If we are to move towards a sustainable world, we most certainly will have to find ways to live more harmoniously with each other. We will not have to become saints to live together, but we will have to find respect for all our differences, and compassion will have to be precursor of what we do. Look at the more developed technological world today and see how separate everyone feels and you can see the current way of living isn’t working at all. Even those, that are trapped by the illusion of money, readily admit that they need a connection to something beyond themselves – be that other people, the natural world, or even some religious deity. In Maslow’s Hierarchy (and there are several similar models promoting similar ideas) the physiological and safety needs (basic lowest levels) must be satisfied, but then love, belonging, and esteem (respect) must also be satisfied before we can achieve our highest potentials. While Maslow believed that the removal of any lower needs would make an individual prioritize down the hierarchy, other needs models (e.g. Alderfer) propose that with the higher levels achieved, the individual could remain self-actualized. Viktor Frankl is a classic case where despite experiencing the extreme depravations and horrors of Nazi concentration camps during WWII, he was able to find peace within himself to forgive and even love his captors. In his writings about existential reality, he concluded, “The salvation of man is through love and in love.” Unconditional love is a feature of the self-actualized mind where soul purpose and meaning of life are to be found. There are endless stories of highly successful business people and celebrities who finally break-down from the stress of trying to live a ‘successful life’ based on money to find peace and meaning in a simpler more organic form of living. The have redefined success for themselves in a whole new way – they find joy and happiness in a more meaningful way that is of service to others rather than the old way of service to merely oneself. Many still enjoy the technological quality of living but are no longer trapped by technology – they use appropriate technology and focus upon their own spiritual growth rather than trying to impress and “keep up with the Jones’s” kind of mentality. In the more regular levels of society, people are still trapped by money, usually by the stress of debt, an inability to make ends meet, and a lack of time to focus on oneself. A great number of these people have also found more tranquility in their lives and become self-actualized once they recognize that a spiritual path is more preferable. So what is this spiritual path? It’s NOT living in a cave and meditation or praying for years to find one’s connection to some higher self. Some great ascetics have done this, but I prefer the conclusion that Budda had after doing this for many years – no extremes needed, everything in moderation! Sainthood not required!
Fifteen years ago a friend and myself set out to understand what it was that people perceived about spirituality. We published a short paper about our findings last year. So what did my friend and myself find out about the term spirituality? Spirituality is often ignored and written off as religious or new age fervor, but more and more, people want something more satisfying than the dog-eat-dog world they perceive around them. Simply said, Spirituality is about how we feel connected to the world and everything in it. From our paper, “When people are allowed the opportunity to explore the mysteries of life, death, birth and survival, they often find themselves reflecting on the spiritual meanings in their own lives… people continue to explore their connection to the natural world, and in some cases find a sense of their own spirituality in this connection… People are going to have these experiences when they are ready… There exists a large body of psychological research that confirms how a direct connection with nature leads to improved mental [and physical] health of both individuals and the larger communities in which they live.” After many group discussions and workshops, we found a series of the same ideas and words emerged from a wide range of people with varying beliefs (religious, atheistic, naturalistic, etc..). The specific words/ideas that emerged in the thematic coding process we used are as follows:
- Sense of awe
- Connectedness
- Mystery
- Grounding
- Deeper purpose
- Things greater than the human mind
- True self
- Presence
- Creation
- Inner peace
- Purpose
- Compassion
- Life force
- Energy
- Divine
- Sacred Oneness
- Now!
- Understanding of our place in the Universe
- Part of our nature
- Sense of expectation
- Sense of place
- Spiritual and physical being
We concluded: “It is crucial to not denigrate these [uniquely spiritual] experiences as merely unscientific hodge-podge, for even in the biomedical fields of science, and complimentary and alternative medicine (CAM), these experiences are seen as valuable applications of subtle therapies that are even more enhanced by simply being in natural settings. Getting into nature is more than simply getting away from stress, but adds a whole spiritual dimension of social and health benefits. The half-millennial Cartesian view of the world that created the dichotomy of science and spirit is now merging together. Some work already unintentionally creates opportunity for spiritual growth. What we need to do is intentionally support [efforts] that not only set up opportunities for people to make those spiritual connections within their own psyches, but also reinforce conditions for continued spiritual growth, noting that these experiences may occur immediately, within a week, or even many months into the future.” To be continued…..
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