What is spirituality?

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I occasionally get called a 'spiritual person'. What does it mean? I'm guessing it depends on what that individual thinks it means?

I used to be religious and I still have an interest in learning about religions and supernatural beliefs. I've never really understood what 'spiritual' meant. I'm guessing it means being connected to something greater than oneself and knowing one's place as part of the greater whole - but I don't know.

I don't believe in spirits. I'm guessing a lot of people who use the word 'spiritual' don't believe in them, either.

What does it mean to you?

I don't believe in spirits and yet i imbibe them on a regular basis.

It means the people around you are probably into some sort of new-age stuff or they've heard you use terms with connotations associated to that and thereby assume such based merely on usage of associated words.

I suppose you can't get drunk on imaginary whisky?

I've been called spiritual by Catholics

Weird, hippie Catholics, though.

It's funny if you think about it. A Christian like myself could also be called "spiritual" by the same type of people as you if I mention only a fraction of my beliefs, but if I go into any depth of thought on what I consider to be truth they'd go from complimenting me as "spiritual" into treating me like a demon because I'm a Christian who believes the Bible.

Woah woah woah.

< Atheist + materialist.

Hence, I made this thread. I don't use the word 'spiritual' and I dunno what it actually means.

Religion is for people who are scared of hell, spirituality is for people who've been there - Dolly Parton

To be filled with the breath of God.

I hardly ever use the word, though a lot of my interests might fall under the banner of 'spirituality'. Because it's so mushy, everyone thinks it means something else.

I think God has pretty bad halitosis if I'm a spiritual person.

No, I didn't mean "you", I forgot to type the word "were", like the hippie catholics you mentioned earlier. Not trying to say the "same type of people as you" but the "same type of people as you were" called 'spiritual' by.

The modern usage of it by new-agers is what makes it mushy. The connotations are unfortunately linked until another few generations have gone by in which the term is no longer used in association to the new-agers.

Okay, gotcha.

You can be a mystic and doctrinally stringent but I don't know how common it is.

some people will undoubtedly confuse a philosophically or teleologically oriented speaker for a person with spiritual interests or beliefs. alternatively, it is possible that some people have attempted to make normative statements when speaking with you that define every person as having some spiritual aspect, doing so as an expression of hope that you may one day agree with them in the matter, and have expressed this inadequately

Not a mystic, but a Christian. Just saying if I were to use religious terminology sparsely that the same type of people who called you spiritual would probably do the same.

What is Spirituality?

According to Wikipedia, Spirituality can refer to: (1) an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; (2) an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of their being; or (3) the deepest values and meanings by which people live.

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary says:

Spirituality
1: something that in ecclesiastical law belongs to the church or to a cleric as such
2: clergy
3: sensitivity or attachment to religious values
4: the quality or state of being spiritual

A notable quote:

"To be clear, sometimes people do confuse religion and spirituality. To be religious is not necessarily to be spiritual, and vice versa. One can adhere to religious dogma, go to church, pray, perform rituals, and all that, yet still not have a clue about spirituality. In addition, one can be spiritual without ever setting foot in a church, temple or mosque or reading a single line of scripture (written by people for people). A beautiful sunset, an act of selfless generosity, or the wonder of life itself evokes a sense of spirituality. There is the sense that there is something more to life, a deeper meaning which overshadows everyday occurrences and petty differences." -- Bob Wilcox, Chief Instructor, Kingston Aikido.

Other quotes:

"Spirituality is a brave search for the truth about existence, fearlessly peering into the mysterious nature of life." -- Elizabeth Lesser, in "The New American Spirituality"

"Spirituality without morality is rootless." -- Henry Ward Beecher, in "Proverbs from Plymouth Pulpit"

"Religion is for people that are scared to got to Hell; Spirituality is for people that have already been there." -- Bonnie Raitt

"The religious man has forgotten what it is like to be a child; the spiritual man has never truly grown up." -- Mark Barner, in "Thing I Always Wanted To Tell My Children"

And a joke:

Q: How many Zen Buddhists does it take to change a light bulb?

A: Four - One to change the bulb; one to not change the bulb; one to both change and not change the bulb; and one to neither change nor not-change the bulb.

... and one smart-aleck to ruin a good koan!