“How can we achieve sustainability without exploring the other s word: spirituality?”.

Someone pitched this question to me seven years ago at the launch of a Parliamentary report. Like a curveball, I hadn’t seen it coming. It got my attention because I couldn’t really answer it. I didn’t grow up with any language around spirituality and I’m part of a secular society that often confuses religion with spirituality (and tends to view both with suspicion).

I always welcome curly questions. They highlight gaps in my understanding and invite me to explore. In this case I had to do some deep digging: what does spirituality mean to me? Why are people often apprehensive about using this word? How does this relate to sustainability?

This week I saw Elizabeth Connor deliver a beautiful story of her journey into science and spirituality. It reminded me of that question. So seven years after it arrived, here’s some reflections on renewing our world by connecting with our spirit.

The edges of language

If you wish to know the divine, feel the wind on your face and the warm sun on your hand.—Eido Tai Shimano

Spirituality is a word that many people shy away from. I’m wary of using it myself. That’s because it comes with lots of baggage that people may not want to be associated with.

This became very clear to me a few years ago when I was part of an international exchange of social scientists. We were asked to give a presentation on an insightful academic article related to “sustainable consumption”. Out of curiosity, I looked for articles on sustainability, consumption and spirituality. I was shocked when I couldn’t find any scholarly articles that explored this theme (although there’s some good material in the realm of so-called “grey literature”).

I therefore gave a presentation on “the academic article that has not been written”. I wanted us to explore why the language of spirituality is on the fringes of academic discourse. I still remember the alarmed faces of many people in the room. Talking about spirituality did not flow easily in such an intellectual setting. It felt like worlds colliding.

I also found some research on environmental leaders who were reluctant to use “the s word” despite having a spiritual dimension to their work. Here’s some of their words:

Everybody in the movement I think knows that most of us are at least partially motivated spiritually. To talk about it openly almost falls into the stereotype that some opponents have; it’s kind of like a pagan in religion, like some sort of a dark earth-worshipping thing.

I think we tend to shy away from these kinds of things. We feel we need to play the game that somebody else has set out there, which is why we need to defend ourselves in the context that is available to us with just the factual and scientific context.

There’s fear here. It comes with confronting a well-established order that privileges rational-intellectual knowledge over mindful-heartfelt wisdom. We’re entering the territory between what can be thought through language and what can only be experienced/felt. But there’s really nothing to be worried about.

What spirituality means to me

Man [sic] is a part of the world, and his spirit is part of the spirit of the world. We are merely a peculiar mode of Being, a living atom within it, or, rather, a cell that, if sufficiently open to itself and its own mystery, can also experience the mystery, the will, the pain, and the hope of the world.—Vàclav Havel

Spirit is life-energy. It brings the material world to life.

The origins of the word spirit hark back to a Latin word that means to breathe. It’s easy to understand why the spirit is so closely associated with the breath. Even the earliest cavemen could have worked out what happens when someone stops breathing. Our bodies come to life through this precious air we breathe.

There are deeper associations here too. As I’ve learned through yoga, the whole body moves with the breath. There are places in the body where these movements may not flow freely. These are parts of our being that have atrophied, tensed up or become blocked through life experiences. As we learn to breathe more freely, we create more space for energy to move through. We breathe most freely in the chest when our heart is open.

Energy is often invisible to the eye, but if we look to the heavens we can see a blazing ball of energy called the Sun. Its light is circulating through our bodies. This is basic ecology. Sunlight falls on plants that convert light into sugar. This energy fuels us every time we eat plants, or animals that dine on plants. It’s constantly moving through us and into the rest of the world.

Dwelling on this helps me to see some connections. We share the same air with everyone around us and every species that has ever lived on Earth. We share the same light in our bodies, although it takes different forms as it passes through each of us. We also share the same thoughts through the structure of our language. We share the same feelings by being empathetic.

Recognising and experiencing this connectedness is the core of spirituality for me. We’re a unified mass of incredible diversity that’s learning to understand ourself better.

Spirituality also involves living a vibrant life. We can shine like the sun by following whatever brings us most alive. Life is most vibrant when air and energy flow freely through us without getting agitated. We’re living in the flow when obstacles dissolve, opportunities open up and new encounters/experiences emerge.

When life has lost its flow, or if we want to stay there, spiritual practices can play a useful role. I like to call these “life practices”. As Donna Farhi eloquently puts it: “a life practice is anything that we do over an extended period of time that consistently and reliably deepens the connection to our experience and expression of aliveness.” Some of my life practices are yoga, meditation and simply being appreciative in wild places.

Religions also play a role for many people who are looking for spiritual guidance. These are organised systems of ritual practices and belief, based on the insights of wise people. Religions may or may not bring us closer to personal fulfillment. That’s because they’ve often become corrupted by people seeking personal power. Religions can provide useful markers along the way, but if someone else starts trying to dominate our life it’s a good sign that we’re off the road that will bring us most alive.

Conversations about spirituality also lead to questions about God. But there have been so many harmful acts done in God’s name that I wonder if the “G word” even needs to be summoned. Although I appreciate the divinity of life, I’m yet to meet God in any one place. As Vincent van Gogh put it: “The best way to know God is to love many things” [or beings].

To me, God is life. It’s the life-energy that exists in everything. It’s an energy that seeks to thrive and grow. It’s an energy that doesn’t mean to harm. It’s also an energy that’s somehow linked with self-awareness. When we “bring something to light” we become aware of it. We can also tap into our shared awareness through intuition. I don’t really understand how all this works, but I appreciate that the universe is deeply curious.

Breathing more life into our world

What needs to be drawn out is our affinity for life… [We need] to ‘open our souls to love this glorious, luxuriant, animated, planet’. The good news is that our own nature will help us in the process if we let it.—David Orr

So what’s all this got to do with sustainability, or renewability as I prefer to say these days? It goes to the heart.

Conversations about sustainability often jump to technical, political, behavioural and economic solutions. These are all important, but how can we expect people to support action on social and environmental issues if they don’t really care? If we aren’t receptive enough to feel what is happening in our world, will we ever feel moved to act? Unless we find ways to overcome “the amazing indifference of the Living in the midst of the simple beauties of the universe” (as Ben Okri wrote), we’re going to experience inertia.

Many people emphasise the motivating power of money to bring about change. Yes it can be useful to harness the power of profit. I totally support making economic changes to reward us for doing good. I direct money towards businesses with good social and environmental values. But I can’t think of a single person in the history of humanity who has inspired social and environmental movements by appealing foremost to our wallets. The word inspiration also shares the same roots as spirit. When we are inspired we feel uplifted. The space around our heart opens and we breathe more freely. Spending money can sometimes make my heart beat a little faster, but it doesn’t help me breathe more deeply.

Many of the social and environmental ills we see are also symptoms of us acting out our shadows—our unconscious impulses and unresolved feelings. There’s a Maori proverb that teaches us: “Te tiro atu to kanohi ki tairawhiti ana tera whiti te ra kite ataata ka hinga ki muri kia koe—Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.” The sun represents pure life-energy. It also represents self-understanding. So if we want to resolve social and environmental harms, it’s useful to develop our own self-understanding and affinity for life. If we can live with a clear mind and open heart, those around us will also respond favourably.

A simple way to enhance life on this planet is by beginning with the life flowing through us. We can pursue activities and relationships that make us feel more energetic. We can direct our time and attention towards life-enhancing activities. We’ll harvest what we plant and grow. And even if we’re low on energy, it’s more important what we can create with this precious life. As Buddha wisely said: “Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.”

There’s more directions that could be explored here. More questions also arise, like: what helps people feel full of life? What inspires people most? How can we give people a taste of our connectedness? How can we give people some peace of mind and opportunities to care? How can we help people reconnect with the sense of wonder and curiosity we are born with as a child? How can we help people shine through their involvement in social and environmental solutions?

But rather than adding more words, I want to end with this 1 minute piece of goodness that’s been doing the rounds recently:

And some final words: thank you to the person who dropped that question into my imagination 7 years ago. You really did lead me to ponder.

Related posts:

1. The buzz beyond sustainability
2. Reconnecting for regeneration
3. Being change and behaviour change