Spirit
Spirit is our Whole Souul Living Theme for August. The word spiritual comes from the Latin spirare, the breath. Later this became spiritus, meaning, "the animating or vital principle in man and animals: soul, courage, breath, or vigor.” Many consider the spiritual to be supernatural or otherworldly, but with the definition above there is no otherworldly requirement. In fact, there are many pathways or openings to Spirit: love, prayer, nature, music, knowledge, gratitude, more… For our purposes, we will treat Spirit as the sense or feeling of being alive, animated, soulful, connected, courageous, filled with spiritus.
Some questions for individual and group reflection:
- What activities make you feel more alive, courageous, animated, soulful?
- Do you pursue or practice those activities with intention? Why or why not?
- What has been your experience with intentional spiritual practices? Share this with someone at First Unitarian.
- Do the people you know who seem to be most alive, courageous, animated, and soulful have intentional spiritual practices? Are they disciplined, lucky, or something else?
- How would you teach or help a child to feel more alive, courageous, animated, or soulful?