Why people are spiritual in the first place?

[INTJ123]

Because we know ourselves.

 

[Kra]

To my notion, spirituality (as a general concept) is a human attempt to live both within and outside the normal boundaries of one's "self." Or simply, embracing the unknown.

Forgive the following pseudo-philosophical rant.

It's been shown that changing your thoughts, quite often changes your world. Spirituality is largely reinforced by this psychosomatic cause-and-effect. When you believe in something you find to be "good," your attitude will likely change in several positive ways. This will likely change your behavior, and as such, your behavior will likely carry different results reflective of your original attitude.

In a lot of ways, it is no different than mathematics. Both are man-made constructs that are simply "laid over" reality, and are often changed to further fit our understanding of the cause-and-effect of the universe.

 

[ajblaise]

This is a good question. I think if we erased everyone's mind of all spiritual and religious notions, that those beliefs would slowly work their way back into the populous over the years.

We are far off from having complete scientific knowledge of the universe, and as long as there is still major questions unanswered, people will credit the supernatural. This could be considered as taking mental shortcuts, but it does offer a sense of comfort and certainty for some people.

 

[Giggly]

For some people spirituality serves as an emotional outlet.

For some people spirituality uplifts them and gives them hope.

For some people spirituality brings them together with other people. It facilitates the feeling of connectedness.

For some people spirituality is stable, guiding, and comforting in this world of confusion.

Just a few ideas.

 

[Alwar]

If you mean superstitious then I don't know for sure but suspect it has to do with a lack of knowledge, especially in modern times. Spiritual in the sense of awe and wonder of the cosmos is lovely though, no need to invoke supernaturalism to experience it.

 

[durentu]

Spirituality is ...

[after 5 hours of reading and thinking]

...

I seek that which the tongue has not spoiled. - Joseph Campbell

----------------
my definition so far is:

spirituality is the discovery, understanding and expression of personal truth.

and

love is the understanding, validation and acceptance of another person's reality.

 

[ring the bell]

I was camping recently and spent quite a bit of time, probably 30 miles from the nearest house, stairing at the stars. In that night, I saw quite a few shooting stars and noticed over several hours the moving of the constellations. I started to think about what our ancestors must have thought, many many years ago, as they stared up at the same sky, seeing the same things. I've never been a highly spiritual person. I've never deemed it necessary to shoot down people who are, however. Anyway, when I saw that sky, I started to think about what must have gone through those people's minds. The earliest of our writings and folklore have to do with explanations for why these things happen. They were all trying to figure out "why".

I think that those traditions, from long ago, are still being passed down through time and is a learned trait, to some extent. If someone was raised in a cabin in the woods, away from society, would the person come up with the same set of ideals about the universe? They wouldn't even know what the universe is, unless they are told. They might come up with their own explanation, based off of what makes sense in regards to their individual knowlege of their surroundings. They wouldn't know the stories of Jesus and Mary and all the other history from the Bible. They would probably be more in touch with their not learned, instinctual natures.

Having spirituality makes sense. It fills that void of "why" that many of us would have wanted to know OR it is just taught to us as fact from childhood by our families. If you don't know an alternative, you will probably naturally trust it as truth. It's aided in the progression of human kind by introducing other things to the mix, like positive ideals, higher moral standard, socialization with like minded people, etc. So, for the most part, it's been a positive to be a believer in a greater power. Also, I think that people would have killed each other off long ego if their weren't a moral standard involved. So, I think evolution of man in general has been aided along the way by having spirituality be a normal part of mix.

At any rate, those are my thoughts on the matter....

 

[Mole]

Alternance

We are spiritual because we are conscious.

But no one knows what consciousness is. So no one knows what spirituality is.

We can say though that we desire food, water, sexuality, and oddly enough, we desire to change our consciousness.

All cultures, except the Inuit, change their consciousness biochemically.

Just as plants biochemically attract bees to pollinate, plants biochemically attract us by changing our consciousness. The Cannabise plant is a good example, as is the tobacco plant. And of course there are many more. Some favoured by one culture and some favoured by another. Muslims, for instance, don't favour the hops plant.

And because we so desire to change our consciousness, we have found many other ways to do so - such as spirituality.

Much spirituality is entered through ritual. And ritual is a repetition. And any repetition will induce a trance.

And a trance is simply a change in consciousness.

Any particular trance will turn off part of our cognitive consciousness and turn on part of our creative consciousness.

And as we turn off parts of our cognitive consciousness, we become more suggestible. And religions take advantage of this heightened suggestibility to teach their doctrine and beliefs.

But interestingly we keep changing our consciousness all during the day and night. We change our consciousness between waking and sleeping, from sexual arousal to sexual quiescence, from watching TV to reading a book, from driving and walking, from painting to programming, from eating to digesting, from believing to scepticism. Even riding in an elevator changes our consciousness.

But Scientific American has shown that the greatest effect on our metabolism, and so presumably our consciousness, is other people.

Babies depend, for instance, on their mothers and fathers to modulate their emotions. In other words babies depend on their parents to change their consciousness, just as they depend on their parents to change their nappies. And as we mature we slowly learn how to change our own consciousness.

So we all depend primarily on one another to change our consciousness. So we are dependent on one another - and this makes us the single largest animal on the planet and also the most vulnerable. But vulnerability is the price we pay for creativity.

So although we don't know what consciousness is, we do know that changing our consciousness all during the day and night is the very basis of our creativity and our success.

And oh yes, my favourite word for changing our consciousness is - alternance.

 

[Quinlan]

Fear of death and lack of ambiguity tolerance.

 

[Thalassa]

I think we're more conscious ^^^ or sensitive to something...something....I've always considered myself more spiritual than religious, so I can assure you it isn't a product of "religious brainwashing" or any other such nonsense that non-believers tend to spew out in a knee jerk fashion.

 

[stringstheory]

I think we're more conscious ^^^ or sensitive to something...something....I've always considered myself more spiritual than religious, so I can assure you it isn't a product of "religious brainwashing" or any other such nonsense that non-believers tend to spew out in a knee jerk fashion.

I tend to agree, as a non-believer. It seems like people will often jump to the spiritual = religious conclusion when they aren't mutually exclusive. To me it's like what Alwar was saying earlier, taking wonder in the existence of things like the universe and the fact that, despite the randomness and the apparent rarity of life here we are posting on internet forums.

I think the nature of the human mind makes us inclined to wonder "how" and "why", and that wonder and awe is what makes people spiritual. The ideas and things we come up with to answer them aren't what make spirituality.

 

[BallentineChen]

"People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive." - Joseph Campbell

Joseph Campbell wrote the book "Hero With a Thousand Faces." In it he compares common themes of mythologies around the world and asserts they all share from a common "monomyth." He asks the question why do people from opposite sides of the globe have similar stories. He also draws from people like Carl Jung. He draws on the dreams retold by psychoanalysts and likens dreams to personalized myths, and myths as depersonalized dreams. Dreams and myths, while they are not based on fact, serve as catalysts for growth. He asserts that the failure of modern mythology, or religion, is to adapt a message to the modern times, especially when religious institutions demand a literal interpretation of scripture in an increasingly scientific minded world.

Spirituality can be interpreted as a tool for self-growth, it does not necessarily mean one has to believe in God. One can even call a session with a psychologist "spiritual." The definition of spiritual in the dictionary includes "of or relating to the mind or intellect." Spirituality - "incorporeal or immaterial nature." If we believe there are things of value in life that are not tangible, you might be spiritual. For example, duty, responsibility, love, growth. If you hold those as values you might consider yourself spiritual.

Personally, I don't like the new-age connotations of the word spiritual but I do believe in a non-material component to life. It's lame that so many people on a typology forum derived from the works of Carl Jung are quick to deride spirituality. You are unwitting hypocrites.

 

[iwakar]

Even vague explanations provide a sense of security and we are insecure beings despite our collective chutzpah.

 

[onemoretime]

For some, it's the promise of life after death.
For others, it's the feeling of something behind the veil.
For others, it's the sense of community beyond what is immediately apparent, either the international community of believers, or their ancestors.
For others, it's the analogy of deep truths.
For others, it's the standard of behavior that clearly can be followed.
For others, it's the society and community that these beliefs create and engender.

For me, it's none of these. Society and community are written into our genetic code as much as needing to eat. Proper behavior derives from this. The deep truths about the universe we live in are knowable if we find out the language to describe them in. The community with the rest of the world and with my ancestors are written in my DNA. Things that are behind the veil are something to be found out, not something to be explained away.

And life after death? As far as I know, there's no way to come up with a certain answer... so I guess I will have to wait until then to find out!

Do I believe there is something ineffable about us that cannot be explained by physical properties? Personally, yes. However, I am open to the suggestion that it is a trick we play on ourselves, an illusion of the electrical patterns that create our thoughts. There are only two ways to answer that question - either discover the other side, or prove that it is our own selves.

Either way, I love the universe too much to concern myself otherwise. There's enough here to keep me occupied for the rest of my life.

 

[King T]

People are spiritual because they have spirits.

Where is the proof that we have spirits? and lets suppose we did have a spirit, then why is it unconsciousness can be induced by head/brain trauma, if our conciousness is part of the "spiritual world" then why is there evidence showing, our conciousness is linked to our physical body, i.e. the brain and is part of chemical reactions and electrical impulses?

 

[durentu]

Where is the proof that we have spirits? and lets suppose we did have a spirit, then why is it unconsciousness can be induced by head/brain trauma, if our conciousness is part of the "spiritual world" then why is there evidence showing, our conciousness is linked to our physical body, i.e. the brain and is part of chemical reactions and electrical impulses?

When I connect certain dots, I find the proof and purpose of spirituality to be clearer. True it's my own pet theory, but I cannot deny how much this pet theory rings true. I present to you, the dots I connect.

(The punchline is that spirituality is the right side of the brain)

It's common knowledge that our right brain is artistic and our left brain is analytic. Right brain is parallel processing while our left brain is serial processing.

Jill Taylor, a neuroscientist had a hemorrhage in her left brain and she describes the experience. The left side correlates to the individuation, singularity, and identity while the right brain correlates to togetherness, openness and connection. She was able to describe what is was like without the left chunk of her brain. The description sounds very close to a spiritual transcendance and religious catharsis.

Sir Ken Robinson makes a good point. He noted that every major public school system essentially strip mines the brain for a specific commodity and that the model student are people who live in their minds and off to one side. I wager that this is the left side of the brain. The analytical, the planning, 'intelligence' are all valuable in the workforce. He mentions that whenever there is a school budget problem, the arts (right brain) are cut and the reading, writing, arithmetic (3 R's) are pushed to the top (left brain)

Jose Abreu believes that there are 2 paths to spirituality, music and religion. He also says that in modern day, there is a spirituality crisis. In light of this, it's curious to wonder if the left vs right brain is the reason behind the battle between science and religion.

As for music, Oliver Sacks in his book, Musicophilia and Nova special Musical Minds, tells us that with otherwise debilitating mental trauma and illnesses, music has been shown to have an extraordinary ability to bring order in the mind, in the midst of chaos. Essentially healing. He also explains that music is mentally demanding and requires the mind to be fully engaged, both left and right sides. He also states that music is at the heart of every civilization. Beth Abraham hospital in Bronx, NY promotes music therapy. Moby is there too.

Besides religion and music, there are other paths to spirituality. The most popular forms, such as meditation, nature walking, yoga, ocean and the beach, plain staring into a fire, etc all seem to turn off the left side of the brain and emphasize the right side of the brain. This self-awareness, nirvana or oneness with the universe is very similar to what Jill Taylor has described and wished for everyone, as she has fondly dubbed it, "La-la land".

Ray Kurzweil and his book, The Singularity is Near, talks about spindle cells. These cells are what gives humans (and some primates) the ability to make predictions. Humans have the most of these cells (80,000), however what's more interesting is that our right half has about 45,000 and our left half as 35,000. Doesn't this mean that our right brain has the advantage over our left brain?

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book Flow, he described the optimal experience phenomena of when people are "in the zone". One of the similar characterists between various activities that occur when someone is in flow is the timelessness, or time warp. When people are in flow, playing music, working, tasting, having sex etc, all report that time would be faster or slower or even be halted. It's only after the activity that they realize what they've done and start to reflect on it. This to me sounds like the right brain is highly active and involved.

The majority of the world doesn't have computers and for that matter, plain old telephone service. But it seemed to me that people without a telephone in their house are happier than the ones with a telephone. It seems odd to me, but I had lived with a host family while I was in Australia. The beauty of these people absolutely floored me. Extremely kind, their children were happy. The husband was of British descent and the wife of aboriginal descent. No telephone and if they needed to, they would use the public phone down the block. If they had an emergency or anything like that, they'd ask the neighbor for help. This is extremely bizarre when compared to my New York upbringing, where supposedly everything was better than the rest of the world. They weren't well versed in sciences as I was, however they were happy.

It's only recently have I understood, at least for myself, what spirituality really is. And that spirituality is the right side of the brain, the part that most have forgotten that we had, from what I can tell.

For completeness, this is what I see:
the 4 areas of our lives that we must try to keep in balance are our mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical.

Mental = Left side of brain
Spiritual = Right side of brain
Emotional = VTA/midbrain (core emotions like love/hate/flight or fight)
Physical = Spinal cord

I'll admit that the pieces don't fit quite right, but it's not completely wrong.

Have a look, maybe you'll agree.

 

[Amargith]

I'd be intrigued to see what other NTs (or others) make of this...could be interesting to see what you guys can brainstorm together

 

[onemoretime]

I'd be intrigued to see what other NTs (or others) make of this...could be interesting to see what you guys can brainstorm together

Sorry, I wish I could give an interesting exegesis on the institution of spirituality, but all I keep coming back to is "an accident of human evolution".

As soon as evidence arises that this is not the case, then I'll start brainstorming!

 

[Amargith]

Sorry, I wish I could give an interesting exegesis on the institution of spirituality, but all I keep coming back to is "an accident of human evolution".

As soon as evidence arises that this is not the case, then I'll start brainstorming!

Well...look at it from this point of view. NTs usually have no problem hypothesizing about theories or things that are yet to be proven though based on science. Why not try the same tactic on spirituality? Durentu gave a great kick-off on this, I'd say

Or...be willing to admit that this is not something you'd want to hypothesize on because it's just not that interesting to you. But..if it isn't...and you're not willing to delve into it, why is it that you do judge it without knowing it?

 

[onemoretime]

Well...look at it from this point of view. NTs usually have no problem hypothesizing about theories or things that are yet to be proven though based on science. Why not try the same tactic on spirituality? Durentu gave a great kick-off on this, I'd say

Or...be willing to admit that this is not something you'd want to hypothesize on because it's just not that interesting to you. But..if it isn't...and you're not willing to delve into it, why is it that you do judge it without knowing it?

It's not as if I'm unfamiliar with spirituality as a whole. Like most people, I grew up in a religious household. Most of my family still goes to church and performs the various religious rituals they were brought up in.

And it's not that it's uninteresting - way too many people devote such time and energy to it for it not to be. It's just more that it's unnecessary - I can develop just as much of a sense of wonder about the material universe without needing to contemplate a metaphysical realm. Likewise, most spiritual concepts require violating at least some sense of empiricism, particularly the need for evidence that's shared among all people.

This is a question I can wait until death to find out about, as far as I'm concerned. What's tangible has more than enough to take care of things for now.