"What do you mean by spirituality?"

I was recently asked the question, "what do you mean by spirituality?" This is not as easy a question as it might seem. A simple answer might be to have or cultivate a relationship with God, or the Divine. But this is too simple and doesn't do the question justice. We have to dig deeper, and go further.

Is it possible to be spiritual and not necessarily subscribe to an image of God? Intuitively I have to say, "Yes, it is possible." However, I say that it possible not because I'm trying to placate an audience that is distrustful of divinity, but to acknowledge that spirituality is a word that is all encompassing and includes aspects to it that might not necessarily always be about me and my perspective. This being the case, lets go a little deeper.

A mystery is something that cannot be fully explained. It is something that is shrouded by an unknown element and therefore beyond reasonable understanding. The sacraments, for example, are mysteries. By themselves they might seem humorous, "Why are you dunking me under water, or that wine still looks like wine to me." The mystery is that ordinary matter is somehow made extra-ordinary yet still appears ordinary. Is it faith that causes the transformation, or intention combined with faith? What ultimately transpires is a Divine mystery, especially to those who subscribe to the mystery. Someone uninterested in the sacraments might consider the whole sacramental experience a complete waste of time, but for those with whom the sacraments are meaningful experience a profound mystical experience in them. This is spirituality.

An example of spirituality that is not necessarily linked to God is the insight obtained by The Buddha under the bodhi tree. It was not a realization of God, but an insight into the suffering of humankind and a means in which to obtain release from the suffering. How this realization took place is unknown, it is a mystery. To skeptics it simply the ideas of an idealistic fool, but to those who subscribe to the Dharma of the Buddha then it is an example of true enlightenment. This too is spirituality.

In trying to define spirituality I would conclude that spirituality is an encounter with mystery, not the mysterious but with mystery itself -- an encounter with the unknown or not completely explainable. This can include God -- the Incomprehensible and Unknowable Spirit. It can also be while sitting in silent meditation for an hour and only thinking it was five minutes. It can be while sitting in a grove of trees, and absorbing the tranquility of nature. It can be at the birth of a child, or at the bedside of a dying parent.