What is Spirituality

What makes us human? Is it the ability to walk on two feet and think? Is it the complexity of emotion that permeates our lives like an ocean fog? Who are we really? Even when we define ourselves as a soul, what are we talking about? Is it some mysterious connection with an inner self that few human beings have access to while others simply live their lives in robotic imitation or denial?

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, said somebody once, but spiritual beings having a human experience. Most of us have had peak experiences in our lives where we can identify with this spiritual being , but few of us feel able to sustain this awareness. Meanwhile, all kinds of dogmas, rituals, and religions have grown up around this awareness of our inner self, which have unfortunately done more to clutter than to illuminate the truth, leading to a painful disconnection from our inner being, with each other, and with all life on Mother Earth.

In this short essay, I wish to define spirituality in a multi-dimensional, evolutionary context. Who we are is a vast ocean of awareness seeking to find a reflection of itself in physical form. Whether we call this atman, soul, essence, spirit, being, monad, or divine spark, we are awesome beings eternally powerful and self-aware. At a certain point, we chose to experiment with physical matter, created physical bodies for self-expression, and entered the playground of form. It was a delicate operation, for while the potential existed for a greater exploration of diversity in the incredible beauty of physical form, there was also the danger that we would somehow get lost in matter. It was rather like a pearl diver plunging into the ocean depths hunting for pearls and finding that his lifeline had become tangled in the weeds.

From an evolutionary perspective, it is the DNA of our physical form that holds the memories of who we are, as well as the potential of what we can become. Our DNA was imprinted as a perfect reflection of spirit in the worlds of form. At a certain point in history, for reasons that I won�t elaborate at this point, our DNA experienced distortions, and our lifeline was broken. We experienced ourselves as marooned in bodies of matter, disconnected from the worlds of our origins. We became lost in matter, and experienced separation from our vast identity as spirit. We became identified ourselves with our bodies, with our brief sojourn in matter. Our minds, instead of serving as a link to the infinite worlds of multi-dimensional expression, became locked into a rigid sense of separate material identity. Disconnected from the truth of our inner being, we fragmented ourselves, and our bodies began to age, suffer, and die.

How do we reverse this sad state of affairs? In order to discover again who we truly are, we first need to recognize who we are not. We are NOT this sorry excuse for humanity that clothes itself in pathetically narrow religious, cultural, or historical identities. We are NOT a cancerous, murderous species out to devour the world. We are NOT the static within our minds that keeps us hooked into a pointless robotic existence. We are NOT bodies separate from our souls, nor hearts disconnected from our minds. And we are NOT alone in the universe.

The great Indian freedom-fighter, yogi, and avatar, Sri Aurobindo, spoke about a new force that is beginning to move through human affairs. The Divine that we are in our true essence is beginning to move towards the fractured divinity of our embodied form. He referred to this as the supramental descent. It is a unifying force that is beginning to permeate our collective human drama, reverse our distorted identification with physical form, and awaken our true potential within the fields of matter. It is a new evolutionary force that is here to create a new species of humanity as different from humans today as we are from the apes. It is a Divine Force that is re-splicing the very basis of our DNA so that we can fully express our Infinite Universal Self within transformed bodies of light capable of multi-dimensional access.

What we refer to as enlightenment is the first step in this journey. It is a neurophysiological process whereby the mind is linked with heart, which, yoked together, link with the dimensions of soul. It is only the first step, however. As our DNA begins to respond to these linkages, the physical body begins to mutate. The cells begin to absorb nourishment directly from the cosmos, the mind allows increasing access to higher dimensions, and the soul finds fuller expression in body of purified matter. Eventually the body becomes a clear, perfect reflection for the intent of spirit, and soul can incarnate fully within the body. Some call this process ascension. (Perhaps a more appropriate term would be "descension"!)

For the masses of humanity, this is still to come, however. It may not be till certain shifts take place in the energetic balance of Earth that we become fully capable of living as limitless spiritual beings in human bodies. As we come closer to the end of linear time as reflected in the Mayan calendar, the energetic balance on Earth will go through a profound shift. Until then, we can begin with contemplating our true potential, and awakening from the illusions of who we are not. Once we recognize who we are not, our souls can work more directly to illumine our bodies and minds. Although the mass enlightenment and ascension of humanity may not happen until later, each of us can begin our individual journey here and now.

For long eons, humanity has slumbered in unconsciousness, and has come close to destroying forever its own habitat. We have wandered deep into a prison of our own making, and have tried desperately to cut off all traces of our true origins and destiny. Our DNA has been distorted, and we have genetically engineered ourselves almost to extinction. However, we are at a moment in time when we are preparing to awaken from this deep slumber and take our place as fully conscious, mature, spiritual beings in the vast playground of created universes. After all our wanderings, we are preparing to finally come home to ourselves, and to truly know that place for the first time. May we journey well!

By Kiara Windrider