“Spirituality” is a word with many meanings, but I can’t think of a better word to convey what I want to express. So let me explain what I mean when I talk about “spirituality.”
• It is specific. I’m not referring only to a vague sense of connection, to a source of moral laws, or to an experience of emotional warmth. As the following items show, I see a sharper definition.
• It is immaterial, but not supernatural. It is part of our reality that is not controlled by physical laws, but it exists in harmony with physical laws and does not override them.
• It is verifiable. Our spirituality is expressed through free will. If we believe we have free will — that we can choose among true options — then everyday experience verifies that part of our reality is not controlled by physical laws. (See related blog on “Free will.”)
• It is integrated. The spirituality that is identified by free will is part of our experience of “self.” That experience includes our physical bodies, our self-awareness, our mental abilities, and our free will. Animals have bodies, and may have some degree of self-awareness and thought and free will. But in humans, these elements work together to produce a uniquely rich and complex experience. Spirituality, as I define it, is not struggling against our minds or bodies, as some would claim. In my definition, spirituality is part of the team. (See related blog on “Self.”)
• It meets needs. As I explain in my blog about “Biases,” I have a problem with the idea that needing something to be true, makes it true. So I’m not saying the spirituality exists because we need it to exist. But spirituality, as I define it, does provide a meaning for life, a basis for morality. and a framework for a supportive community. It does not, however, fill a need for magical solutions or answers to every question or false hope.
• It is inexplicable. If spirituality is not controlled by physical laws, it cannot be probed or proven by science, which relies on physical laws as its tools. Science might claim to disprove this spirituality by demonstrating the validity of a mechanistic explanation, but it hasn’t done so yet, and proving a negative is difficult if not impossible.
• It is miraculous. This is not a statement about God. Even those who don’t believe in God can react with amazement and awe to the possibility that physical laws, expressed in evolution, could have produced a non-physical result.
• It is mysterious. Although free will validates personal spirituality, it does not define the limits of this non-physical phenomenon. It is speculative — but not necessarily wrong — to think that the spirituality of one person might have a non-physical connection to the spirituality of another person, or even a non-physical connection to a supreme being or underlying non-physical force.
