What do we mean when we speak of spirituality? To some
it has a very specific meaning, often related to a particular religion. To
others it connotes something mystical, yet not theistic.
Photo: Solveig Larsen.
Hint: Flip photo 90degs
I use the term spirituality occasionally within this blog, so it is useful for me to clarify how I use the term.
First, spirituality is not synonymous with religion.
Since the 14th century the word ‘religion’ has come to mean a system
of faith in, and worship of, a divine being (or beings.) Most religions (especially
those that posit a Supreme Being (call this God if you like), seek and find spirit
predominantly in a transcendent manner.
The word ‘spirituality’ is related to our breath (cf. inspire,
respire) and thus can be thought of as meaning ‘the breath of life.’ Therein is
a clue to a more complete understanding of spirituality. When we breath, we
breath in, and we breath out. We take in, we give out. Breathing is an inward
and an outward process. This is as true for spirituality as it is for
breathing.
Transcendence is the outward aspect of spirituality.
Inscendence is the inward aspect.1 Transcendence seeks connection
with a one-ness (whole-ness) that is more than the individual self. Inscendence,
on the other hand, is a deep exploration of our soul.2 It is a
discovery of other-than-self that is unique to each of us.
Transcendence gazes heavenward, outside of ourselves.
Inscendence plants our feet firmly upon, and in, the earth.
Both are needed. Neither is complete without the
other. They are like trees. The topmost branches are continually seeking the
light, growing towards the over-arching sky. The leaves in the canopy gain
energy from the abundant sunlight. Meanwhile, the roots of the tree delve deep
into the fecund and dark soil, gaining nourishment from the nutrients therein.
Our true spirituality is that tree: seeking sunlight
and planting firm, stable, roots in the soil.
The insights available to us from this simple metaphor
are those that many mystics, ‘teachers,’ gurus, philosophers, and more latterly,
eco-psychologists, have been exploring for centuries.
Sadly, many within western-styled cultures never gain
these insights. Many continue to live within what Bill Plotkin3
terms the middleworld (not to be confused with middle-earth of ‘Lord
of the Rings’ fame.)
Inhabitants of middleworld neither seek
transcendence, nor discover inscendence. A completely middleworld existence
is one remaining trapped within a materialistic world that has many facets –
some quite contradictory. Most importantly, irrespective of the particular
brand of materialism, middleworld is disconnected from nature. This may
be overt through a deliberate exploitation of nature, or it may be neglectful
of the harm done to nature by an anthropocentric understanding of the world and
the place of humans within it.
Such disconnect fails to comprehend the spirit of
nature.
Of the two aspects of spirituality (transcendence and
inscendence) the easiest to aspire to (or seek, or hope for, or discover) is
transcendence. Gazing upward and seeking the light seems an innate thing to
do. Some religions even call it ‘enlightenment.’ It is also a comfortable, and
comforting, thing to do.
Going the other way, towards inscendence, however,
seems counter-intuitive. Why would someone deliberately seek the darkness? For
centuries we have been told that the darkness is where demons, dragons, ghouls,
and witches, live. Not a place for ‘good’ boys and girls to visit.
Yet, it is the deep, dark, abode of demons that may be
precisely where we need to travel to. It is a journey that many of our most
enduring, and perceptive, mythologies speak of. From Beowulf to George and the
Dragon, from the descent of Inanna to the underworld to the modern story of the
Phantom of the Opera, our fables and myths speak of the hero or heroine
descending into dark places, there to confront, and mostly overcome, their
personal demons.
It is also why many of our most revered spiritual
masters and teachers have gone on solitary journeys, to seek their unique,
soul-infused, purpose. Buddha sat beneath the Bodhi tree for forty-nine days.
Jesus went into the desert for 40 days and nights. Muhammed meditated in a cave
high in the mountains. Confucius shut himself away for three years.
Nature-based societies also recognise the importance
of solitude and experiencing the darkness with many rituals and ‘rites of
passage’ being steeped in such practice.
Our spirituality is bound up with nature. Our nature
is spiritual. We are as much spiritual beings as we are natural beings. We are
in and of the earth. Our feet keep us grounded. Our eyes enable us to look outward.
Notes:
1. The cultural historian and student of the world’s
religions, Thomas Berry, describes inscendence as a ‘descent into our pre-rational, our instinctive, resources.’ in his
1988 book, Dream of the Earth. He goes on to state that the world needs
our inscendence far more than it needs our transcendence at this time.
2. Soul – another word that requires further explanation and
exploration. For another time.
3. Bill Plotkin, Nature and the Human
Soul, New World Library, Novato, California, 2008.
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