The Meaning of Spirit
While driving back from a short vacation, my father (biological, not heavenly) asked me how I define spirit. I view spirit as the relationship that we have with others and ourselves. It is something that goes beyond the boundaries of our bodies and yet is intimately connected to this body. Mystical experiences are moments when we connect closely with the spirit within.
Earlier this summer, I travelled to a campground near the beaches of Lake Michigan. I had spent the night there with my friends from church. It's the only time I ever tried sleeping in a lawn chair while inside a tent. It didn't work too well for me. Anyhow, the next day we ate breakfast and visited the nature center. A clever, young raccoon figured out how to maneuver a bird feeder stand that was rigged to keep critter offer and used it to his advantage. We returned back from the nature center and packed up our tents. I looked over at my motorcycle and up in the sky and the approaching rain clouds told me that my trip home would have to wait. We gathered some food and went inside the cabin that was on our site. The rain fell to the ground with a loud, almost thunderous, beat. I looked out the screen door and watched the droplets fall from the gray, foreboding sky. My mind was filled with a sense of peace and joy. I was right here in this moment and nothing from my past or future worried me. I was connected to something larger and that brought me comfort.
Perhaps spirituality involves being connected with nature. It's in nature that we can really see who and what we are. There is no man-made bullshit to cloud the mind and make me feel separated from all that is.
Many questions fill my mind about spirit. Does it cease to exist when our body dies or does it live on in some sort of heaven and hell? Can my spirit leave this body, only to find another body and live another life? Spirituality comes alive when we love another and we feel loved. I'm not sure where pain fits into that picture. When I suffer, spirit disappears and I'm left with this material world. Sacred space is where our material body and the spiritual world come together as one.
We are spirits, in the material world. - The Police
Earlier this summer, I travelled to a campground near the beaches of Lake Michigan. I had spent the night there with my friends from church. It's the only time I ever tried sleeping in a lawn chair while inside a tent. It didn't work too well for me. Anyhow, the next day we ate breakfast and visited the nature center. A clever, young raccoon figured out how to maneuver a bird feeder stand that was rigged to keep critter offer and used it to his advantage. We returned back from the nature center and packed up our tents. I looked over at my motorcycle and up in the sky and the approaching rain clouds told me that my trip home would have to wait. We gathered some food and went inside the cabin that was on our site. The rain fell to the ground with a loud, almost thunderous, beat. I looked out the screen door and watched the droplets fall from the gray, foreboding sky. My mind was filled with a sense of peace and joy. I was right here in this moment and nothing from my past or future worried me. I was connected to something larger and that brought me comfort.
Perhaps spirituality involves being connected with nature. It's in nature that we can really see who and what we are. There is no man-made bullshit to cloud the mind and make me feel separated from all that is.
Many questions fill my mind about spirit. Does it cease to exist when our body dies or does it live on in some sort of heaven and hell? Can my spirit leave this body, only to find another body and live another life? Spirituality comes alive when we love another and we feel loved. I'm not sure where pain fits into that picture. When I suffer, spirit disappears and I'm left with this material world. Sacred space is where our material body and the spiritual world come together as one.
We are spirits, in the material world. - The Police
Comments
Post a Comment