What is the point of spirituality if you don't believe in a personal god, or for that matter, an afterlife? For me, it's largely about energy. Having the energy to take care of all the things I have to do each day and still have a little left over. Possessing the confidence that, no matter how hard the day may get, I will find the energy to meet all of the challenges. Being able to maintain my patience when the little ones require so much. Putting things in perspective, so that they seem less overwhelming and the energy of hope remains possible. Spirituality, as the cultivation of various forms of energy, is immanently practical.
Thich Nhat Hahn teaches about what he calls the "five spiritual powers": faith, diligence, mindfulness, concentration, and insight. Each is a practice, and each brings with it a type of energy.
- Faith is believing that the path you have chosen to be on will lead you where you wish, and this provides hope and motivation.
- Diligence is continual effort to improve yourself and your circumstances, and this brings confidence and satisfaction.
- Mindfulness meditation calms the mind and brings joy.
- Concentration is much more fruitful when the mind is calm, and it yields a deeper insight into ourselves and the world in which we live.
- Insight is a real dynamo, because it starts a chain reaction of positive feedback with all of the others.
When these powers combine, they form an engine that provides sustainable energy. I have practiced these disciplines neither for a long time nor well, but they have still been impressively helpful. The strength of such a paradigm is that, aside from the rather unique practice of mindfulness meditation, these are things that we do all the time - just not necessarily well. They seem to be an essential part of being human. Intentionally focusing on their cultivation just makes us better humans.
Becoming a better human should be the point of spirituality.
