Spirituality

I have more or less given up on religion, as I see so much hypocrisy and toxic behavior associated with the world’s religions.  The fact that evangelical Christians support Trump in large numbers is just one more piece of evidence that Christianity has been coopted by a cabal of political forces that have absolutely nothing in common with the Christ of the gospels.  For me it has been the final straw in my exodus from the formal religion I embraced quite sincerely and passionately in my 20’s and early 30’s.

I am tempted by the thought of seeking spiritual experiences independent of religion.  But then the question arises:  What is spirituality?  What are spiritual experiences and how does one build a spiritual life?

I have tossed the word ‘spiritual’ around before.  I have described the effect that music often has on me as a spiritual experience.  I have attributed the joy I have in beautiful natural settings to a spiritual side of me.  I have assumed that the rush of emotion I have when I see a profoundly moving theater piece, or read an inspirational story is some sort of link to the spiritual.

But do these emotional responses really have anything to do with some sort of non-material spirit in me or around me?  Are they anything more than a set of electro-biochemical impulses that have evolved to influence my behavior or augment my other senses?

If one classifies strong emotional responses as spiritual, then the fans at a football match are having a spiritual experience.  How then are we to differentiate the powerful feelings at a nighttime Nazi or Trump rally from the flood of emotion at a Christian youth conference?  What makes one experience spiritual and another simply an example of mass psychology or hysteria?

I would like to believe that there is something beyond the material world, some higher order spiritual plane.  And as a scientist and engineer, I know that the so-called material world isn’t really as ‘material’ as we perceive it.  Our understanding of the universe is still in its infancy, though we have stumbled upon enough of quantum and particle physics and cosmology to know that ‘reality’ is quite hazy and elusive.

But I also am increasingly convinced that our human religions, including Christianity, are myths and cultural artifacts.  They are, of course, quite meaningful to many people in their daily lives, but they have proven woefully inadequate to explain much of anything as our knowledge has accumulated over the centuries since their advent.  Their primary function lies in providing a measure of solace in the chaos and uncertainty of our existence.  But the price paid for this solace is increasingly unacceptable as our world religions come in conflict with one another and are the cause of so much violence, bigotry and hatred.

One might question whether there is a foundation for morality and ethics independent of institutional religion.  I believe there is.  Countless organizations and groups of people who have rejected formal religion are working tirelessly in highly moral and ethical ways to solve the world’s problems.  Doctors without Borders is an excellent example.  Are these people imbued with some sort of spiritual impulse that motivates them to toil so selflessly?  Perhaps that is the ‘spirit’ we are all seeking. 

And is that spirit any less meaningful being untethered to religious trappings?  Do the rules and the rituals of our religions have any benefit other than providing a means for binding a cultural community together?  Couldn’t that sense of community and its moral and ethical lessons be nurtured in new ways that do not have the non-compete clauses, the archaic rules and chauvinistic tendencies of our historical religions?  Can a spiritual awakening unattached to religion occur?  That would be a pure and unsullied spirit of love, acceptance and tolerance.  But how to find it?

There are apparently countless ways to explore ‘spirituality’ without formal religion.  A quick search of the Internet will provide any aspirant with a multitude of choices.  The first task in many of these spirituality regimes appears to be ridding oneself of the clutter and chaos of the mind’s typical state.  I have attempted this on numerous occasions and have had limited success.  I am sure that passionate converts will smile condescendingly at my paltry efforts and tell me that the mother lode is waiting if I would only persevere.

But why am I seeking a spiritual life?  Is ‘living in the material world’ not all Madonna made it out to be?  Are we like George Harrison or countless others, looking for something to balance the obvious shortcomings of lives spent on a treadmill?  Or is ‘spirituality’ just another bougie indulgence, a whimsical diversion that the wealthy with time on their hands can afford to pursue?

No answers here unfortunately!  But as I do now have time on my hands, I may give the whole spirituality thing a bit of a whirl and see if anything comes of it.  Rest assured I will come out with a bestseller if I have success!