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In a message ...Mystress-at-Kundalini-Gateway.org writes:

>Let me ask you (remember the answer is unique to you
>- not a requirement for me)
>What are the qualities of a spiritual person?

whups, there is the poll... :)

Fifteen people responded to Angelique's spirituality poll. The categories are somewhat subjective.

Thanks to everyone who took part! :))

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Laughter, smiling got 5 mentions
non duality/all that is/discovery of who *I* am ... 4
acceptance, lack of attachment... 4
simply arrives/energy, everything ... 4
Seeing the devine in other...2
compassion 2
concern for others, desire to be helpful 2
non judgmental 2
humble 2
living in the moment 2
quiet/peaceful 2
intuitive 1
gratitude 1
powerful 1
authentic, true to self 1

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the posts:
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Genuine Spirituality is the one that comes handsomely packaged, sealed with an official stamp and delivered to your door complete with its own instruction book and certificate of authenticity.

Fake spirituality is one you have to discover for your self. It doesn't always work, but you don't have anybody to blame. It's not a "thing" to force batteries into, but when it delivers, it delivers magnificently.

Our mileage varies, that's for sure, but I found a few things holding true for me: With "Genuine" I open the package and discover culture, opinions and interpretation. With my own brand of "fake," I discover myself and can find my own peace of mind in an eclectic community,

Funny how things turn around.

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This is going to be quite subjective I think :^)

A spiritual person is in the moment, not distracted by concerns over events in the past or attachments to the way things turn out in the future. Each moment is perfect for them.

The give help of any kind they are able when they are asked.

They will probably have a lot of intuitive insights, but you would never know it just by talking to them.

Humility.

You will always wonder what they are smiling about.

They usually have an air of gratitude about them.

Ok thats enough.

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I look for light behind the eyes. Sometimes, it is the gleam of madness... :)

I read an interesting theory that involved spirituality some time back by an astrologer based on the orbit of Saturn and it's return to it's natal position every 29 1/2 years.

He/she stated that the first orbit is concerned with the physical aspects of life such as growing a body and the whole sex thing. The next cycle concerns the mental aspect of life, and the third the spiritual.

According to this person, as one enters their late twenties and approaches the first Saturn Return they lose hope that the physical aspects of life will get them the results they want, and shift their hope toward the rewards of the mental challenges of life. Interestingly, they pointed out that at about the age of 42 a person experiences a sort of mental puberty similar to physical puberty, 12 years after the 1st Return, and comes into the power to procreate mentally at that age. Mind fusking?

As the person reaches their late 50s and the end of the Second Return they lose hope in the mental life and begin to look toward the spiritual realm to fulfill their needs. And at the age of 70-71 experience a spiritual puberty of sorts that provides them with the fecundation of spiritual power.

At the approach of the third Return, they lose hope that spirituality will get the job done for them. However, if they reach the age of 84, the first and probably singular Uranus Return, then they are automagically bestowed with grace no matter what kind of life they have lived.

If one were to find themselves vested in this line of thinking, they might be led to suspect that spirituality has it's limits also, just like the physical and mental.

What's a po' boy to believe? LOL!!

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...Whereas the actual poll has had very few responses. (shrug) Genuine spirituality: Laughter is the nature of spirit.

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What irony! There I was in the midst of typing a response to this email when the computer locks up solid, and I had to reboot, losing what had been written! So I should leave well enough alone... :-)... but...

Genuine spiriTuality... I get tongue tied and twisted when I try to say anything about that... I end up laughing at the myself that thinks it knows what that is all about, but wait... who's that laughing behind me =8^O?

Earthworms, baked and then crumbled into a Quiche Lorraine, (instead of bacon), are quite tasty!

-Shams (formerly from the Ministry of Silly Walks)

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> Genuine spiriTuality... I get tongue tied and twisted when I try to say >anything about that... I end up laughing at the myself that thinks it knows >what that is all about, but wait... who's that laughing behind me =8^O?

:)) Yeah! :)) I find the question really difficult to answer. I'll make a quick stab at it, though.

Laughter/joy is certainly a prerequisite. :))
Compassion without unctuousness
Inclusiveness as opposed to exclusiveness
Being dispassionate without loss of passion
lack of self absorption, and therefore a concern for others that comes naturally.
a natural desire to help others without being attached to any result.
a wider rather than narrow view of what constitutes "reality"
Open mindedness

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Genuine spirituality...hmmm...
It's reflected to me in quiet, humble natures. By quiet I mean the person who's essence is self contained and not needful of 'others' yet fills his surroundings with peacefulness. By humble I'm speaking of the person who accepts life w/out the need to attach judgements (good or bad, right or wrong, fixed or broken...).

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Yes those are manifestations that come from a centered being...beautiful. The word genuine means being honest, sincere so I suppose just being might be complete. I believe when spirituality becomes an identity then it is not a truth. Identities are everything false in a person since they rely on duality's and are contrary to the self. Genuine spirituality is just that, acting with sincerity, acting without a preconceived notion, without calculation. But to even attempt to describe it is relying on opposites...NETI, NETI, not this, not that. Genuine Spirituality is just that: coming from the source. I believe spirituality is present even without action, is always present, and is more apparent in some than others. The spirit can not be faked. It just is...

Whoops, my daughter just reminded me I'm supposed to be watching over the cooking of the Irish Oatmeal.

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.... that is a hard one. I would say someone who is authentically themselves. Someone who is nonjudgmental. Someone who is living in the moment.
Compassion......peaceful and powerful..........And still has a good sense of humor!

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spirituality is everything.
spirit is energy.
it is all that is.
the murderer and the saint,
love and hate.

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I like this quote from the movie, "Kama Sutra":

"I used to worship inside of temples, until I found that everything was holy.Waterfalls, stone, grass...All pure spirit.Now like a madman, I worship everything that I see."

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Spirituality is the discovery that the ego is 'not' the essence of Who I Am...and the subsequent path of discovering who I really AM! It's the constant observation of this "human being," experiencing human feelings and emotions ...and once again, knowing it's not who I really AM. It is also noticing this difference in others as they pass through my timeline.

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I will take a stab at it. But first, I want to say that, when we start trying to define something like spirituality we run the risk of setting ourselves up to judge ourselves and each other, i.e. I'm more spiritual than you. I think we always need to remind ourselves not to fall into that trap.

That said, I think there are many attributes common to people with a spiritual bent. Most of those have been listed already.

For me, the quality I value the most is the ability to see the divine in the other. Not just give lip service to it, but actually see it and acknowledge it, and even speak to it, as in the example of the monk who offers tea and rice to the intruder.

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> For me, the quality I value the most is the ability to see the divine in the other. >Not just give lip service to it, but actually see it and acknowledge it, and even >speak to it, as in the example of the monk who offers tea and rice to the intruder.

Me too. Thanx for the reminder. :)

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I guess we just come at all of these things very differently. By definition I would say everything is spiritual, spirit, matter, e=mc2. . . but to read beyond the words, I guess I would say that your Path chooses you. There is a Sufi saying "The Secret Protects Itself." You cannot understand this inner call until you have it. And when it is first making a space for itself in your heart there is some stretching in the heart center, some anguish or pain, perhaps some discomfort. Some ineffable himma/longing. I admit that in the past it has worried me, I've suffered about my longing. Now, I realize and lovingly submit to it. I guess I now believe that it only happens because in my most authentic level of Self, I made this request and it was answered. And that I would feel nothing and know nothing of this if I had no capacity to know it. So the person who seeks it, is following it.

>How are they developed?

One of my teachers has said something along these lines: The commitment to that portion of the Path is one that happens inside your heart and independent of willfulness and ego. It will open on its own. It will open intention in your heart. The opening of makams begin to reveal itself to you."

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