A Basic Definition of Spirituality (of True Faith)

[Leonardo17]

Angrboda:
 

“What evidence do you have to support your belief that this is the case, whatever you mean by it?”

 
- We know that regular meditation supports the development of the Frontal Cortex (The part responsible for impulse control and creative thinking) of our brains.
 
+ At some point those who attain levels like “Samadhi” get to experience this “Pure consciousness” themselves in a way that is not based on anything but direct experience (the same principles are at work at other schools of spiritual enlightenment)
 
The Grand Nudger:
 

“I don't think it surprises any rational person that there are gaps in our knowledge. It often surprises me what people want to cram in them, though. I also wonder why people who believe in spiritual whatsits would want to erect a wall between their beliefs and rational ones. I'd say think it through....more carefully..but considering the aim...
 
At any rate, what you're describing with a set of practices given to people by some authority figure would likely be called a religion, not spirituality.”
 

1) I don’t believe in a “God of the Unknown” as Neil Degrasse Tyson defines it. Scientific knowledge + the act of learning are extremely valuable for us. But I’m almost sure that if I was immortal, and kept living for several lifetime the way I’M living this lifetime I still would not be any closer to understanding “The Truth”.
 
2) Yes but I believe that all religions actually started as methods of spiritual enlightenment and then degenerated into repetitive dogmatic types of behaviors that are completely useless in spiritual terms.  
 
Angrboda:
 

“Spirituality is an interesting map, it just doesn't seem to correspond to any actual territory.”

 
-Where typical religious bigots are lying and being perfect hypocrites, true spirituality provides approaches that will allow us to be more tolerant even against such ego-centered and even antagonistic personalities. 
 
AFD 47:
 

“The bottom line is that spirituality is subjective experience.”

 
Yes, but it’s a universal subjective experience. Like people approaching death having very relaxing dreams about their already deceased loved ones. So the phenomenon is still there
 
Belaqua:
 

“You say that the method you're thinking of can give you "Knowledge itself." But as I understand it, knowledge is always knowledge of something. You can't have content-free knowledge. So the obvious question is: knowledge of what?”

 
- Of everything that’s worth knowing. That’s what happens when you are spiritually enlightnened.
 

“So the idea that there is a "true knowledge of our Inner Nature" perhaps needs more explication. Is the Inner Nature something unchangeable and given from birth, like Aristotle's concept of a human essence? Or is it something one develops and learns through spiritual practices?
 
Intellect can be a very sharp tool indeed. Normally people think it isn't sufficient for spirituality.”

 
- It’s nothing like Aristotle’s philosophical concepts. As I said some people (including myself) are like this poor guy trying to understand the Ocean by filling it in a little hole that he dug on the seashore. With our intellect only, we simply cannot understand what’s happening here completely. So 1) We accept this simple fact of life and 2) If that’s our inclination, we can make time to study the genuine spiritual teachings of this world.
 
 
 

“I'm reminded of the quote from Stephen Jay Gould:
 
"I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.””

 
- That’s not what I said. As humans we have many reasons to be hopeful about ourselves. But look at how scores of people in the US are doing everything to destroy everything that was created in 1776. I’m am experiencing the exact same thing here. Here too we have these TWD zombie herds who vote for the stupidest candidate to be our prime-minister while young people are simply saddened and start hating politics because it has turned into such a stupid way of spending our time in general.
 
/ Yet spirituality explains these too. I cannot elaborate here too much. But some people have simply weaker energies + weaker intellectual capacities.
 
I used to be so angry on these issues in my younger years. Now I’m just saying “Let go and let God”.
 
Really. Everyone should try this sometimes


 

“Surely it depends on which dogma and which ritual. Some are outdated. Some are still useful -- though I agree that when people believe something these days they are reluctant to use the word "dogma."

 
It seems to me that new dogmas and new rituals might be useful for a lot of people.”
 
- You are right on this. Boomers did not face the problems we are facing now. They lived in an era before 9/11 and before things like the IRI. So I sort of envy them on how easily they can devote themselves to religious rituals without being suspected of having ties with political-Islamist ideologies.
 
All of this went down as early as the 1990’s. On a personal level: I needed distance between me and all of this. As a result, I’m not even celebrating religious holidays anymore.
 
So whoever it is you are referring to, I sort of admire these people.


 
BrianSoddingBoru:
 

“I wonder when the word ‘dogma’ became a pejorative.”

 
I would say since a certain tipping point in the 20th century. Serf-like people believe and live according to dogmas. More “energized” individuals of our age need more than “somebody said so” kind of arguments to justify their belief systems.
 
Desse23:
 

“Spirituality:
Ask 10 people about a definition and you get 20 different answers with 25 methods, none of which can be demonstrated to actually work.
Science on the other hand is when someone give you a method. One that works. If you can apply this method in a correct manner, you get to know Knowledge itself.”

 
- The main methods of true spirituality are universal in most cases.

 
“Do you think unwarranted beliefs like this are a net positive or net negative to the individual and society, aside from sometimes being life saving?”

 
- If you are talking about basic utilitarianism, like many women believing in astrology, I see no harm in that. Absolutely none.
 
And that’s what I said in the beginning. I do not take myself so seriously anymore. Just like Aristotle with that guy on the beach. I mean – Yes science is a great thing. But we don’t even know whatever is present in that empty space in front of us. And this is a very basic truth in this realm of existence