Regardless of religion or faith in anything particular, many people intuitively sense what it means to be a spiritual person. So, you may ask yourself the question, ‘How spiritual am I?’

A quick Google of the word ‘spiritual’ will produce a colourful mash-up of eastern imagery mixed with planets, sunsets and candles. Is ‘spiritual’ simply being aware of ‘the universe’ or ‘universal energy’? Many people will use religious paraphernalia as lucky charms; adding a $9.99 trinket to their shopping cart along with the groceries. Does that make us spiritual?

But beyond the stereotypes of spa treatments, yoga and ambient chime music what really makes a person spiritual? Is it the ability to understand metaphysical concepts or is it more to do with moral integrity? Is it an openness to supernatural phenomena or is it something more proactive involving some level of intentional participation?

WHAT MAKES SOMEONE SPIRITUAL?

What if I were to ask you if you consider yourself a spiritual person? What would you say? You might point to the fact that you regularly go to an organized spiritual meeting or are a member of a religious group. On the other hand you may dabble in a bit of reiki or read the horoscope once a week. Perhaps you have joined in with the recent trend of ‘mindfulness’? But most likely, you don’t really know, because honestly, you haven’t given it much thought.

Spirituality or the supernatural is, by definition, a mysterious concept. It’s the metaphysical – the invisible, the hidden realm. Could it be that we are reluctant to consider or talk about our thoughts towards a spiritual reality because we don’t want to be seen as weak minded or gullible? Isn’t it something we grow out of and just for kids?

SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES

On the contrary, in our experience, it seems like many people we meet are happy to talk about their spiritual experiences once we have broached the subject. We were chatting to a lady just a few days ago about her home. After we mentioned some of our own experiences of the supernatural she began to confide in us that the ghost of her dead mother would knock on the upstairs landing most days at three o’clock in the afternoon. It didn’t bother her – in fact, she seemed amused by it!

Then there was the time a guy spoke to my wife Aliss in his shop recently (he was an intelligent businessman). He surprised her by saying, quite matter-of-fact, that he was sure there was a spiritual war going on! He wasn’t a church person or of any particular faith, but he was personally convinced, especially after the covid pandemic, that there was more to life than meets the eye.

Many are tired of rationalism and are looking for answers elsewhere. For example – picture this: You suddenly think about an old friend or acquaintance you haven’t seen or thought about for 10 years. You actually say out loud; “I wonder how they’re doing, I hope they’re OK”. The very next day, ‘out of the blue’, they call you!

Believe it or not that is quite a common phenomenon. So what was that? Was it a coincidence? Did you make that phone call manifest? Or was it some kind of premonition – spiritual foresight? What do you think?

HOW SPIRITUAL ARE YOU?

So what’s your attitude towards spirituality or a spiritual dimension? Are you sceptical or more open and agnostic? Do you look for supernatural phenomena or try and figure out what’s going on if unexpected things are happening?

Here at Spirit Lifestyle we’ve put together this short quiz to help you perhaps understand a little more clearly how you approach spiritual phenomena, experiences or ideas… Why not give it a go – you might be surprised…