People often ask me for a definition of spirituality. When this happens, I usually talk about the formless nature of life. Recently though, I have been thinking about spirituality differently. I am seeing it in a more ordinary and practical way. As we slow down our minds and experience the flow of life, we perceive things differently. We notice the little things in our life and appreciate them. This feeling of appreciation gives us energy that is uplifting, and everything comes to life in a way that is very touching. The ordinary becomes special.
I remember years ago when Syd Banks was visiting us. He walked into the kitchen of our home and noticed the tile on the back splash of our kitchen counter. He said "That's beautiful ". I realized that it was really the first time I had actually looked at it, and really took it in. It was beautiful. It was a pattern of green and black, and because it was old, it had a style and color that was unique. I had looked at it before, but hadn't appreciated it. I had never slowed down enough to experience the simplicity and beauty of it.
It's funny how our perceptions change when we enter the flow of our lives. I don't live in this experience all of the time. I wish I did. I go in and out. All of a sudden my mind will slow down and I take in the shape of a leaf or a pattern on a curtain, or the contour of a piece of soap that I'm using to wash my hands. I experience these things in a very personal way. I love it when this happens.
Some people would call this living in the now, or being in the moment, I call it being in the flow of life. This experience is spiritual to me in a very ordinary and practical way. This experience of life is just a different way of thinking, which points to the experience of feeling connected to life. This is my definition of spirituality.
- Linda Pransky
Linda, I love your description of spirituality. For a while I was turned off by the term because I thought it separated life into parts: spiritual and non-spiritual, ordinary and special, and that made no sense to me. But then I realized that spirituality simply had to do with the experiential nature of life and being. Since I am always experiencing, I am always living life spiritually. Then when I came into the Principles conversation, the idea of experiencing life through Consciousness, with Mind providing all the content -- formless to form -- this made sense to me. Thank you!