It was a warm, quiet morning on Wednesday, August 9, 2019. I was standing in a beautiful green grassy park, surrounded by several spiritual seekers. We were there to experience a contemplative walk led by a spiritual teacher, Jonathon Stalls. As the morning sun was shining warmly, Jonathon encouraged us to take off our shoes to allow our bare feet to connect with the grass and the earth, to feel the connection and sense our deeper union with nature and each other. We honoured our place in the universe by walking slowly across the park toward some striking trees on the far side. The tree that caught my attention was large, with wide bows reaching outward. I felt drawn to it for some reason. Moving slowly, barefoot and unspeaking, it was like I felt the tree speaking to me with words that were not heard.
I share this story because it helps me define spirituality. In my life, spirituality is a deep, connecting sense that runs through all things and connects all things like a web. The image of me walking through a grassy park with other seekers is spirituality. The draw to that particular tree is spirituality. Spirituality is not just about individual experiences; it’s about the interconnectedness of all things, creating a sense of unity and belonging.
This definition might sound strange, so I want to try to break it down in this post to help other seekers realize their innate spiritual connecting point, as I did on that sunny day in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It’s a journey of self-discovery and understanding that can inspire and motivate others on their own spiritual paths.
I will start my explanation of spirituality by drawing from Philip Sheldrake’s book Spirituality: A Very Short Introduction. After sharing that it is difficult to define spirituality in a modern context, he shares the following definition:
“Spirituality concerns what is holistic – that is, a fully integrated approach to life. This fits with the fact that historically ‘the spiritual’ relates to ‘the holy’ from the Greek word holos, ‘the whole’. Thus, rather than being simply one element among others in human existence, ‘the spiritual’ is best understood as the integrating factor – ‘life as a whole’. Then spirituality is also understood to be engaged with a quest for the ‘sacred’. This includes beliefs about God but also refers more broadly to the numinous, the depths of human existence, or the boundless mysteries of the cosmos.” (Philip Sheldrake, 2012, page 5)
This definition provides a helpful approach to spirituality. Many people feel spirituality fits into a box connected to a particular religion or belief system, but this definition shows that spirituality does not, by definition, fit into boxes. It is inclusive, encompassing all the boxes and is as vast as the universe itself. It welcomes all seekers into a larger spiritual community, regardless of their individual beliefs or practices.
My definition is very similar and draws on the work of another author and teacher, Ken Wilber. Wilber has written at length on the topic of spirituality through the lens of his own work called Integral Theory. Integral Theory is a window through which all things can be viewed. I will attempt to simplify one part of it here. According to the theory, all things are made up of holons. A holon refers “to an entity that is itself a whole and simultaneously a part of some other whole.” (Ken Wilber, A Brief History of Everything, 1996, 2000, page 17). Think about it: the universe comprises smaller parts that become parts of something larger. Atoms are a building block of the natural world but are also built of smaller parts. When many atoms come together, they form something larger. We, as humans, are made up of billions of atoms, which combine in the differing parts of our anatomy. The atom is a holon, and we are holons. These holons go all the way down to the smallest, imperceptible particles of the universe and go all the way up to the universe itself (or universes beyond our universe).
If we are made up of smaller holons, it makes sense that we are part of larger holons beyond our understanding. We are part of a biosphere that includes all the living beings on earth. What goes beyond that? Wilber calls it the noosphere. This is the holon that includes all living beings and the earth itself within it. It is the common thread in all of existence. The higher we go in the complexity of the holon, the more the holon contains. We will cease to exist if one of the smaller holons that make us up ceases to exist. The same is true of the larger universe. Therefore, to grow in our realization of this spiritual universe, we must include all the other parts of our reality.
One of my teachers, Richard Rohr, often drew on Ken Wilber’s teachings, saying, “Include and transcend.” He was teaching that spirituality is learning this ever-important lesson. If we want to transcend to the realization of the spiritual, we must include all the prior holons in our view. We must attempt to hold as much of the visible and invisible world as possible in our tiny comprehension.
Spirituality is about the journey of learning to be present to life and the universe in an open stance of willingness. It is not about changing the spiritual realm or trying to bring ourselves to it. It is about becoming aware of it, of allowing our heart, mind, and soul to be awakened and enlivened by it. Spirituality is learning to be open to seeing the interconnectivity of all things. Of including all things and, for me, seeing that all reality is God or the Greatest Holon.
So, next time you are walking in nature or with friends, I encourage you to stop and take a moment to sense your place in the great web of being. We are all part of something greater. We are spiritual. We are one.
Resonance Journey 