Monday, 12 August 2013

Spiritual Growth And Why It Matters

By Therese Yemana


Spiritual growth has for a long time a significant component of a person's sense of wellbeing, even before man has conceptualized the idea and broke it down in many ways that ultimately ended up in numerous ways on how to build upon it. You name it - yoga, karma, or even reincarnation. There are so many that they range from the most mystical to the most practical. But even when you're treading your own "spiritual path", or in deep need of what spiritual fulfillment, an in-depth knowledge of what spirituality is can be very helpful in more ways than one.

To make sure that we understand fully what spirituality is, perhaps it is important that we discuss the meaning of the root word itself; Spirit is an intangible property, one which describes something incorporeal, something mysterious and not bound by the material world. The most acclaimed scholar and physicist, Albert Einstein, alluded to spirituality through these words: ""The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious - the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science". This raises the two things he mentioned - art and science. These two have been the center of human's awareness while achieving solutions to the mysteries which have confounded us concerning the universe. These two distinct concepts, polar opposites as they may be, have paved the way to the development of technology and human awareness.

The search for answers is deeply rooted to our innate need to gain knowledge about ourselves, and how we are connected to everything around us. Mundane activities like fixing a car engine or observing an ant farm are unconscious manifestations of that need, and in consequence, related to spirituality. You only have to read Robert M. Pasig's magnum opus, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, to understand what I'm talking about. While this contradicts the idea of spirituality as something not bound in the material world, these physical avenues are helpful channels that allow us to achieve that transcendence, and in turn present to us a peek into the mysterious.

Many people achieve spiritual sustenance through meditation. Meditation is a process of serious contemplation, or turning inward to attain a profound condition of peacefulness, focus and awareness. The idea of meditation came from the Eastern cultures, and it has been developed by the West as a form of prayer. Buddhist monks are astute in their belief that meditation is the best way to Enlightenment, which explains the sanguine temperament through which they deal with others.

A common misunderstanding most people make is having the idea that spirituality is exclusive to religion. While it is true that religion has aided many people to lead spiritual lives, it only signifies a few aspects that constitute the entire meaning of spirituality. Spirituality is a confluence, a heightened understanding of what we are and how we're connected to the whole spectrum of existence, and the foresight that everything little thing is equally important and dependent on each other.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment