The Atlantic recently had an interesting article entitled What It Means to Be Spiritual But Not Religious.
Approximately sixty-four million Americans—one in five—identify as “spiritual but not religious,” or SBNR. They, like Beare, reject organized religion but maintain a belief in something larger than themselves. That “something” can range from Jesus to art, music, and poetry. There is often yoga involved.
For Pablo Casals it would be music:
For the past eighty years, I have started each day in the same manner. It is not a mechanical routine but something essential to my daily life. I go to the piano, and I play two preludes and fugues of Bach. I cannot think of doing otherwise. It is a sort of benediction on the house. But that is not its only meaning for me. It is a rediscovery of the world of which I have the joy of being a part. It fills me with awareness of the wonder of life, with a feeling of the incredible marvel of being a human being.
Do you have something like that in your life?
that’s an interesting question, as right now I’m on a pathway to discover where certain things (like this) sit in my life. I’ve just started a dialogue on the subject with a newer friend in my life, who has replied in an email, she will mull it over…..and get back to me, about where we can go from here/there/wherever…but note not from “whatever” 🙂
and of course my own art life seems to moving in mysterious ways as well, I was just telling someone a few days ago I used to weave on floor looms and make fabric…whereas now I don’t even have a loom…but I have much of that fabric to use in new ways.
and today, phone call from b/f – and we get around to how I don’t have to be anywhere today…hence I do not feel trapped at home…rather my life is my own.
That’s good that you don’t need to go out. I’m content with my projects here at home, too — it’s a great way to be.
maybe true spirituality for me is the sense of belonging.
not on the little everyday human level since I am not a joiner by nature.
like a group a church a movement a sect or ‘whatever.’ lol. now that word is one that makes me smile!
but there is a sense of belonging to something bigger than tangible worlds. certainly bigger than the world in which I live. bigger than what I have yet to discover. that is my spirituality I suppose. and somewhere somehow sometime … I want to be able to talk with the animals!
I think that’s a great description of it. After reading Gerald May’s The Wisdom of Wilderness at Cathy’s suggestion, I bought Brene Brown’s Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone. I will probably finish it, but for me she talks too much of loneliness, and I haven’t felt lonely in years. I don’t interact with other people as much as she does, but I do have a deep feeling of being at home in the universe.
I can relate to “alone and a lone” but I rarely am lonely, if I am – I go down into those pits of loneliness…wallow in it for however long it takes…and then I’m back in the saddle. Sometimes it’s as simple as my tummy is calling for food 🙂 and of course because I’m alone, I can’t call out “darling, bring me a sandwich…”
I do join places, but I am soon a lone character within them, I get put on a committee and I find a lone place to work from, where I have very little interference. Working the “shop” for years – a “shop” no one else wanted to do…so I had absolute command, and at some point I realised how much I adored that “alone” position…but I did give it up, as most of you know, I don’t regret that decision…
now I am in charge only of myself…and yep, there are changes – but they are all for the good. My task list of “must do’s” is interesting because right now, it only has “paper recycling day; the rent increase date; the trips to VP (2 diff months)” no events to attend, one is coming up in Feb (where I’m gifting that yarn to the lassie), but I don’t have actual notification of when that is…I could add other tasks but most of them have no due date 🙂
Whenever I start to feel lonely I write in my journal, but thanks to blogging I haven’t done that in ages. I am going back to reading Brown’s book. I will probably write a post or two about it later.
I haven’t anything on my agenda today, other a talk with the lad next door, when he comes home from work…:-) and I’ve discovered that your book titled mentioned is in 3 different formats at my library – real, e-reader and audio. oops going to be along wait…so many holds, must be a popular title! I shall think about it, but i liked about the May book was the stories that he was involved in, not a dry out research or exercises to get the most from whatever (oops that word) that often these kinds of books end up in doing.
Brown talks a lot about her personal experiences, but it’s more about interacting with other people, figuring out what you believe and not being afraid to speak up respectfully. Not so relevant for those of us who spend a lot of time by ourselves. I will probably eventually write a post about an idea or two, though.
I’m definitely NOT religious.
I’m not an Atheist but instead I would say… I’m Agnostic.
Which is not actually Spiritual either, although I would like to believe that way of thinking over any organized religion.
But I think Spirituality gets stereotyped into images of women in long flowing dresses, dancing barefoot together in a circle in the woods. Or doing Yoga.
I actually know several people who consider themselves Pagans.
So that’s another belief to consider and very Spiritual.
And what of the possibility of other lives? Other worlds and….
But you asked – Do you have something like that in your life?”
Yes. The Weather.
The green grass and flowers growing in Spring, full bloom color of Summer, cool crisp Fall and even the first light snowfall.
And of course, ANIMALS. Dogs, cats, horses…
Art. A beautiful illustration that touches my heart.
Books.
A wonderful movie.
Odd funny things that make me laugh out loud.
Yummy food
Iced drinks.
Could this all be my Heaven on Earth?
Possibly so.
That’s what keeps me going.
Because some days I believe Hell is right here and now, especially when I read or see horrible images of what some human beings are capable of doing.
Or when illness and tragedies strike.
Or when Weather ruins or takes lives.
Whatever connects you to life rather than feeling alienated. I’m glad you have so many things on your list.
The last part of your comment reminds me of Bertrand Russell’s
Nothing special, I do good to get out of bed any way I can without falling on my buns.
Doing the best we can with what we have left.
Yes, every morning after my ablutions, I meditate for an hour and perform a set of yogaasanaas which last for about half an hour. The rest of the day unfolds in a routine too but these two are the ones that makes my life one of spirituality rather than religious.
Yes, I knew that is your practice, does it fill you with a sense of wonder and miracle? Or does your view of equanimity include that?
The whole idea of meditating is to experience the miracle and wonder of just being!
Good that you get that too. Mostly you talk in terms of equanimity, not joy.
I don’t think I’m especially religious or spiritual, but I’m very conscious that the one thing larger than me, on which my life depends, is the planet, which is being rapidly polluted and abused and destroyed to such an extent that if we don’t protect it humanity will eventually die out.
I’m afraid the problem is we’ve been too successful as a species. There are too many of us and we continue to propagate and overwhelm the planet. Sooner or later something will cut down our numbers, and it won’t be pretty.