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Old 10-17-2012, 06:37 PM   #1
Travers Hughes
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Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

Hi all, in reading a lot of recent threads, the word spiritual is being used a lot.
(I've put this in the general column because my approach is more pragmatic than spiritual - please feel free to move if required).

I wouldn't consider myself overly spiritual, and don't necessarily believe that the ongoing practising of aikido is a more spiritual exercise than say the ongoing practice of tennis or whatever else floats your boat. That doesn't make me any better or worse than you - I just have a different viewpoint.

The thread of aikido being a "hippie art" etc makes me wonder:

With internationalisation and ease of transport / communications in the last 50 years, people are looking for new experiences and opening themselves up to new cultures with lesser effort than before. (I don't need to hop on a boat for 2 months to go to Japan and train with some sage for 20 years - I can fly over for 6 months and supplement my training with DVDs, books and the occasional podcast. Don't understand a word/concept? Put it into google translate. Life sure is easy now!) We've therefore reduced the amount of effort required to gain quality learning, while increasing the quantity of what we can learn. Sacrificing quality with quantity in our busy lives leads to a superficial of understanding.

Consider yogi / swarmi / monks / martial artists able to do seemingly impossible feats - I can see the feats, but haven't invested the time into understand the culture/history behind the feats, so label them as mysterious and spiritual).

Why do I think this? I'm lucky - I spent quite a bit of time in Japan as a youngster and was exposed to language and culture. There is less "mysteriousness" about aikido to me than a person who has not had the same cultural exposure. I take their proclamations of aikido being "spiritual" as their feeling of wonderment about trying a new activity and learning some basic concept which is opening up a floodgate of new possibilities. It's almost forcing a change from the current norm of quantity learning vs quality learning.

I'm a beginner. My aikido learning is just that - the training in the techniques of aikido. I speak the language and therefore understand what to do in the technique (NOTE: I'm not saying I can do them, just know what I SHOULD be doing in a mechanical sense!) There is no "aha" moment when I can out together the terms to see relationships. (There are plenty of "aha" moments in learning movement, however - don't get me wrong, I don't have an inflated opinion of myself in any way. I consider myself lucky in the sense that I have a bit of a communication shortcut, that's all)

So my question is:

Is it the "aha" moments that you have that you use as your "spirituality" (insert desire to continue training if preferred)?

Love to hear your comments.
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Old 10-17-2012, 08:24 PM   #2
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

Quote:
Travers Hughes wrote: View Post
Is it the "aha" moments that you have that you use as your "spirituality" (insert desire to continue training if preferred)?
For me this is essentially the case. That and a "deep" sense of awe.

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Old 10-17-2012, 10:13 PM   #3
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

Quote:
Travers Hughes wrote: View Post
So my question is:

Is it the "aha" moments that you have that you use as your "spirituality" (insert desire to continue training if preferred)?

Love to hear your comments.
For me, no.
The "aha! moments are when I am flat on my back wondering how I got there, or that I've just managed to do that to somebody else...
The spiritual practice, for me, is showing up and dealing with whatever human puzzle is placed in front of me to deal with, whether it's the one I thought I expected or wanted or not.

Janet Rosen
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Old 10-18-2012, 07:35 AM   #4
phitruong
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

a question, can spiritual be learned? ok, another question, do awesome feats equate to being spiritual? ok, one more question, does aha moment with walking in gangnam style equate to being spiritual?

"budo is putting on cold, wet, sweat stained gi with a smile and a snarl" - your truly
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Old 10-18-2012, 08:06 AM   #5
Brian Beach
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C Clarke
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Old 10-18-2012, 08:46 AM   #6
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

I agree with what I think Travers is saying: "spiritual", in some societies at least, has come to be a common label for something that is new and different and that the person doing the labeling doesn't have a ready explanation for. As I think Brian is implying, "magic" would have been the label in another place and time; here and now it's "spiritual", but it serves the same function.
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Old 10-21-2012, 08:34 AM   #7
aiki-jujutsuka
 
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

Is spirituality an innate human quality? I think it is. Even materialists have to accept the duality of the mind and brain. The mind cannot exist without the brain but the brain isn't necessarily the same thing as the mind. As human beings we are self-aware and this self-awareness leads us to reflect upon our experiences and find meaning and purpose in them. Our self-awareness leads us to develop an identity and this identity is something visceral as well as cognitive. Our opinions, our worldview, our feelings, who we are. This is where spirituality comes in. If Aikido is practised as a way of self-improvement, a way of harmonizing with the universe and becoming more introspectively self-aware as to effect us positively so that we can make a difference in this world that is spiritual. Whether performing a particular technique or passing a grading can be considered spiritual will depend on the importance you place on such things; but generally speaking Aikidoka and martial artists in general practice and train because it forms part or all of their identity, self-perception and gives their lives meaning, purpose and value.

I don't consider Aikido to be magical in as far as ki is concerned. Nor do I think that one has to focus on ki to make Aikido spiritual. It becomes spiritual when you allow it to change your self-perception, your view of the world and align your views with that of its principles of harmonization. As a student of Aiki-Jujutsu the emphasis on aiki is one of balance, posture, yielding, blending and timing. There is nothing magical about it. It is a principle that implicitly changes the dynamics of a technique so that the foundation of the art is not based on strength, aggression or resistance but on yielding and blending. I suppose the 'do' is the more spiritual part of the art, as in other forms of budo as it teaches a certain mindset and seeks a particular kind of response to violence and aggression. By conforming to these principles one is allowing the art to change them and this is a form of spirituality.
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Old 10-21-2012, 02:29 PM   #8
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

Quote:
Ewen Ebsworth wrote: View Post
Is spirituality an innate human quality? I think it is. Even materialists have to accept the duality of the mind and brain. The mind cannot exist without the brain but the brain isn't necessarily the same thing as the mind. As human beings we are self-aware and this self-awareness leads us to reflect upon our experiences and find meaning and purpose in them. Our self-awareness leads us to develop an identity and this identity is something visceral as well as cognitive.
You see, I take the same info as my basis for *opposing* the concept of duality of mind and brain.
That the identity is simultaneously visceral AND cognitive is, to me, simply because they are the same thing. Visceral = cognitive, mind=brain, identity = me, "body and soul" as it were.

Janet Rosen
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Old 10-21-2012, 03:18 PM   #9
aiki-jujutsuka
 
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

I believe there is an indivisible connection, but my point is that the human experience is a spiritual one by nature. Esotericism or gnosticism is more what I think people misinterpret for 'spiritual' in the context of this thread. Many people in our post-modern society don't want to find 'spirituality' from religion, because of the connotations of religion in their mind, as well as their own prejudice against religion. Aikido as an art and not a religion then becomes a far more attractive medium through which to develop and express 'spirituality'.

There's nothing wrong with finding spirituality in Aikido or any other art - music for example I believe is a very spiritual experience. But again that is because I think spirituality is innate to the human experience and identity. However, 'spirituality' isn't just something the few 'discover', we all naturally give value to things that are important to us and this leads that thing to become an expression of our own spiritual connection to life. The Apostle Paul used many illustrations from life to express spiritual truths in his letters. He referred to farming, sport and soldiering in order to give concrete examples of abstract realities. By using such everyday understandable language he was able to communicate the transcendant or sublime far more effectively. Thus Aikido, painting, music, sport, we can draw spiritual lessons and examples from everything.
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Old 10-21-2012, 03:57 PM   #10
Travers Hughes
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

Quote:
Mary Malmros wrote: View Post
I agree with what I think Travers is saying: "spiritual", in some societies at least, has come to be a common label for something that is new and different and that the person doing the labeling doesn't have a ready explanation for. As I think Brian is implying, "magic" would have been the label in another place and time; here and now it's "spiritual", but it serves the same function.
Thanks Mary, that's exactly what I was trying (badly) to say.
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Old 10-22-2012, 07:06 AM   #11
Krystal Locke
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

Thought is an epiphenomenon of having a powerful information organizer. Emotions are an epiphenomenon of having a powerful information organizer. What folks call spirituality (mind the pile of "No True Scotsman", it is hard to avoid when dealing with undefined terms...) is an epiphenomenon of having a powerful information organizer. The organizer is flawed in a way that is interestingly and reflexively self-referential.

Materialists do not have to accept duality of mind and brain. One is a side effect of the other, and is just an ingrained way of organizing information. And a lot of us prefer the labels of methodological naturalist or rationalist to materialist. As long as we are talking around, I mean, about biases....
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Old 10-22-2012, 07:27 AM   #12
SteveTrinkle
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

Quote:
Travers Hughes wrote: View Post
Hi all, in reading a lot of recent threads, the word spiritual is being used a lot.
(I've put this in the general column because my approach is more pragmaticvs
spiritual - please feel free to move if required).

I wouldn't consider myself overly spiritual, and don't necessarily believe that the ongoing practising of aikido is a more spiritual exercise than say the ongoing practice of tennis or whatever else floats your boat. That doesn't make me any better or worse than you - I just have a different viewpoint.

The thread of aikido being a "hippie art" etc makes me wonder:

With internationalisation and ease of transport / communications in the last 50 years, people are looking for new experiences and opening themselves up to new cultures with lesser effort than before. (I don't need to hop on a boat for 2 months to go to Japan and train with some sage for 20 years - I can fly over for 6 months and supplement my training with DVDs, books and the occasional podcast. Don't understand a word/concept? Put it into google translate. Life sure is easy now!) We've therefore reduced the amount of effort required to gain quality learning, while increasing the quantity of what we can learn. Sacrificing quality with quantity in our busy lives leads to a superficial of understanding.

Consider yogi / swarmi / monks / martial artists able to do seemingly impossible feats - I can see the feats, but haven't invested the time into understand the culture/history behind the feats, so label them as mysterious and spiritual).

Why do I think this? I'm lucky - I spent quite a bit of time in Japan as a youngster and was exposed to language and culture. There is less "mysteriousness" about aikido to me than a person who has not had the same cultural exposure. I take their proclamations of aikido being "spiritual" as their feeling of wonderment about trying a new activity and learning some basic concept which is opening up a floodgate of new possibilities. It's almost forcing a change from the current norm of quantity learning vs quality learning.

I'm a beginner. My aikido learning is just that - the training in the techniques of aikido. I speak the language and therefore understand what to do in the technique (NOTE: I'm not saying I can do them, just know what I SHOULD be doing in a mechanical sense!) There is no "aha" moment when I can out together the terms to see relationships. (There are plenty of "aha" moments in learning movement, however - don't get me wrong, I don't have an inflated opinion of myself in any way. I consider myself lucky in the sense that I have a bit of a communication shortcut, that's all)

So my question is:

Is it the "aha" moments that you have that you use as your "spirituality" (insert desire to continue training if preferred)?

Love to hear your comments.
Ithink pragma"tic vs spir"itual" is a false dichotomy

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Old 10-22-2012, 01:08 PM   #13
Brian Beach
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

It's probably a bad idea to speak for everyone but I'll do it anyway

When people speak about spirituality they are generally speaking about connection. Whether they are speaking about connection to their idea of god, other people, the universal mind, world consciousness etc.

They ( the one seeking) are the vehicle for the connection. A "you" can't have a connection with another without a "you". The technology or methodology is different but achieves the same whether it's religion, meditation, biofeedback, yoga, martial arts etc. The "you" are seen in context, as part of the whole.

Aikido is a very direct methodology in attempting to achieve connection to another person. It is instant feed back whether it be gratifying or otherwise. You know how you are doing immediately.

You also have to be connected to yourself (body awareness, mental state, intention etc) in order to achieve a solid connection with another.

Spirituality is a loaded way of saying getting connected.
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Old 10-22-2012, 02:29 PM   #14
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

Quote:
Mary Malmros wrote: View Post
I agree with what I think Travers is saying: "spiritual", in some societies at least, has come to be a common label for something that is new and different and that the person doing the labeling doesn't have a ready explanation for. As I think Brian is implying, "magic" would have been the label in another place and time; here and now it's "spiritual", but it serves the same function.
Assuming I'm understanding things well enough, I guess I might have to make a distinction then...
My sense of spirituality is tied up in my sense of the learning process; this is why I said those "aha" moments are essentially my spiritual experiences. When I suddenly understand some facet of something, it opens my mind to a deeper appreciation of reality, this generates a sense of awe and reverence for it. Any time I see something "unbelievable" I put it in terms of a rational universe that is simply too big for me to understand sufficiently; strictly speaking it isn't unbelievable, it's just beyond my frame of reference.
This isn't to say that something is distinctly spiritual just because it's also mysterious or otherwise unknown (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes didn't leave me with a distinct feeling of spirituality, for example)...although I do think that sense of mystery creates a very large space for the mind to enjoy itself, so perhaps that's what attracts so many "spiritual" people to the language of other cultures...they get a little extra room to play around in the reflections of their own mind. Kotegaeshi can sound like a Great Name/Word of Power until you realize it's just "returning the wrist," so I can see how unfamiliar terms could add to this sense of mystery/magic.

Gambarimashyo!
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Old 10-22-2012, 02:29 PM   #15
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

Quote:
Stephen Trinkle wrote: View Post
I think pragmatic vs spiritual is a false dichotomy
Word.

Spirituality is about matters of the spirit: not training the body, nor informing the mind, nor improving mental agility, but strengthening the spirit.

So yeah, the discipline of showing up multiple times a week to do something difficult at physical and mental levels trains the spirit, but isn't special to Aikido.

Learning to face an attack without getting de-centered trains the spirit, but any combat art trains this.

Learning to face an attack without aggression or fear trains the spirit, but any budo focuses on this.

Learning to handle an attack without damage to the attacker trains the spirit, and is a particular focus of Aikido.

Learning to handle an attack without plan or strategy, but by being open only to the requirements of the moment, trains the spirit, and is the highest form of Aikido. But then, it's the highest form of budo in general. There may be many paths up the mountain, but when you get there, you're all pretty much in the same place.

So no, if I say Aikido is spiritual, it's not about Eastern mysteries or magic, and it is highly practical. It's about using Aikido as a tool to become who we want to be--in some dimensions, at least.

Evolution doesn't prove God doesn't exist, any more than hammers prove carpenters don't exist.
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Old 10-22-2012, 03:20 PM   #16
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

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And a lot of us prefer the labels of methodological naturalist or rationalist to materialist. As long as we are talking around, I mean, about biases....
does this mean methodological naturalists deny 'spirituality'? If thought is an epiphenomenon of a powerful information organizer, does this mean logic is also an epiphenomenon? Is empiricism? What effect does this have on the validity of empiricism as a form of ontology?
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Old 10-22-2012, 03:28 PM   #17
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

Quote:
Hugh Beyer wrote: View Post
So no, if I say Aikido is spiritual, it's not about Eastern mysteries or magic, and it is highly practical. It's about using Aikido as a tool to become who we want to be--in some dimensions, at least.
Word.

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Old 10-22-2012, 04:45 PM   #18
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

This methodological naturalist denies "spirituality", and prefers to talk about personality. Logic is a framework for thought which provides some measure of confidence in the thought process in addition to confidence brought on by experience.

We can go down the epistemological rabbit hole, but there is nothing at the bottom but an argument anyway, and one that I find uninteresting anymore. I am not a philosopher, I prefer to get out of the chair and train.
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Old 10-22-2012, 10:18 PM   #19
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

I'm sure, at some point, the "spirituality" part happens...to some. The moments that I'm able to feel any spirituality are fleeting at this point in my career. I do have my moments of letting go and feeling free from thought. Maybe that's what's it's suppose to be for me. It does cause me to look deeper within. It teaches me life lessons through vigorous training. Again, maybe that's what it is for me. In order to feel the type of spirituality that O'Sensei represented, tried to teach, and spoke of is something that I don't think many folks can ever experience. Those were different times. He was a different man. I wouldn't be truthful if I said I don't strive for enlightenment through the art, but I think anyone who has trained with sincerity in the art will tell you that the "new age" thing is a joke. This is a true "martial" art. Based on techniques that can be quite devistatingly brutal. I get to train with a cop and a marine on a regular bases. There's very little room for glassy eyed views on the world while your on the receiving end of a deep Sankyo.
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Old 10-23-2012, 01:00 AM   #20
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

Quote:
Krystal Locke wrote: View Post
This methodological naturalist denies "spirituality", and prefers to talk about personality. Logic is a framework for thought which provides some measure of confidence in the thought process in addition to confidence brought on by experience.

We can go down the epistemological rabbit hole, but there is nothing at the bottom but an argument anyway, and one that I find uninteresting anymore. I am not a philosopher, I prefer to get out of the chair and train.
How do you define personality then as distinctive from or different to spirituality? I am only asking because I am interested, we are all martial artists on this forum and I agree it's best to get out of the chair and train.
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Old 10-23-2012, 01:14 AM   #21
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

How many martial artists can train on the head of a pin?
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Old 10-23-2012, 07:22 AM   #22
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

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Ewen Ebsworth wrote: View Post
How do you define personality then as distinctive from or different to spirituality? I am only asking because I am interested, we are all martial artists on this forum and I agree it's best to get out of the chair and train.
You seem to be using the term "spirituality" to mean some part of the human psyche, which "personality" certainly is as well. If, to you, "spirituality" = "beliefs", then I guess that that is so; however, to many people, "spirituality" refers to practices at least as much as to beliefs.
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Old 10-23-2012, 08:23 AM   #23
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

I don't think spirituality = beliefs if beliefs are taken to mean agreement with specific religious doctrines. Our beliefs (or religious convictions to put it another way) do have an impact on our spirituality and how we connect with things around us, but they are not necessarily the same. I would agree that spirituality is a part of the human psyche much the same way as I understand personality to be so too. For me AJJ can be a spiritual experience separate to participating in a religious sacrament or worship in the context of organized religion. Just as William Wordsworth saw the majesty in the humble daffodil to the bemusement of his peers; we form spiritual connections and give spiritual expressions to all manner of things typically that enrich our lives or help give our lives meaning.
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Old 10-23-2012, 09:52 AM   #24
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

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Ewen Ebsworth wrote: View Post
I would agree that spirituality is a part of the human psyche much the same way as I understand personality to be so too.
That's fine; my point was simply that other people use the term "spirituality" to refer to practices, whereas you seem to leave that bit out -- so I think you are using the term differently than many other people.
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Old 10-23-2012, 10:06 AM   #25
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Re: Theory: "Spiritual" vs "Learning something new we can't explain"

maybe, however I don't exclude practices from spirituality either. Using my analogy of Wordsworth, the wild daffodils may have been his inspiration, which in itself can be interpreted as a spiritual moment but the act of writing the poem could also be interpreted as him exercising his spirituality. The same way as Leonardo Da Vinci's painting the Last Supper could be argued was an exercise in him expressing or practising his spirituality, and not just for the art lover who may be drawn closer to Jesus through studying it. Does that make sense? Or have I misunderstood?
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