What is Spiritual?
In myself and others, I notice that there seems to be three "phases" in terms of what people see as "spiritual".
- Conventional
The conventional view is that we inherent from our culture and/or mainstream traditions. We see spiritual as loving, joyful, radiant, serving others, and so on. - Widening or Reverse
As we become more sophisticated - in understanding and experiences - we discover that the previous view is incomplete. It may not be inaccurate, but definitely too narrow. So here we explore the spiritual in anything and everything left out from the conventional view. It can be a widening, especially if it comes mainly through experience. Or it can be a reverse exclusion - equally narrow as the conventional view - especially if it comes mainly through abstractions. - Fluid
After we have explored and familiarized ourselves with both the previous phases, we are ready to find a more natural inclusiveness and fluidity, and also to differentiate in various ways within it. We see that anything is Spirit, yet with some discernment also. We may even end up emphasizing what looks as a more conventional view, although now in a much wider context.