'Wonder' by Alex Grey - www.alexgrey.com

Now that I’ve posted this blog to my Facebook newsfeed I’m guessing there’s going to be a rather eclectic bunch of people from many walks of life taking a look at this blog. I think many of my Facebook friends are on a fairly similar wavelength to me, and this post is not really aimed at you. It’s more for the people who I went to school or uni with who perhaps don’t know about or understand the direction my life has taken over the last 10 to 15 years.

I want to emphasize that this is not an attempt to preach anything or convert anyone to a particular way of thinking, but if nothing else I hope to pique your curiosity so that you might look further into some of these facinating subjects.

Spirituality is so important and fundamental to my life, however most people seem to have no idea what spirituality means, so this is my attempt to explain it, or at least explain what it means to me. One of the things you soon find out is that it’s a very personal subject and it can mean many different things to different people.

First of all I want to say what it’s not. It’s nothing to do with religion. I can’t emphasize that enough. That’s not to say you can’t find authentic spirituality within religion, but you certainly don’t need any religion to find authentic spirituality.

I don’t consider myself religious, or certainly not in the way most people understand the word. I’m actually fairly anti-religion in many respects, although I try to be respectful of other peoples customs and beliefs particularly if it really is having a truly beneficial affect on their life.

Although I’m very aware that religion does do a lot of good in the world, I personally think the negative side of religion outweighs the positive side. The negative side is of course the wars, hate, violence, intolerance and suffering that religious people have inflicted on each other (and the so-called heretics) down through the ages. Which is ironic because the true teachings of practically every religion actually promote peace, harmony and understanding between people (even those that believe something different to yourself!). Anyway, I’m getting away from the point, so back to spirituality!

I tend to find that people who are not spiritually aware think they only have three options in life when it comes to matters of God and spirit. You either join a religion and become a believer in God (theist). You reject ideas of god completely (and become an atheist). Or you sit on the fence and happily admit that really you have no idea (agnostic). This is what I remember learning in RE at school and I’m sure this is what most other people think are their only options.

However, there’s a fourth option I want to tell you about. An option that sadly too few people are aware of right now. You could call this option gnosis or gnosticism. The essential meaning of those words is knowledge, but for now let’s use the more general umbrella word of spirituality. Believe it or not, you positively and definitely can acquire real knowledge of the spiritual worlds if you’re willing to open your mind (and perhaps more importantly, your heart).

The path to this kind of knowledge can be an arduous one, that usually involves leaving your comfort zone far behind you. It often means realising that everything you thought you knew about the world is in fact quite wrong, and your life will never be quite the same again. Sometimes it means you have to let go of your friends and family because you can’t relate to them any more, although it certainly doesn’t mean you will love them any less. The rewards however, are immense.

So, what is spirituality?

For me it’s about love, knowledge, sharing, connection, and understanding the deeper mysteries of life. It’s about finding  answers to the questions of who am I? Where am I? Why am I here? And what do I do now? It’s about not being afraid to question absolutely everything, and to always think for myself, and not to believe something just because someone has told me it’s true. It’s about making the most of my life each and every day, and being the best person I can be.

Perhaps more than anything it’s about remembering. Because I know that this knowledge is not exclusive, and it is in fact hidden within each and every person on this planet, but for most people it’s just been deeply locked away in a place where they fear to look – deep inside themselves.

I would also like to share a definition I got from a course I did last year with a British spiritual teacher called William Bloom -

“Spirituality is our natural experience of the pure wonder of life; and our instinct to deepen that experience and explore its meaning.”

Perhaps you think you’ve never had a spiritual experience. But have you ever had a moment, perhaps out in nature where you’re staring out at a most beautiful scene, may be the sun is setting and everything is glowing and suddenly you’re completely awestruck by the incredible beauty of your surroundings and you start to feel a deep but unexplainable connection to everything around you? Welcome to the world of spiritual experience. That’s where it all starts for many people, although it’s certainly not where it ends.

Authentic spirituality is not really about beliefs (although some beliefs may come into play), and it’s certainly not about dogma and imposing your views, although there’s certainly nothing wrong with sharing what you know. People will come when they’re ready, or not at all.

If you had to boil it down to two things I would say it’s about love and connection, although the two are practically the same thing, because when you love someone or something then you’re deeply connected with them.

Through this blog I intend to explore the subject of spirituality (inner journeys) more deeply, as well as talking about my adventures (outer travels) in Peru. I hope you will follow along, and if you haven’t been stirred already, I hope I can somehow stir that place deep inside of you that is longing to be free and awake. However, if you want to reject it all as a load of old new-age hippie bullshit then that’s ok too. I wish you nothing but a happy journey through life and I hope that all your dreams come true.

With deep love and respect

Andy

PS. For those reading that already consider yourselves spiritually aware. Perhaps you would like to share what spirituality means to you in the comments below.