Bringing it All Together

This post completes a series where I’ve been considering spirituality’s relationship to ultimate meaning.

In previous posts I’ve discussed how spirituality is closely connected to our pursuit of the good. When the good avoids us, then, this can negatively affect our spiritual health.

This is because we can start telling ourselves stories about the nature of reality. When we perceive reality to be mainly negative, we begin to experience reality in ways keeping with our perceptions—the realities we perceive become the realities we experience.

The lesson is we need to be aware of our thoughts, emotions, memories, and perceptions, since they all play significant roles in constructing our experiences.

So, how do we bring this all together?

Here are five statements that summarize what spirituality is all about:

• Spirituality concerns how we experience and engage reality. It acknowledges that each of us have significant roles in creating the realities we experience through our perceptions.
• Spirituality concerns how we pursue the good in life. It acknowledges we all want to experience the good. But it also acknowledges all of us, at times, struggle to experience the goods we desire.
• Spirituality concerns how we can change our realities so we can experience the good more consistently. It acknowledges this begins by working with our perceptions. But it also acknowledges we must similarly change our behaviours and actions to better experience the good.
• A goal of spirituality is human flourishing. This acknowleges we all have hopes and dreams. But it also acknowledges that not all hopes and dreams are possible, just given what life might have brought us.
• A goal of spirituality is therefore embracing and affirming our identity. This acknowledges our understanding of our identity changes over time. But it also acknowledges that some understandings of our identity are truer than others.

When described this way, spirituality can be seen as that which brings all of life together; spirituality integrates our life into a coherent whole.

Spirituality, in this sense, then, is what gives our life meaning. Spirituality could be The Meaning of Life.

Here are three questions to help you reflect on the role of spirituality in your life:

1. What are some of the most significant things you desire for yourself and your loved ones? How do these things bring meaning to your life?
2. How do you structure your life around these things that bring you meaning? What behavours, actions, and activities engage this sense of meaning for you?
3. What are your beliefs about reality that enable you to engage these things that bring you meaning? How do you see your realities change because of your engagements with these meaningful things, if at all?

Enjoy the insights and opportunities your spirituality brings. May your spirituality bless you and those around you.

References

Lasair, S. (2019). A Narrative Approach Spirituality and Spiritual Care in Health Care. Journal of Religion and Health [Online First]. https://rdcu.be/bSZY3

Volf, M. (2015). Flourishing: Why we need religion in a globalized world. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Disclaimer: The advice and suggestions offered on this site are not substitutes for consultation with qualified mental or spiritual health professionals. The perspectives offered here are those of the author, not of those professionals with whom readers might have relationships as clients or patients. In crisis situations, readers are encouraged to contact these professionals for appropriate support and treatment if needed.