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The other day, I filmed a short video clip with Nick, who brought up a question about how we can create a holy space for encountering God. As I was thinking about what to share in the newsletter, that thought came back to me and led me to reflect on our spiritual experiences.

Have you had a spiritual experience? What is your definition of a spiritual experience?

An “aha” moment, being awed by the beauty of nature, a moment of mindfulness, or being struck by a passage from the Bible, a sense of being connected? All of these can be spiritual moments.

Maybe it is not so much the description or context of the experience, but what it brings to our hearts. Whatever may have initiated it, when we feel our hearts opening—when we feel connected, liberated, or fully alive—there is something deeply spiritual about it. Some may ask, then, how is that different from simply feeling good?

Let’s say you go for a walk on a trail—the same trail you walk quite often. But all of a sudden, something feels different. You begin to notice something new, or to see something familiar in a new way: floating clouds, the scent of the wind, chirping birds, flowers swaying in the breeze. Whatever it may be, it is almost as if you have entered a new space and time, outside your ordinary routine.

You pause for a moment. You feel good. Then you continue on your path. You may still remember that feeling when you return home. But what does it mean? Is it simply a separate incident in which you felt good or connected?

I believe that for an experience to become more deeply “spiritual,” there needs to be a time of absorbing it. As we pause for a moment and pay attention to what surrounds us and what wells up within us, we may begin to realize that the goodness and beauty of God are everywhere. Certainly, the more aware we become of these moments and the more we learn to enjoy them, the more content we may become.

Furthermore, when we recognize these experiences as gifts from God, give thanks for them, and consider how we might care for them and share these gifts with others, we are nourished by our spiritual experiences and become more attuned to the spiritual realm.

As our experience settle in our hearts through “Attention and Intention”, our spiritual experience help us grow spiritual.

What are you experiencing?

How are you responding to your experience?

 

From Fr. James