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Showing posts with label spirituality definition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spirituality definition. Show all posts

Spirituality Definition

Spirituality definition are two words which are searched by very many on the internet. This just shows us that more and more people are interested in the meaning of spirituality. This post would like to put forward a newdefinition of spirituality. Hopefully with the understanding of this new definition we will be able to harness to fuller use the spiritual powers which all human beings possess but which most of us are completely ignorant of.

Shifts in the Spirituality Definition
There have been shifts in the definition of spirituality. A good description of these shifts can be read in the Wikipedia article on "Spirituality". As related in that article it has shifted from its classical meaning, to the traditional, then to the modern. Its classical meaning is to be driven by the Holy Spirit. Its traditional meaning consists of the different ways of approaching God, as in Ignatian spirituality. And the modern meaning of spirituality is the path by which a person journeys from meaninglessness into the values which make life meaningful or more meaningful.
Newer Spirituality Definition
In all the definitions and descriptions of spirituality there are three basic elements which have been overlooked. I have discovered these basic elements by pondering on the passage of Scriptures in Hebrews 11:3. My own paraphrase of the second part of this verse is: "what is seen is made out of things that are not seen". To get to the root of these three basic elements let us go back to the etymology of the word "spirit" in Greek.
The Greek word that has been translated into spirit is pneuma from where we have the English word pneumatic. Basically pneuma means wind. It is from this pneuma that eventually spirituality got its meaning.
Wind has three basic characteristics: 1) It is invisible; 2) it is moving; 3) it moves objects. It is from these characteristics that I propose a new spirituality definition.
Spirituality is involved with the invisible reality in our life, whatever that invisible reality is. It may be the smallest particle of matter, the ideas in our head, the electromagnetic waves that surround us, the ether in which we swim, the spirits of the dead, the angels and heavenly forces, God or the Absolute Reality.
Secondly, spirituality like the wind is moving. It moves itself from one place to another. In other words it is dynamic. It has power.
Thirdly, it moves us from where we are to where we would want to be. It is like the wind which blows on the sail of the ship moving it to the desired destination. In so doing it creates storms and havoc in our life but the end of it is that we are cleaned, renewed and given new life.
Spirituality therefore is related to that invisible creative force in us which drives us to create things and moves us and those around us to our true destiny. It is in each of us. Most of us are not aware of it because it is invisible but it is there. It enables us to do the one and thousand things we do in life. It enables us to make things appear where they did not appear before, whether this is a building, a book, a relationship, a measure of material abundance, etc.
Spirituality definition has to take into consideration this dynamic creative force in us driving us individually and as inhabitants of this planet Earth to our destination, the future glorified state we all will enjoy.
Here are my other blogs which may be of help to you:
for your spiritual growth

for your health

for learning about the new trends around us

for earning some income from the Internet

Here are your links to download the e-books for FREE. To download a copy of A NEW CHRIST by Wallace D. Wattles click this website http://bit.ly/anewchrist. To download a free copy of A NEW EARTH by Eckhart Tolle click this website http://bit.ly/ebookanewearth. I hope that you enjoy reading these free e-books and profit much from them, as I have also profited greatly from them.

Meaning of Spirituality

Agreement on the meaning of spirituality is very important as we begin to consider this subject. This is because in the course of time this word “spirituality” has acquired diverse, and sometimes conflicting meanings.

Diverse Meanings of Spirituality

If we search through the Internet today we discover that there are more than 5 million entries when we search for
spirituality definition and more than 11 million entries when we search for spirituality meaning.

When we put the quotation marks in order to search for the exact terms, we discover that there are more than 15 thousand entries for “definition of spirituality” and more than 1.9 million entries for “meaning of spirituality.”

This just shows us even on a cursory level the diversity of definitions and meanings of the word “spirituality.”

Here are some examples from the Internet of the definitions of spirituality.

According to Dictionary.com with a site in http://dictionary.reference.com/ “spirituality” is 1. the quality or fact of being spiritual; 2. incorporeal or immaterial nature; 3. predominantly spiritual character as shown in thought, life, etc.; spiritual tendency or tone; 4. Often, spiritualities. property or revenue of the church or of an ecclesiastic in his or her official capacity.

From http://www.livingwordsofwisdom.com/definition-of-spirituality.html “The definition of spirituality is that which relates to or affects the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things.”

From http://www.theorderoftime.com/spiritual/spiritualessence.html#The%20definition%20of%20spirituality we have this entry. “The definition of spirituality Many wonder what spirituality is. What is the definition? The dictionary (the Merriam Webster) will tell you that it is something deeply religious, something relating to the spirit and sacred matters.”

And finally, for our purpose here, from http://www.kriyayoga.com/english/encyclopedia/spirituality.htm the entry is “Spiritual Encyclopedia: Definition of ‘spirituality’ and ‘spiritual’ Spirituality often abused as word - the true and strict definition is a directly God related spiritual being or development of spiritual being.”

That is only for its definition. When we go to its meaning we find more diversity. We discover that there are different meanings for different classes of persons. In the web we find that there is a Meaning of Spirituality Among Nonreligious Persons at http://www.joinnursingcenter.com/prodev/ce_article.asp?tid=832639

There is a meaning of spirituality for individuals with disabilities at http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a727455890

And at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12175360
There is the meaning of spirituality relevant to health and nursing today.

And the wiki.answers at http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_te_meaning_of_spirituality has this about the meaning of spirituality: “The meaning of spirituality is the meaning of life. To be faced with good and evil, and evolve for good into a positive energy source willing to do good in such a corrupt and manipulated world.”

Basic Meaning of Spirituality

What is most obvious in the meaning of “spirituality” is that it comes from its root word, which is “spirit”. The suffix “-uality” qualifies the use of “spirit” in this instance.

So a basic definition of spirituality is the quality of one’s sensitivity to the things of the spirit. And what are these things of the spirit? These are those that cannot be directly perceived by our senses but whose effects can be deduced or inferred by our observations, like love, justice, peace, etc.

Basic to this understanding of spirituality is the premise that we regard the human being and/or the rest of creation as composed not only of matter, but of something immaterial, something invisible, something beyond our present knowledge. There is always more to what we can perceive with our senses and know with our reason.

So the basic meaning of spirituality is that it is a term which encompasses everything that we cannot see directly with our eyes, directly perceive by the other senses and know by our mere reason. That is spirituality in its basic meaning.


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Here are my other blogs which may be of help to you:

http://bit.ly/spiritdev for your spiritual growth

http://bit.ly/alterhealthcare for your health

http://bit.ly/novotrends for learning about the new trends around us

http://bit.ly/bepaidonline for earning some income from the Internet

Here are your links to download the e-books for FREE. To download a copy of A NEW CHRIST by Wallace D. Wattles click this website http://bit.ly/anewchrist. To download a free copy of A NEW EARTH by Eckhart Tolle click this website http://bit.ly/ebookanewearth. I hope that you enjoy reading these free e-books and profit much from them, as I have also profited greatly from them.