I have heard both extremes of the Spiritual discussion. On one hand, I have had an atheist student claim that there should not be a Spiritual component of wellness. On the other hand, I have heard religious people put down someone for saying they are “Spiritual but not religious”. Let’s remember what it means to be Spiritual. The Spiritual dimension of “well-centered fitness” refers to the understanding that there is purpose to our existence and requires only that one believe in something greater than oneself. We look beyond ourselves and consider that we are not the center of the universe. It is not necessary to believe in a God. Nor is it necessary to practice any specific religion.
I have known many nonreligious persons who are quite the model of Spiritual well-centeredness. This may be conflicting to my Christian friends and cause them upset, but religion can actually get in the way Spiritual well-centeredness. Religion can also, however, be the means by which one grows more Spiritual. At the very core of the Christian faith, after all, is the command to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31, NIV). Even the go-to verse, John 3:16 sets the tone for being Spiritual, especially when one goes the additional step in reading the verse that follows: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” This is Spiritual—to view the world as something greater than oneself. This is the very message and example of Jesus.
Nonetheless, our claims to understanding faith, God, and our religion does not give one superiority—as this is the complete opposite of Spirituality. Rather these heighten the responsibility of one who professes to be religious to “do unto others.”
There are some who profess to be scientific and, therefore, dismiss the Spiritual. As I have addressed before, as one begins to break down the very matter that makes the Physical, we come to an increasing connectedness among all that is physical. Thus, whether religious or non-believer, we are one. One who seeks to be “well-centered” understands this and, thus, seeks to move from self to selfless.
Carpe momento!