Re: Definition (?) of Spirituality

[Guest guest]

Hi Kayleigh

My understanding of " spirituality " is this simple

definition:

Spirituality is an awareness that all life is

connected and interdependent.

This would mean atheists can be spiritually aware.

One can be spiritually aware without even

acknowledging there's such a thing as

as spirituality.

Any practices seeking to develop that awareness

would fall into the category of religion.

-------------------------------------

A while back Pete and I got into a discussion about spirituality that sort of

bogged down because we didn't have a real definition of it.

>

> Today my local newspaper, which has a big business spread on Mondays, had a

feature about bringing spirituality into the workplace <shudder>. It had an

article and an interview with a " spiritual " consultant. The consultant said

that religion was just a small part of spirituality. The consultant won't

define spirituality because, " If you provide a definition, it locks you into

something, instead of thinking of the concept as a dynamic, living thing. " He

has his personal definition: " For me, spirituality is a deep connection with

the divine. " (Definitions of " deep, " " connection, " and " divine " are no less

troublesome than a definition of " spirituality. " )

>

> The article, however, while not defining spirituality any more than the

consultant did, gave the following examples of " spiritual " practices: closing

the business from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday; having a Bible study

group; having a Koran study group; closing the business on Sunday; relying on

prayer to arrive at decisions; turning to other Christian businessmen; hiring

chaplains for the company; making Bibles and prayer books available in break

rooms; forming a Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work study group; bringing

pictures, quotes and mementos into the workplace.

>

> These are all religious practices, aren't they? And predominantly Christian

at that? Does anyone see something in this that is " spiritual, not religious " ?

>

> There's some talk in the article about finding the balance between

" encouraging faith " and " proselytizing. " But since the practices encouraged

seem to be strictly religious, I can't see anything but proselytizing in it, and

really rich soil for discrimination.

>

> I find this trend pretty scary. Does anyone disagree? Is there anyone on

this group who has heard of a " spiritual " practice that is not religious?

>

> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

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>

[Guest guest]

Definition (?) of Spirituality

>A while back Pete and I got into a discussion about spirituality that sort

of bogged down because we didn't have a real definition of it.

>

>Today my local newspaper, which has a big business spread on Mondays, had a

feature about bringing spirituality into the workplace <shudder>. It had an

article and an interview with a " spiritual " consultant.

>

>These are all religious practices, aren't they? And predominantly

Christian at that? Does anyone see something in this that is " spiritual,

not religious " ?

>

>There's some talk in the article about finding the balance between

" encouraging faith " and " proselytizing. " But since the practices encouraged

seem to be strictly religious, I can't see anything but proselytizing in it,

and really rich soil for discrimination.

>

>I find this trend pretty scary. Does anyone disagree? Is there anyone on

this group who has heard of a " spiritual " practice that is not religious?

Kayleigh, I agree wholeheartedly that this is a frightening misuse of

" spirituality " . These are a couple of guide lines I personally use in

regard to spirituality. 1. If it isn't practical it isn't spiritual. 2. I

don't have the right to force my spiritual insights on anyone else ( I'm

just as fallible as anyone else) 3. It isn't spiritual to abuse others in

any way. 4. My spirituality (and everyone else's) is apparent in everyday

actions not in how I look , what I say, or what I have. 5, Spirituality is

what I do when I think no one is looking ( not even God). I personally

believe this material definition works for me because some noodley pie in

the sky when you die explanation is meaningless and therefore worthless to

me . oh I almost forgot the last guideline and maybe the most important of

all 6. NO ONE can teach you to be spiritual , you learn it when you start to

put it into action and everyone makes mistakes on a daily basis.

Spirituality is much harder than religion because it is about taking moral

responsibilty for our lives rather than blindly following a book or a leader

.. Hope this added something to the discussion ... Weyodi

>

>

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>

[Guest guest]

Kayleigh - I would like to have the reference to the spirituality article.

Would it be possible for you to E-mail the reference to me? I need the

newspaper and date so that I can track it down. Regarding nonreligious

" spirituality, " you really do need to do a little reading in the fascist

literature. You will find that this is a key concept in fascist ideology.

A Gregor, The Ideology of Fascism, 1969, (p. xi) remarks , " The same

constellation of ideas appear and reappear in the works of men in both the

proto-fascist and fascist traditions. " One of these ideas is

" spirituality. " For example, " In fascism, politics is fused into a living

moral reality; it is a faith. It is one of those spiritual forces which

renovates the history of great and enduring peoples " (Mussolini, B. My

Authobiography, 1928, p. 241). Or again, " The fascist conception of life

is a religous one, in which man is viewed in his immanent relation to a

higher law, endowed with an objective will transcending the individual and

raising him to consciousness in a spiritual society. " (Mussolini, B.

Fascism, Doctrine and Institution, 1935, p. 9) [Mussolini, by the way,

like Hitler, was a puritan teetotaler and non-smoker]. You simply can't

open a book on fascist ideology and organization without finding comments

about the central place of the concept of " spirituality " in fascism (but

often a spirituality in opposition to organized religion). In the 1930s,

literally hundreds of protofascist groups sprung up in distressed middle

class communities across the industrialized world - the Oxford Groups/AA

was only one of many. This was the great " conservative revolution " of the

1930s, focused upon patriotism, family values and spirituality. As

Mosse, " Fascism and the Intellectuals, " In The Nature of Fascism, ed S.

Wolfe, 1968, p. 225, says, " Fascists came to believe that theirs was a

spiritual revolution which through a new type of man would renew the nation

and the world, but in reality this revolution would get mired in the middle

class values which it was supposed to fight. " Let me suggest a book for

you to look at first. Bartov, O. 1991, Hitler's Army. This book is filled

with the " spiritual " philosophy used to indoctrinate the German soldiery as

they marched into Russia. The German Army marched to the tune of a

spiritual hymn, like a great crusading column of evil. This may seem

fantastic - but is it any more fantastic than the War On Drugs or the

12-Step Movement? As a Germany army publication for the soldiers on the

eastern front put it in 1942, " the whole spiritual life of the nation, the

ethical basis of our cultural and religious concept of the world, truly

everything which is great and holy for German men in life and death, all is

threatened if we fail to master the enemy " (quoted in Bartov, p. 124). If

you explore this area of thought, you will quickly come to see the

" spiritual " essence of fascism - both as it existed in the 1930s, and as it

has reemerged today. Again, please give me the reference to the

" spiritual " article you mention. On another matter, I hope you realize

that our sharp exchange over " the rise of nazism " was not, for me, a

personal matter. I care deeply about the intellectual issues involved in

this question, but I don't have a personal agenda. My goal is to convince

you, and everybody else, that the Spiritual Revolution in America is

fascism reemergent, a fascism which needs to be fought like the evil it is.

This argument can only be forwarded with evidence and logic. If I slip

and get testy, please ignore that as a simple human flaw, which, of course,

I regret. It would be tragic if some personal flaw of mine detracted from

the argument; the argument matters, I, personally, am not important. Faith

in intellectual detachment, reason, evidence, " objectivity, " honesty - all

the Enlightenment values - is, after all, the great hope of humanity.

Humankinds ability to see the world in terms of facts, rather than

prejudices, is, after all, our great defining virtue. I trust in your

ability and willingness to investigate the facts, and struggle to an honest

conclusion. It is my intent to do the same - no matter where that process

leads. Even if I slip once in a while and get testy. ciao. ---------

>

> To: 12-step-freeegroups

> Subject: Definition (?) of Spirituality

> Date: Monday, December 21, 1998 8:58 PM

>

> A while back Pete and I got into a discussion about spirituality that

sort of bogged down because we didn't have a real definition of it.

>

> Today my local newspaper, which has a big business spread on Mondays, had

a feature about bringing spirituality into the workplace <shudder>. It had

an article and an interview with a " spiritual " consultant. The consultant

said that religion was just a small part of spirituality. The consultant

won't define spirituality because, " If you provide a definition, it locks

you into something, instead of thinking of the concept as a dynamic, living

thing. " He has his personal definition: " For me, spirituality is a deep

connection with the divine. " (Definitions of " deep, " " connection, " and

" divine " are no less troublesome than a definition of " spirituality. " )

>

> The article, however, while not defining spirituality any more than the

consultant did, gave the following examples of " spiritual " practices:

closing the business from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday; having a

Bible study group; having a Koran study group; closing the business on

Sunday; relying on prayer to arrive at decisions; turning to other

Christian businessmen; hiring chaplains for the company; making Bibles and

prayer books available in break rooms; forming a Chicken Soup for the Soul

at Work study group; bringing pictures, quotes and mementos into the

workplace.

>

> These are all religious practices, aren't they? And predominantly

Christian at that? Does anyone see something in this that is " spiritual,

not religious " ?

>

> There's some talk in the article about finding the balance between

" encouraging faith " and " proselytizing. " But since the practices

encouraged seem to be strictly religious, I can't see anything but

proselytizing in it, and really rich soil for discrimination.

>

> I find this trend pretty scary. Does anyone disagree? Is there anyone

on this group who has heard of a " spiritual " practice that is not

religious?

>

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