Speak, ye of faith

Ok, so this thread is really a querious one intended solely for those who believe in any sort of spirits, spirituality, or just human souls.
For those that do not believe in any of that stuff, please refrain from dominating this thread.

My question is, what is human spirituality, and how does it relate to the physical human?

Any thoughts and opinions are welcome.

[disclaimer]I suppose I'm known for my strong opinions on these sorts of things. Please be assured that it is not my intention to proselytize or perpetate my own ideas... because they are far from strong or set right now[/disclaimer]

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I will proselytize for the Buddha.

Since reading something by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother I've thought the idea that your status in life as a way of accruing various experiences for the soul to be a neat one. I like the idea that my entire life is supposed to be full of new and interesting things.

Alternatively, by accepting the emptiness of all things, plus a few additional steps (see Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika [funny name]), you can achieve a perfect ability to roll with the punches as it were. Then things, either good or bad, are accepted as what they are, and cease to affect you beyond the moment, leaving you able to completely appreciate each new experience without any baggage.

I suppose then, joy in all things is the essence (irony!) of human spirituality.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Well I guess without going into much detail, IMO human spirituality is just that part of you that is NOT tied to the boundaries of the physical body. Everyone knows that when we die our bodies decay and rot away eventually. But the "Spirit" lives on. maybe its doesn't go on to heaven or hell, or maybe it does.

Maybe its a way the people can feel a little easier about death, because now death is not the absolute end, there is more to it. When you die....is that the end? everything you have worked for is now over forever? Some people cannot deal with that and say that there must be something more....So do they just make up this word "Spirit" to mean death is not the end, I don't know, but I know I believe the spirit.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I have no idea if this will come out coherant enough to make sense, but I'll give it a try.

something I figure, whether you believe in a spiritual life or not, everyone feels emotions. there's always a physical reaction to each emotion as well; if you're very sad about something, you'll feel that sinking feeling in your gut. nothing's physically wrong with your body, but you still feel something in lines of pain. likewise, when you're really happy you feel light and energetic, or if you've got too much happening all at once you might get stressed out.

to tie that in with spirituality, I think people who have a strong spiritual life tend to feel less stressed in their everyday lives. perhaps it's due to relaxation, or enlightenment even, they've learned to be more mellow and not let stress get to them, or they've learned to accept the way things are and just roll with it rather than fighting everything?

spirituality doesn't have to be a belief system either, I mean take yoga for instance. most people will tell you that it's good for the soul. it's all about being in a relaxed state, which is something our bodies need from time to time to remain healthy. I can't remember who did a study on it, but I remember reading about it somewhere that people who have done yoga for a large portion of their lives were actually more resistant to diseases and common illnesses. could just be balogne, but it does make sense. letting things stress you out spreads you a bit thin and when you're focusing all this extra energy on everything that's coming at you, you don't have as much energy to fight off illnesses, thus making you more suseptable to becoming ill.

so, I think people that dedicate some time to spiritual growth (however they do it) are in the end more healthy, both physically and mentally due to the increased ability to handle what's thrown at them on a day to day basis.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Spirituality... kind of a vague thing, isn't it? I mean, it isn't really... but it seems like it is. It's hard to define that word because it is used (and misused) in so many contexts... when I hear "spirituality," I tend to think "new age" wishy-washy kind of stuff...

I have heard--and I believe it is true--that there is a spiritual war waging constantly between the powers of good (God) and evil (Satan). Most people are content to remain blissfully unaware that this war exists. But those most aware of their "spirituality" (in touch with God, His enemy, or otherwise) are at the forefront of the fighting.

It is so mind-boggling to me to think that my body isn't even really important. I mean, it's all we focus on... how can we help it; it's all we see! But our essence lies in our soul--our devotion to God, our acceptance of Him, the small ways we live out our beliefs in our daily life... or the lack of all these things.

Sorry this comment is kind of zig-zaggy, but it's so hard to talk about things that are beyond human comprehension. It's like a child trying to comprehend a mathematical theorem or something. And I don't mean a genius child.

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Originally Posted by katiblue

I have heard--and I believe it is true--that there is a spiritual war waging constantly between the powers of good (God) and evil (Satan). Most people are content to remain blissfully unaware that this war exists. But those most aware of their "spirituality" (in touch with God, His enemy, or otherwise) are at the forefront of the fighting.

It is so mind-boggling to me to think that my body isn't even really important. I mean, it's all we focus on... how can we help it; it's all we see! But our essence lies in our soul--our devotion to God, our acceptance of Him, the small ways we live out our beliefs in our daily life... or the lack of all these things.

Wow... I really like your first paragraph. However, I think our bodies are important. Not to mention, the human body is amazing. The ability to heal itself, the ability to create life...
For the most part, I think I view things the same way as you do. At least from reading what you wrote.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I beleve a comment in a book to tie in with Red Dwarf pritty much sums up my feelings to the almighty.
Rimmer: "I beleive he exists...I just don't trust him"

He's a clever one, that God...

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Conan-the-3rd

I beleve a comment in a book to tie in with Red Dwarf pritty much sums up my feelings to the almighty.
Rimmer: "I beleive he exists...I just don't trust him"

He's a clever one, that God...

Trust Him to do what? In some ways, I don't trust Him either. I don't trust that life has a happy ending. I don't trust that there's justice. That is, until one dies... but that seems an awful long time to wait.

And some of it is my own weakness, I'm afraid. Surely He is powerful... but is He could? How could all these pointless little despairs add up to anything beautiful?

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Originally Posted by Fjordor

My question is, what is human spirituality, and how does it relate to the physical human?

This might sound needlessly semantical to you, but that’s only because I have a hard time understanding people who approach spirituality in the context of absolute rights and wrongs.

When you say “believe in any sort of spirits, spirituality, or just human souls” are you implying that a particular way of spiritual comprehension is the “right one” in a physical context? And that a person’s faith/spirituality is their indication of that correctness?

If so, I find that question to be about as extraneous as saying what physical matter constructs the entity “Gamingforce Interactive Forums,” and do you believe in it?

To me, much like cultures outside of heavy western influence, connotations to spirituality/religion are no different than comprehension/philosophy. Terms like, Theism, Atheism, Agnosticism, Ignosticism, Nontheism and holy words like Spirit, Divine, Soul are labels for communications purposes, not indicative values of “right.”

So naturally, to me, spirituality isn't a question of faith/believing. It's a matter of creative understanding/expressing.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Subjectivity ("being human") is not a positive entity but the gap, the necessary incompleteness, in the order of being. Subjecthood is the negative power to destroy or break down (and because of that, later reassemble) the seeming wholeness/completeness of our life-world.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I can't really say much without not making any sense, but I just associate spirituality with the soul and being attuned with God. I mean if we all have different minds, morals, and values, then I think we all have different spirits. I think that it is highly tied in with our bodies as well.

If anyone knows that bible passage about our bodies being Temples of the Holy Spirit, that's probably my current view on spirituality. Perhaps how well we take care of our bodies is how well we are taking care of our spirits? I don't mean like how pretty or handsome we try to make ourselves sometimes with makeup or clothes, but moreso how we preserve our bodies. If we don't get jacked up with drugs or slitting our wrists, then I think we're taking better care of our bodies than those who are engaging in such activities.

Not solely pertaining to bodies, but I think our spirits are also affected by the things we do. Very simply and concretely, I think good things are good for our spirits, and likewise, bad things are bad for our spirits. Although what is considered good and bad is never so simple, I think that our deeds affect our sense of spirituality. For example, I think most people would feel like shit if they hated scamming people but did it anyways, and that would be bad for a person's spirit.

So yeah, that's the condensed version. It's really so deep that I can't properly explain it.

How ya doing, buddy?