Lenten Journey: Redefining Spirituality

How is your spiritual life? (Stay with me, Agnostics and Atheists. This question concerns us all for reasons I will explain.) That question itself can provoke anxiety, so pregnant with expectations and judgments. So, let me first unpack the question by saying what is NOT intended in that question.

As a Spiritual Director, my role is not to determine how good a Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Humanist, et cetera are you? My role is not to determine how well your doctrine, theology, or practices adhere to the orthodoxy of your identity. My role is not to test the strength of your faith.

Spiritual direction is about deep listening, paying attention to YOUR journey, noticing the emotions you present, the resources you have and are aware of, and the tools you have to access those resources.

So, when I ask you “How is your spiritual life?” I am inviting you into an inventory of your emotional life, your experience of your spiritual journey (including how much judgment and grace you offer yourself), your resources, and the tools you have to access those resources. How is your spiritual life supporting your overall well-being?

Whether you are part of a more conventional religious tradition, an eclectic variation of one of those religious traditions, or no religious tradition at all (Hello, Atheists, Agnostics, and the Spiritual but not Religious!), your spirituality is about that which supports your Life. In fact, the word “spirit” comes from the Latin word “spirare” which is “to breathe.” Spiritus is almost literally the breath that gives us life.

So, I will ask the question again. How is your spiritual life? What inspires you? How do you experience that inspiration? How does that spirit connect with your emotional life? How do you access your connection to that which inspires you? How do you access it when you are in a place where you find it easy to make that connection and how do you access it when it is most challenging to make that connection (stuck in traffic, sitting in a meeting, cooking dinner, BURNING dinner, experiencing the challenges of life)?

So, I hope I have redefined “spirituality” for you. At the very least, I hope I have moved us out of a realm of judgment or shame for “not doing it right.” In the coming days, we are going to explore different aspects that make up our spiritual lives.

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You are welcome to take this journey in solitude in your own personal journal or share your reflections. If anything that you do makes you think you might want to continue a journey using Spiritual Direction, now or in the future, you can make an appointment with me through my website: 

www.RedRocksSDC.com 

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