Inner Coaching

In my first post I said spirituality was

– an AWARENESS of depth, complexity & time in everything,

- an ATTENTION to that which is inside me, around me, beyond me,

– a MOVEMENT of meaning making beyond the ego to the eternal and ultimate,

– A PRACTICE of doing, being and belonging

Here are some thoughts on the last of these.

4. Spirituality is a PRACTICE of doing, being, and belonging

DOING - I feel sure spirituality needs to have some kind of action to accompany it. It is not a comfortable or reassuring feeling or an idea which requires nothing of me. There needs to be some kind of effort or engagement or nurturing. I would not be much of a Zen Buddhist if I didn’t sit in meditation or a Muslim if I didn’t offer Zakat or a Christian if I didn’t attend the Eucharist. In the same way it would be strange if I professed a secular spirituality if that didn’t find expression in some kind of active practice which in some way was a natural outworking of that spirituality.

A spiritual response to this doing is purposefulness or busyness

BEING – But spirituality would be rather miss-shaped if it is were all ‘doing’ and not also ‘being’. Maybe it is ‘being’ first before ‘doing’. Maybe we ‘do’ because we are ‘being’. I think what I am trying to say is that spirituality is not about seeing a nice sunset or the moon playing on the sea. Certainly these might be sources of wonder which is part of spirituality but in themselves they are not spirituality. Nor is that yoga on the lawn in itself spirituality. Spirituality is surely lived, it is something which walks with us and bubbles within in our being 24/7. The sunset, moon and yoga might help us to live that being but they are not spirituality. The walking and talking, the being with that which apprehends our souls is the spirituality.

A spiritual response to this ‘being’ is contentment in being or striving to be

BELONGING – Am I alone in my spirituality? I’m coming to the conclusion that I cannot be – that it would not be spirituality if I were. I want to hold out to the idea that spirituality always links us to others, in fact spirituality insists we belong alongside others. I would worry if a spirituality cut a person off from the outside world and their neighbour – I don’t think it would be spirituality. But it is more than this – I’m suggesting it is belonging. For many that will be a ‘faith group’ but for others it will be an aligning with others in community even if that community is disbursed, small or fragile. The solitary monk or nun belongs to their community and (they tell me) have a huge sense of connectedness to the world.

A spiritual response to this belonging is a gentle solidarity or a ‘like’ on social media .