Marriage of Philosophy and Spirituality

A foundation of principled pillars upon which to build a highly content life

Introduction

Philosophy, derived from two Greek words philein and sophia, means lover or love of wisdom (philosophia)(source). Accordingly, philosophers “seek to understand fundamental truths about themselves, the world in which they live, and their relationships to the world and to each other.” (Source)

Patrick Paul Garlinger writes in What Does “Spirituality” Actually Mean?: “the simplest definition of spirituality is that it is a view of the world that embraces the infinite possibilities for how life can express itself.” He continues:

“we are each unique beings, with unique lives, desiring to express the truth of who we are, however, we might define that truth for ourselves, and at the same time, we are never separate, never disconnected, even when we appear to be in isolation.”

I often quote Neale Donald Walsch’s Conversations with God:

Religion cannot stand Spirituality. It cannot abide it. For Spirituality may bring you to a different conclusion than a particular religion — and this no known religion can tolerate. Religion encourages you to explore the thoughts of others and accept them as your own. Spirituality invites you to toss away the thoughts of others and come up with your own.

Thus, the definition of philosophy, as an open exploration of personal answers to life’s questions, describes a spiritual journey and anyone on a spiritual journey fits the definition of philosopher.

I started drafting this essay one evening about two months ago intending to make it my first submission to Jon Hawkins’ now-closed-to-new-writers Apeiron Blog, and it has sat in my draft folder until now. As what I see as an instance of Jungian synchronicity (see my essay introducing my publication in January, What is “ChannSpirations and Coincidences?” A Celebration of Synchronicities and the Every-Person-Portal), I read an essay last night by Nate Muller that inspired me to complete this piece. Mr. Muller wrote about five misattributed philosophical quotes, including this quote that many sources attribute to Voltaire:

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

Mr. Muller explains that quote comes from a book about Voltaire, who actually said:

“Think for yourself, and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too.”

Muller then explains:

I find this quote more pronounced than the misattributed quote. Because in philosophy, thinking for yourself is a superpower and we, as free thinkers, should teach others to unlock this amazing superpower.

I saw how well Mr. Muller’s description of the Voltaire quote dovetails with my words above:

Thus, the definition of philosophy, as an open exploration of personal answers to life’s questions, describes a spiritual journey and anyone on a spiritual journey fits the definition of philosopher

and thus I saw that the time had come for me to finish and publish my article. Coincidentally, the Voltaire quote also could have led right into this well-received essay of mine, Can We Please All Find the Space Within Which to Breathe the Same Air and Agree Not to Agree, which is my only story of 369 ever chosen for further distribution by Medium. Maybe today’s 370th will make two CFFD.

My Spiritual Awakening and Journey

My awakening journey restarted at supersonic speed after a five-year hiatus on March 19, 2020. That day I dragged the police to my 36-year-old lover’s apartment building and while they made me wait outside in the cold rain they discovered that Lindsey had passed away from an accidental overdose.

The Universe applied the rack to my body with the strength of an EF5 Tornado. The reverberations of the pain waves from the tearing out of my heart shattered the barrier between conscious and unconscious and my soul emerged, filling the hole where my heart had been. (If you wish, see, e.g., among many stories in my profile, My Journey, Spiritual and Otherwise, A condensed memoir of 1995 to date; or Spiritual Awakening Followed By Integration and Alignment, The 3 overlapping stages of my spiritual journey).

At that moment, I intuitively knew that I have a soul. A soul is a sentient being comprised of pure energy of a form and with properties beyond our understanding of energy. Souls are discrete entities; souls are eternal. Eternal does not imply unchangingly static — in fact our soul’s change, not always for the better, during each cycle.

I soon learned from my spirit guides and my highest power, Rama, that this is my soul’s 17,043rd human incarnation. (If it pleases you to do so, see I Speak to God and God Speaks to Me, A short post about this Jew’s relationship with the Hindu God Rama and my other spirit guides).

My Spiritual Beliefs about God and the Purpose of Life

When I use the term spiritual, I use it in a manner that transcends the binary of theism versus atheism. One can act entirely spiritually with or without a belief in “god” however one understands that term. Spirituality only requires love, empathy, compassion, humility, honesty and courage.

On the flip side of the coin with all those positive feelings, stands accountability, both personal, and the obligation to hold others accountable for their words and deeds. Karma demands this, else the offending soul gets stained with entitlement.

Be the best person I can be, with progress, not perfection. This is why we are here, as spiritual beings (souls), seeking human experiences.

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” — Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

So, at the macro level, the goal of life is to learn — for the soul to learn how to make a human act like a better human. See my Life Is School for the Soul. While not widely accepted in the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), the concept of the lifecycle and reincarnation as described to and by me is very similar to Hindu and Buddhist teachings. See, Eternal Soul Properly Defined, Search for self properly understood; See also, these two BBC posts.

Living a Philosophically Spiritual Life

First, let me state that my understanding of and use of the term spirituality does not include “New Age” ideas that have usurped notions of spirituality in the West. As Peter Eastman writes:

faced with the onslaught of New Age mystical grooving — now the default ‘spiritual context’ in western society, and everywhere you turn — somehow still feel, perhaps only distantly and tentatively — that something is not quite right somewhere, and that something seems to be missing, and that perhaps New Age spirituality may have more to do with wish-fulfilling sentimentality than with anything grounded and substantial.

The biggest problem with New Age religion is that it is completely undiscriminating, intellectually soft, and wholly lacking in any form sceptical rigour. It encourages acceptance of any and all spiritual claims at face value — regardless of how absurd and contradictory they may be — while actively discouraging the least instance of ‘legitimate sceptical inquiry’ on the grounds that scepticism is, of itself, a clear sign of dangerous negativity and spiritual retardation. In other words, the guru is always right, no matter how unthinking and ignorant he or she might be.

While I have written about how 12-step programs have lost their way and actually do a dismal job at helping most people struggling with substance abuse to achieve sobriety and AA did not work for me (see Drilling Down to the Root Cause of Addiction), I believe that the steps contain the pillars of spiritual wisdom upon which anyone, whether a theist or an atheist, can live a content and successful life.

I specifically chose the word “content” over “happy” because I do not believe in the pursuit of happiness. Happiness, and sadness, not to be confused with depression, are but fleeting emotions that come and go and serve their signaling purposes. I seek contentment, which is not settling but a hopefully high-altitude baseline, coming from within and connection to without. It doesn’t stem from the acquisition of attachments but awareness of connection to the world and the universe as a living, breathing, and heart-beating organism and from the alignment of mind and soul and discerning my why — my drive — from discovering who I am at my core.

In my essay, Spirituality Redefined, Plus a program for living a spiritual life, I omitted the steps that refer to substances and God and wrote:

Some of you know that one of my overarching goals as a writer is to help destigmatize substance abuse. AA did not get me clean. Yet my understanding of the action steps (4, 5, 8 and 9) and maintenance steps (10 and 12) contributed greatly to my ever continuing spiritual journey towards inner contentment. Each step has a spiritual principle associated with it. (Step 1 could also have the concept of surrender associated with it).

While all those words have feelings that come with them, they are more states of being than emotions. Emotions signal to us. Spiritual principles not only serve as lighthouses when our vision is foggy, but they also guide us to and present safe harbors in which to live, and anyone and everyone can live with contentment and serenity by working Step work into their self-improvement and spiritual growth routines.

In that essay, I discussed Steps 4, 5, 8, 9, 10 and 12 in some detail and will not do so here.

What I will note in closing here, particularly as this is a philosophy piece, is that at its core, the 12-step program is identical to the central teaching of stoicism. Page 417 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous states:

And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation — some fact of my life — unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in [the universe] by mistake. …unless I accept life on life’s terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and my attitudes.

Those 109 words contain a lifetime’s worth of wisdom and lessons. If you desire to change the world, great, I sure do. Acceptance does not mean turning the other cheek regarding either a person or the world. It means, in this respect, do not let the situation eat you up inside.

They also perfectly explain the oft-misunderstood meaning of the Serenity Prayer.

Many interpret this prayer to mean that we do not have any control over events and serenity ensues from letting go and letting God. That interpretation is not wrong, but it misses the mark. The prayer truly stands for that no one can change another person — and the stoic philosophy that all that we can control and change are our own attitudes and reactions, which is also the essence of the discipline of emotional intelligence, and thus I will leave you with a few stanzas of a poem I wrote on that subject:

Emotions evolutionary prize other animals may indeed have souls Feelings allow spirits to realize Goal of elevating on totem poles Humans to achieve our intended roles Feelings spiritually guide egos Persuade others with ethos and pathos Here’s an oxymoron to consider EQ incorporates lots of logos This concludes dizain portion of dinner

Time for an imayo course, of intense EQ Do not pursue happiness — it and sadness both fleet Contentment is where you’ll find, serene state of mind Allow emotions to flow, return there lest blow

Please understand the stoics, don’t push feelings down The word does not reflect roots, Marcus A. rolls eyes Do not get carried away, yet please deeply feel If you lava dome feelings, end up like Pompei

5/8/23 edit — Anyone who found and enjoyed this old essay may enjoy this expansion I wrote this March:

In Rama I create, with soul-energy surging through my body, inspiring me and breathing wind into my sails,

Marcus (Gregory Maidman)