when these are framed as scientific, citing problems such as the imprecision of spiritual concepts, the subjectivity of spiritual experience, and the amount of work required to translate and map observable components of a spiritual system into empirical evidence.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Origin of spirituality

[edit] History of spirituality

Spiritual innovators who operated within the context of a religious tradition became marginalised or suppressed as heretics or separated out as schismatics. In these circumstances, anthropologists generally treat so-called "spiritual" practices such as shamanism in the sphere of the religious, and class even non-traditional activities such as those of Robespierre's Cult of the Supreme Being in the province of religion.^[9]

Eighteenth-century Enlightenment thinkers, often opposed to clericalism and skeptical of religion, sometimes came to express their more emotional responses to the world under the rubric of "the Sublime" rather than discussing "spirituality". The spread of the ideas of modernity began to diminish the role of religion in society and in popular thought.

Schmidt sees Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) as a pioneer of the idea of spirituality as a distinct field.^[10] Phineas Quimby (1802-1866) and New Thought played a role in emphasizing the spiritual in new ways within Christian church traditions during the 19th century.

In the wake of the Nietzschean concept of the "death of God" in 1882, people unpersuaded by scientific rationalism turned increasingly to the idea of spirituality as an alternative both to materialism and to traditional religious dogma.

Important early 20th century writers who studied the phenomenon of spirituality include William James (The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902)) and Rudolph Otto (especially The Idea of the Holy (1917)).

The distinction between the spiritual and the religious became more common in the popular mind during the late 20th century with the rise of secularism and the advent of the New Age movement. Authors such as Chris Griscom and Shirley MacLaine explored it in numerous ways in their books. Paul Heelas noted the development within New Age circles of what he called "seminar spirituality":^[11] structured offerings complementing consumer choice with spiritual options.

In English the word "spirit" comes from the Latin spiritus, meaning "breath" (compare spiritus asper), but also "soul, courage, vigor", ultimately from a PIE root *(s)peis- (to blow). In the Vulgate, the Latin word translates Greek (πνευμα), pneuma (Hebrew (רוח) ruah), as opposed to anima, translating psykhē. The word was loaned into Middle English via Old French.

[edit] The study of spirituality

Many spiritual traditions promote courses of study in spirituality.

Building on both the Western esoteric tradition and theosophy,^[12] Rudolf Steiner and others in the anthroposophic tradition have attempted to apply systematic methodology to the study of spiritual phenomena.^[13] This enterprise does not attempt to redefine natural science, but to explore inner experience — especially our thinking — with the same rigor that we apply to outer (sensory) experience.

Overall, scholars in disciplines such as theology, religious studies, psychology (but more accurately parapsychology--'beyond psychology'--pneumatology, monadology, and esoteric philosophical logic,) anthropology and sociology sometimes concentrate their researches on spirituality, but the field remains ill-defined.

In the late 19th century a Pakistani scholar Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi started writing books and teaching the somewhat hidden science of Islamic spirituality, of which the best known form remains the Sufi tradition (famous through Rumi and Hafiz) in which spiritual discipline is transmitted to students by a spiritual master or "pir". ^[14]

[edit] Reviews of Christian Spirituality

There are some Reviews on contemporary Christian spirituality in general, for example "Spiritus" edided by the "Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality" (Los Angeles) or some reviews run by the Jesuit order: "The Way" (Oxford), "Christus" (Paris), "Review for Religious" (Saint Louis) or "Spirit and Life" (Cologne).

[edit] See also

The Secrets of the Rich - No. 1

The poor and the middle-class work for money. The rich have money work for them

I've recently been to a property fair featuring Australia properties. It was indeed an eye opener
for someone like me who has not invested in any real estate properties. It was demonstrated how
easy it was for someone who has moderate savings could actually own one small size apartment
and start earning passive income. Certainly, the apartment has to be situated in good locations.
Besides the passive income, the land which the apartment sits on will also appreciate and provide
capital gain if he intends to sell the unit later.

Using that passive income, the person could either spend it or serve a new mortgage loan for
another residential property. This is a formula that will never be taught in school.

How much interest are we earning today from our bank savings? It's a shameful amount.

It can be quite scary if one has no prior real estate investment experience because the initial
capital outlay may cause uncomfortable to most ordinary people.

The Secrets of the Rich - No. 2

Mind your own business

Robert is not telling us not to be a busybody. The advice is to tell us to start our own business.
Many people actually have many great ideas. This world has no lack of great ideas. It's whether
the idea is being put into action is another set of story. It's a habit for not doing new things
and it's also a habit for constantly doing new things. So the major problem of most ordinary people
is that they lack action despite having great ideas. Hence, no great result was produced.

So start putting your idea into action and start a business for yourself. You've got to take care of yourself!

The Secrets of the Rich - No. 3

Create investments, don't buy them

Robert uses an example of real estate. I feel that this secret apply to your business too.
If you have a great idea which you put into action to create your successful business, you will
attract investors. They put huge capital into your business for you to grow them. How much an idea cost?

Create investment = Create idea

But you must put that idea into action. In other words, make things happen!

The Secrets of the Rich - No. 4

Expand the product before you buy

This can be applicable to your business too. This is what the big guys are doing in the business world.
If you own a successful business, you can take it to public through IPO. Your business is still the same
business. However, you've added an element of investment into your business. Money rolls into your business
quicker.

Robert's next question was, "What is your winning formula?"

For him, don't do what everybody else is doing.

I feel this is an important question. What we've been doing and thinking have gotten us to where we are today. So, I choose not to work for somebody else, just like many others are doing, and today I'm earning passive income.

What about yourself?