As I said previously, spiritual experiences, speaking only for myself, come from things that I cannot explain logically. When I have a dream, and I've had more than a few that fit this category, which does not seem to come from my daily life but gives me some answers or insights to that daily life, I call that spiritual.One thing that I have to set straight right now. For me spiritual experiences do not necessarily mean related to god or some spiritual realm of power beyond our own. It doesn't prove or disprove god's existence. These are simply experiences that aren't physically or emotionally logical-- for now. Seeing unidentified flying objects might not be spiritual at all if we are being visited by those from other planets.
A second point is I don't think a spiritual experience must be a defining moment, an epiphany, before it's counted. I suspect they come regularly into all of our lives. Some of it we ignore and think that's silly. Some we are too busy with daily living to experience. Those with the most such experiences are open, aware, and possibly sometimes born with a gift.
The third point is that someone else's experiences won't cut it for you or help you believe or give you any vicarious spiritual moment. That is called emotional when we hear about it, feel uplifted, but it wasn't our own spiritual encounter. Personally, I don't believe real spiritual experiences come from books or what others tell us. Those are interesting and can point us toward being more aware ourselves but it is us doing it that makes it real.
Also, in my opinion, even if there is a spiritual realm to life, it does not mean our life goes beyond the death of our body. We could have a spiritual realm, while we are here, and still be dust to dust when our body dies. It just means we are open to a full life experience using all of what is possible to experience.
As an example of what I mean, here is one of my little moments. Although I have had some bigger ones, they are more personal. This one is just an example of what can happen when we are aware. These kind of things don't come to me as often as I would like and certainly not on demand... darnit.
It was dark outside. I was lying in bed, eyes still closed, that time when you are kind of awake, but open to going back to sleep. I got a message in my head. Not a verbal outside voice but two full sentences which I still remember today. I lay there and thought what many of us feel at such a moment. Yeah right! The voice then said so that I would know I was hearing the truth, and it wasn't coming from myself, 4:06 would be the exact time when I looked at the clock.
That got my eyes opened. My clock has a light. I pushed the button, looked at the time, and it was exactly what the voice had said. I cannot explain a logical reason for knowing it before I looked-- even subconsciously.
The message later was validated to be true by physical events. I can think of explanations for the message coming to me but how about the time? I don't remotely try to say I know from where that message came. Just it was one of those mysteries for which I use the word spiritual because I cannot explain it.
The two little nests I have had for years. One winter both were blown out of one of the oak trees. Each is perfectly made with different materials. They look like hummingbird nests to me. We had a horse on the place back then, and we assume that one of the nests had been completely created from horse tail hairs. Amazing isn't it that such small birds could find enough hairs to make such perfect nests. The nests are among my treasured possessions.
At the time they fell, I wasn't into looking for messages and have no idea if they had one for me. Today I am more aware of such and if I saw two hummingbird nests out on the lawn, I would try to decide if it had a greater meaning. It's not something that happens every day, every 10 years or even every 20 (has never happened to me since). I might have missed something back then... but at least I have the nests.
(What I consider serendipitous about this is I had already taken the photos to use the nests to illustrate this blog when I read something Donna described in the blog about what is spirituality-- an experience about a hummingbird which I would say, as she did, was a spiritual moment.)
8 comments:
Rain, a comment on your two recent posts from the blogger who, I'm pretty sure, you were referring to in your first post as someone who wishes the word "spiritual" would fade away.
My reason is that when we divide the world into "spiritual" and "material" sides, I feel an unnatural division occurs. At least, this is my personal experience.
I used to think that such-and-such (meditation, seeing my guru, volunteer work, eating vegetarian, etc.) was spiritual, while this-and-that (playing tennis, watching TV, drinking coffee, etc.) was material.
But when I became less other-worldly, I realized that every, repeat every, experience in life can have a "spiritual" quality if we attend to it in a certain way.
Namely, for me, with the awe, wonder, attention, and gratitude that some others noted in comments on your first post.
Good god, we're alive! We won't always be -- certainly not as we are right here and right now as human beings. This could be our one and only chance to experience life on Earth.
Grab it! Embrace it! Imbibe every drop before the cup of earthly existence is drained.
Where in the cup is there a division into spiritual and material? Personally, I don't see one.
Yes, Brian, it was in your Church of the Churchless, which is in my blog roll alongside here, where I began thinking why I say something is 'spiritual'. I agree with your concept of non-duality in one sense. It's very Christian btw, that everything is part and parcel of god or spirituality. Brother Lawrence wrote a book on it quite some time ago that speaks to doing the dishes as a spiritual exercise-- although to him it was an experience that let him practice the presence of god.
What I was trying to separate out here is basically the supernatural and perhaps it is the word I should have used although that always seems to go to a god concept and I don't really mean it such that it has to. I use the word spirituality in my labels for explorations of reincarnation or ideas like that.
Years ago I had a pastor who would say-- would you go with god to this movie? And I'd think-- if you believe god is everywhere and in everything, then where could you go that god wouldn't be with you?
You have two blogs though and one explores the world that we would call physical or emotional. The other explores what I would call the spiritual ideas whatever one wants to label them. You did separate them for a very logical reason (at least in my opinion) because the concepts come into your daily life for how you live but the exploration of them is of something very different than how to cut the grass-- even if cutting the grass can very much be a spiritual experience.
I enjoy both your blogs btw and the commenters especially in your Church of the Churchless-- some of whom could be writing their own blogs if they so wished.
'Celestine Prophecy' is a simplistic book (by the standards of someone who reads more esoteric thinking) that goes into this thinking of really looking and being aware of what is around us and making it readily understandable for all which is why it ended up on the best seller lists for so many years.
I have had a few unexplained moments in my life. I don't know what the definition of them would be, but they were certainly emotional.
One was when I was a bride and my husband parked the car on one side of the road and crossed the highway to get our mail. It was a cold, very dark night. My back was to him and I suddenly said, "Oh honey, look out." Imagine my shock when he opened the car door and said, "You almost lost a husband."
A large vehicle had gone by and Wayne started to step forward to cross the street when something told him to step back. As he did so a trailer being pulled by the truck had no lights and it went by immediately after he started to cross.
How did I know he was in danger and how did I send the message? It is a complete mystery.
I had a dream last night after reading this blog. I took it as a warning to never leave my purse in the car or leave my car unlocked. Our car might be more apt to be stolen because it does not have an alarm. So I can well understand where the dream comes from in part. I was also going to sleep wondering if falling in love is a spiritula experience by Rain's definition. And just how long a spiritual experience can last like love.
Wow, Brian said exactly what I wish I could put into words--thus sacred ordinary for the name of my blog.
Love those nests. Little miracles, each one.
I had a conversation with Rain. My impression of Rain's definition of spiritual would explain falling in love as emotional and not spiritual. Spiritual must be supernatural.
It all depends on how one defines spiritual, Parapluie. Writing this has made me feel that it has different meanings to different people and the conversation you and I had led me to think sometimes it is spiritual. Certainly many religions teach that it is (by their definitions also) which is why so much conflict over gay marriage.
Love certainly is unexplainable *s*
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