What does "spirituality" mean anyway?

Or, at any rate, what do I mean by it? Today (maybe not tomorrow) I'd say spirituality is my endeavour to, firstly, work out what existence is all about, and secondly, find a way of coming to terms with whatever conclusions I reach. You pop into this world, have a more or less unfulfilling life, grow old and die. Now, how do you construe that in such a way that it doesn't feel like some insensitive practical joke? How do you relate to existence in a way that enables you to not just tolerate it, but believe it is just as it should be?

There are several ways to go about it. The easiest one is to surrender your troublesome ability to think for yourself by signing up to some major organised religion with a clearly set out dogma, a scriptural canon and a hierarchical distribution of authority. Then you needn't worry any more. Have a doubt? Ask your priest / imam / guru / rabbi / teacher. He'll tell you all about the nature of reality, the purpose of the universe, your mission on earth, the afterlife and what have you. Does hell exist? Can we reincarnate as plants? Is oral sex an abomination in the eyes of God? Don't worry, someone will know, or if they don't, they'll look it up in some book written by someone who really knows.

Another strategy is to admit defeat when it comes to finding the answers to the big metaphysical questions, investing one's effort in cultivating acceptance of reality. Some forms of Buddhism fit this model. Even though Buddhist teachings are philosophically very dense, it is often said (typically with some rhetorical intent) that the Buddha readily dismissed metaphysical concerns as irrelevant; he was offering a path for the cessation of suffering, nothing more, nothing less. It must be noted that only some metaphysical issues are deemed irrelevant. For instance, the question of the existence of God is apparently a sheer waste of time, whereas the realms of existence (gods, hungry ghosts, etc.) and reincarnation, to give only a couple of examples, are taken for granted. As the Americans say, go figure. In any case, in (at least some forms of) Buddhism philosophical enquiry is explicitly discouraged. What matters is the development of the qualities of the mind that lead to the cessation of suffering.

Those that, rejecting traditional religion and not being inclined to embark upon a thorough philosophical enquiry, have the need to believe in something, might find inspiration in New Age spirituality. If Conversations with God, The Celestine Prophecy, or What the Bleep Do We Know? not only didn't make you cringe, but you actually enjoyed them, you are a New Ager. You'll probably also believe things like these: synchronicities have a purpose; we are one with the Universe, evolving towards higher levels of cosmic consciousness; all spiritual traditions are ultimately saying the same thing; the Dalai Lama is a great fellow; quantum physics provide scientific support for, I don't know, Reiki, or something; people in India lead very simple lives and they're all very happy; alternative medicine is the way forward. I must confess that I find the New Age conception of the world quite appealing, the only problem is that it's wrong in almost every respect it can be wrong. However, if you take the outrageous pseudoscientific beliefs and the philosophical naivety out of the equation, you are left with nothing less than faith. Faith in life, love, the universe. That I also find appealing, and it can't be wrong because it doesn't involve claims susceptible of being be right or wrong. It's a feeling, a life-stance; the kind of warm, trusting feeling you get when you read The Alchemist (again, if it doen't make you squirm). Sometimes I wish I could have that kind of faith (I suppose I have it in a wavering kind of way), but there's a bunch of neurons in my brain that demand more intellectual rigour than that.

My approach to spirituality at the moment revolves around science-informed (or at least science-compatible) philosophical enquiry. Some of the traditional subjects of hard sciences, such as the evolution of life or the laws of the physical universe, are of the utmost significance for a reality-based spiritual search. Other spiritually-relevant issues like the nature of consciousness, near-death experiences, paranormal phenomena, the nature of freedom, out-of-body experiences, altered mental states, etc., although not typically regarded as objects of science, have been subjected to empirical scrutiny, often yielding crucial results. For instance, just imagine how misguided our speculations on the nature of the mind would be had we not discovered how inextricably linked it is to brain activity. I need to bear all these hard facts in mind to make sure that my existential ruminations are part of a quest for truth, not a process of self-deception, of which I've seen too much and have been a victim myself.

I used to think that the spiritual / existential search was about finding meaning. I have now reached a stage where I have to consider the absence of intrinsic meaning in the universe as a definite possibility. There might not be a purpose to our lives or to the universe. Maybe you die and that's that. Maybe there isn't a God or any other kind of superior being that that has a benevolent plan for each and every one of us. Maybe there isn't any kind of true meaning to be found in existence. Maybe the universe is ultimately going to pot. Once I've been forced to seriously consider that possibility, my only hope of "salvation" is creating meaning. How? Bit by bit.