by Bernadette Jasmin

Created on: December 28, 2006   Last Updated: June 29, 2010

Spirituality like the wind can sometimes feel like something transient and fleeting. Depending on who you are speaking to spirituality can mean different things and have different components. How spiritual someone is can depend on what is going on in an individual's life or their desire for spiritual things. Sometimes it can be exhibited by outward behavior, but it can also be imitated therefore can be counterfeited.

There are many components to spirituality. Some people can experience momentary feelings of wisdom or enlightenment where they feel they have been momentarily inspired from the divine. There are many examples of this all around us.  Even those “light bulb” moments are moments of inspiration.  What is a light bulb moment?  They are those little moments in time when all seems clear.  The strokes of ideas that come to us upon reflection on a problem are inspiration and revelation, although a person may not think of them as such. 

While others may feel that being in tune with nature and having empathy for the earth is spiritual. While these interpretations can be components of spirituality I believe it is more than that. Someone who is spiritual can experience the above and more.

Spirituality is a process of coming to know God and being like him. As a person inquires and investigates the nature of God and incorporates these attributes that are learned into their being they become more godly. In many instances individuals begin the journey towards spirituality through desire and inquiry.  The medium of prayer can be a conduit to the heavens.

Many are lead by factors in their lives such as tragedy, pain, and difficulty which touches them and helps them to yearn for further knowledge of the divine and the purpose of their life. When that spark is lit I believe that God finds a malleable piece of clay to work with and begins his work.  Of course there are those who close their hearts during these teaching moments and “curse God” and walk away because they feel the journey is too difficult.  But like trees in a storm those who are malleable and have weathered many storms tend to be the strongest that withstand the test of time.

Sometimes we may think someone is spiritual, yet they may be motivated by selfish desires such as the desire to impress, or fear of what peers will think of them. In the latter case this is not true spirituality, but a counterfeit. A person can go to church regularly

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