What Is Spiritual?

What does it mean to be spiritual? This word, like many others, can mean so many different things to so many different people.

For some, the word, “spiritual,” brings up only the most positive and reassuring sentiments, but for others, it drags up all sorts of negative memories and emotions. Not unlike the words, “God” or “religion,” people tend to have a wide range of thoughts and feelings about the word, “spiritual.”

And why does it seem like some people are strongly for spirituality while many others are against anything hinting at spirituality?

Well, like anything else, it all comes down to the personal experiences each of us have had in settings or environments labeled “spiritual.” These diverse encounters can range from one end of the spectrum to the other.

This is why we could talk all day long in the abstract about the dictionary definition of “spiritual” while glossing over the meaning it holds for real people based on their actual experiences.

Like many others reading this post, I have had a variety of spiritual experiences in my life. Admittedly, some of them were so warped and toxic that I literally wanted to run in the opposite direction, while others were so good, pure, and genuine that I found myself wanting more and more.

What I have come to realize, based on my experiences and those of others, is that spirituality is a double-edged sword—it has the potential to be remarkably good and healthy in some cases while being terribly harmful and unhealthy in others.

For this reason, I would never blame anyone for wanting nothing to do with warped, toxic, and unhealthy spirituality. In fact, I actually believe this is a sign of spiritual health. But what I will say is that a life without genuine and healthy spirituality will always leave you feeling empty, hollow, and unfulfilled inside.

I believe each of us is intuitively aware (or at least suspicious) that there is much more to life than just the material. Even if we cannot fully explain or articulate it, many of us have this deep sense that something (or Someone) holds all of life and existence together. So, if we deny our spirituality, it starts to feel like we are denying a core part of what makes us human.

Today, we live in the most advanced civilization the world has ever seen. Yet, science, politics, sociology, economics, medicine, and technology can only take human beings but so far.

If there is not a genuine and wholesome spirituality guiding us into greater love, truth, connection, wisdom, peace, reconciliation, compassion, and justice, then we are all in serious trouble. In the wrong hands, our advancements in modern science and technology will be used only to perpetuate the systems of poverty, inequality, violence, and injustice many of us wish to eradicate.

But you might say, “Wait a minute. Is not religion and spirituality behind much of the violence and conflict in the world? Has not religion and spirituality been used to cause so much harm?”

And in response, I would say, “yes and yes.” Religion and spirituality have been used by a variety of people—some misguided and others terribly evil—to perpetrate all kinds of injustice in our world. The unfortunate truth is that anything in the wrong hands has the potential to be corrupted and distorted. This is true with power, influence, politics, money, sex, and yes, even spirituality.

Additionally, the content and substance behind your faith and spirituality is of the utmost importance. Your beliefs about the world we live in will determine your values and priorities. If you believe our universe is some sort of cosmic accident and that we are all here by chance, then these views will impact how you live. Likewise, if you believe in an angry, violent, and vindictive God, then those views will also affect how you live. The quality of our beliefs makes all the difference.

I have had many people over the years tell me why they could never believe in God, and when I ask them to tell me more about the God they do not believe in, they are often surprised to find out that I do not believe in that God either.

At some point, we all have to take ownership of our own beliefs and views about the world. Are our beliefs and values worth living for? And if we pursue living out those beliefs and values, will they make the world better or worse?

When I think about being “spiritual,” I think about being connected to the One who I believe is the source of love, goodness, truth, creativity, beauty, peace, justice, and life.

I think about the God who never stops insisting that each of us has extraordinary value. I think of the God who wants to bring healing and repair to our broken and shattered world. I think of the God who continues to invite me into a deeper, more loving relationship with Him, myself, those around me, other living creatures, and the world we inhabit together.

I am not sure about you, but this is a spirituality I can get behind.