Spirit and Life Part I

Spirit and Life Part I

One test of spirituality is when one walks into a building or into a conversation.  Can you breathe?  Is the air fresh from a spirit perspective?  Or, do you feel boxed in, on edge, nervous, or uncanny?  These are signs for spirituality or lack thereof.  

The older we get, the closer we come - to giving birth to a spirit being - in death.  Thus, we develop better understanding of spirit as we age - especially as we cross the threshold of middle age.  

In Latin as well as Greek (spiritus, pneuma) it refers to breath.  To truly understand Spirit, we must understand the original and universal meaning of the words with the same referent.  Thus, Spirit, means breath.  It is the air we breathe.  Thus, Holy Spirit is Holy Breath.  

We see the importance of this breathing in meditative practices.  Almost all of them have breath exercises.  Sometimes you focus on the breath.  Sometimes you breathe deeply.  Often breath walking is used.  Taking deep breaths is also common.  Correct or elegant ways of breathing is also taught among many.

Thus, to be spiritual is connected to being able to breathe - literally and figuratively.  Even the animals know that when something hisses, it is signaling that it is alive and ready for action - it is not dead and ready to be eaten!

Breath and wind are fluids.  Often, another way to understand spirit is the use of water - another fluid.  Baptism is with water.  Many meditative and therapeutic practices use water - massage, aroma therapy, a spa, steam rooms, cold showers, and the like.  

Thus, Spirit is formless, and we cannot get our hands around it - literally and figuratively.  It is undefined.  It changes.  It takes the form of the container, or no form when flowing or blowing.  

One word of caution is Spirit as Fire.  In the New Testament, during the Day of Pentecost, Spirit is referred to as Fire.  What happens when something catches fire?  It is consumed - destroyed.  Often fire provides warmth for comfort and cooking, but it is dangerous.  Thus, Spirit as Fire is dangerous lest we be burned.  So what is Spirit as Fire?  It is warmth and energy.  

Fire, like air and water, is a fluidic substance that has no set form or shape, and is in harmony with the other symbols, as long as we can perceive their commonality - fluid, flowing, undefined, uncontained, life-giving, refreshing, formless, flowing or blowing.

Thus, Spirituality in our lives should have some strong symbolic reference to these substances - the universal one is breath and Air, followed by Water, and lastly, Fire.

As before, a good test of spirituality is when one walks into a building or into a conversation.  Can you breathe?  Is the air fresh from a spirit perspective?  Or, do you feel boxed in, on edge, nervous, or uncanny?  These are signs for spirituality or lack thereof.  

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