>>>>Is this a demanding question- can spiritual truth be given by another? Can any psychological truth be given to another?
Spiritual and psychological truths can’t be transferred from one person to another, but a ‘coach’ can be very helpful in pointing in certain directions, and in sharing with someone else a helpful vocabulary, and helpful concepts. But we each have to find a way to turn words and ideas into realities for ourselves. This is not doctrine — you can test it for yourself. The only way we can know if we’ve understood something is to find a way to test ourselves — we have to keep checking our understanding against reality, not against what other people might say. (Because they may have a faulty understanding themselves).
>>>>How about this one- is self-deception happening to me, and if so, can it be understood and therefore resolved?
Self-deception (in its psychological sense) can never be ultimately resolved, because it’s a capacity, not a permanent ‘state’. It’s like the capacity to be physically injured — even if you’re always perfectly fit, just climbing stairs you can break bones. So no matter how hard we check ourselves for signs of self-deception, the risk is always there.
>>>>Are these demanding questions or still vacuous?
>>>>I like these questions but I’m not sure if they are ‘spiritual.’
>>>>>Would you say these are spiritual? I still struggle with that word tremendously, most likely because it has been defined by authorities from above and no one from above has ever asked those below to define it for themselves.
Regarding the definition of ‘spirituality’ — I think the definition in the article is quite good: it maybe a bit vague but it allows the possiblity of improvement. If we find a way to better define ‘spiritual’ and ‘spirituality’, then we can amend it:
‘Spirituality’ is defined here as that which relates to the ultimate destiny and purpose of my self-conscious existence, whether or not I’m intelligent or mature enough to perceive it in my current state. In other words, whatever turns out to be the truth of my existence is, is ‘spirituality’, even if I am wilfully self-deluded about what that truth might be right now. So we’re always aiming at the furthest point — as far as we can go — and further if necessary (!) — irrespective of how foolish it might make me look in the meantime. The true spiritual quest cannot be satisfied with anything less than ‘the very endpoint at the very end of the very last road’.
Put it another way: your ‘spirit’ is that part of your lucid consciousness which remains when you’ve taken everything else away, ‘everything’ being all your perceptual, intellectual and experiential apprehensions. Spirituality is about trying to get that lucid ‘something beyond everything’ to light up of its own accord. Spirituality is anything which assists us to know that which allows us to know anything in the first place. Everything else is either religion or psychology or whatever.
Let me know what you think.
