What exactly does spirituality include?

Nikky · Senior Member

What exactly does spirituality include?

imikens · Senior Member

Good question. It includes relationships. My relationship to myself, others, God. It also is where wisdom lives vs. intellect. If that makes any sense.

This is one reason why AA/NA/etc. are "spiritual" in nature, are always "WE" and the 12th step is what the 12th step is. The relationship aspect, the "we" aspect, is spiritual. Also this is why "spiritual" is not "sacred". The two are not the same. Why its "spiritual" but not "Christian", "Hindu", etc. We do however tend to try and make them the same.

-- Edited by imikens at 14:25, 2008-10-05

peachz · Veteran Member

It includes trying to carry the message. It includes living the NA way, physically, mentally and spiritually. Its being there, being accountable, in body, mind and soul. When our spirit bank starts to fill up, we become rich spiritually. then we try to give back what was so freely given to us.....things like acceptance, tolerance, love, kindness, selflessness.....We try and try again, and most importantly we must never use, no matter what!

Honey Bear · Senior Member

HELEN KELLER SAID:

RELIOGION (SP) is for PEOPLE who are afraid to go to HELL

SPIRTUALITY is for PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN TO HELL and WHO ARE FINDING THERE WAY OUT!

Nikky · Senior Member

Excellent, HB.

Someone earlier in a post asked why we must have spirituality to get clean, stay clean.

Apparently awhile back, some got together and created SOS, Saving Our Selves. My guess is they were sick of the religious crap. "Came to believe that a power greater than myself could restore me to sanity". Damn, wars are still being fought over religion. A woman in prison living in the next bunk went to SOS and seemed happy and sane.

This is a spiritual program. So I want my spirit to be big, my HP to be big. Members define their HP, but the steps do not.

DennyBob · Newbie

Spirituality is living by spiritual principles. The best way to do this is to live the 12 steps. Not only do you work them with a sponsor, but you incorporate them into your daily life and all your interactions. That (for me) is part of God's will for me, but it is not the same of religion. It does bring me closer to God.

There are several different versions of this, but here's a list of the spiritual principles that are at the core of the steps:

Step One:	HONESTY
Step Two:	HOPE
Step Three:	FAITH (SURRENDER)
Step Four:	COURAGE
Step Five:	INTEGRITY
Step Six:	WILLINGNESS
Step Seven:	HUMILITY
Step Eight:	BROTHERLY LOVE
Step Nine:	DISCIPLINE
Step Ten:	PERSERVERANCE
Step Eleven:	AWARENESS
Step Twelve:	SERVICE (CHARITY)

No one I know does this perfectly, but the the more you incorporate these principles into your life, the less room there is for character defects.

Raman · Guru

1.We need to be honest about our beliefs if they were to work
2.Developing a concept of God as we understood is a projecy we can undertake for ourselves
Both the above are from the basic Text.NA.
NA is a spiritual and not religious Program ,,,another quote from the Text.
So wat does this mean ?
Whats the difference ?
Arent the qualities/Principles we are supposed to develop already from religion ?
Isnt it religion that first talked of Honesty willingness etc.
Then whats NAs claim about being spiritual and not religious ?
As afr as I can tell,, and without being an NA spokesman,,I say the fundamental difference is that the Spirituality as ive experienced in NA allows me to questtion things whereas in religion i am asked to follow in blind faith.
If theyd asked me as a newcomer to do as they said and do as Im told withpiut questioning then Id never have kept coming back.
In fact another gerat instance was when we were talking of the 5th Step and my sponsor had said=
"look Raman,,the exact nature of your wrong isnt something I can define for you or you yourself determine.
Remember this is a we Program and if we were to look at the exact nature of your wrong,,and then later defects of character and shortcomings,,,then we will both have to agree that it is so"
What an awesome guy he was,,hes not my sponsor anymore and I still miss him and his wife now and then but what he shared with me has proved to be the firm foubdation of my Spiritual xperience in NA.
Whereas i was simply staying clean before the Steps,,I then became Clean and Serene.
Sereneity for me is the hallmark of a Spiritual recovering addict.
Todays redaing(5th October) gives another clue about the nature of spirituality=
MERCY rather than Justice !!

AnthonyG · Senior Member

Want to drive yourself nuts ? google " define spirituality "

imikens · Senior Member

I'd be the last person to diss defining a thing but at the same time part of the "spritual" thing is accepting how we are made, have been made, became, however you think we got to where we are as humans, our make up includes the spiritual in the same way we are physical, emotional, etc. By ignorning the physical we get sick, or can get sick. Same with emotional. Same with spiritual. Acknowledging the parts I am made of knowing the sum total is greater than the parts is a good thing.

In other words its not rocket science to acknowledge I am spiritual anymore than it is rocket science to acknowledge I am physical. I don't need Webster's dictionary to define physical for me BEFORE I can accept I am a physical being anymore than I need it to know I am also part spiritual being.

Being spiritual just is in the same way being physical just is.

AnthonyG · Senior Member

ah, but webster does define physical, that's an easy one and webster does define mental, another easy one. Defining spirituality though? studied now for centuries upon century. Is a task undertaken by the greatest minds in history, and still remains largely undefinable. Yet still we search. As the sufi say, " There wouldn't be such a thing as counterfeit gold, if there were no real gold somewhere ."

Honey Bear · Senior Member

DennyBob wrote:

Spirituality is living by spiritual principles. The best way to do this is to live the 12 steps. Not only do you work them with a sponsor, but you incorporate them into your daily life and all your interactions. That (for me) is part of God's will for me, but it is not the same of religion. It does bring me closer to God.

There are several different versions of this, but here's a list of the spiritual principles that are at the core of the steps:

Step One:
HONESTY
Step Two: HOPE
Step Three: FAITH (SURRENDER)
Step Four: COURAGE
Step Five: INTEGRITY
Step Six: WILLINGNESS
Step Seven: HUMILITY
Step Eight: BROTHERLY LOVE
Step Nine: DISCIPLINE
Step Ten: PERSERVERANCE
Step Eleven: AWARENESS
Step Twelve: SERVICE (CHARITY)

No one I know does this perfectly, but the the more you incorporate these principles into your life, the less room there is for character defects.

I think this is a good example

Honey Bear

Raman · Guru

Yes each of the Principles on Denny Bobs list corelate to what Ive seen,heard and read in NA !.
there again,
because those Principles are basically from Religion,
because NA is Spiritual and not religious
I define Spirituality as the way I use those Principles in my daily life.
Actually I come form a Hindu background.
One of the cornerstones of that faith is
"God of your own understanding"
The right to a God of my understanding is total and withput any catches.
I was elated when I first read the Na Steps and it said
"We made a decision to turn our will and our life over to the care of GOD AS WE UNDERSTOOD HIM"
That to me is the cornerstone of the Spirituality in NA,,

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