(from www.fitnessfiesta.com)So, here's what this guy went to school for eight years to pass on to us:
1. The Body-Centered Seekers
These are people who express what matters to them physically. The good doctor describes them as the people who view their spirituality through competitive athletics. "The body is just as wise a teacher as the mind or the heart because spirituality is more than an idea, it's an experience," says Ellerby. What I find amusing about his assessment is that he mentions that each type has a challenge in his/her spiritual path and in terms of the Body-Centered, their challenge is that they might miss the point of yoga or tai chi.
This is sort of weird to me. If this is how they express their spirituality, then what "point" have they missed? Maybe pushing themselves in yoga is how they feel closer to Gd or the Divine or their self-governing power. If this is an issue of "type," are there not people who have a different path? Something else they seek? Maybe what they can convince their bodies to do is their Higher Power...
2. The Mind-Centered Seekers
So, this should be obvious, too. These are the people who go to lectures, read every holy text they can get their hands on, and analyze the stuffing out of every little thing. The challenge this author provides them is unclear to me. He says the Mind-Centered are in danger of living too much in their head...
So, again... don't you suppose some people have made a happier spirituality that way? He suggests talking more to others, but some people might find that distracting. I've had both positive and negative experiences talking to other people about spirituality. I think some of us are driven away from the topic more than drawn into it with many groups. I know you occasionally get the sort of Mind-Centered person who enjoys absolutely anyone... the crazy person inviting the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons into their living room to grill them about their religion (maybe causing these evangelists to think twice and Spreading the Truth around). But, in general, it still seems to me that, if this is where one feels best living spiritually, then why challenge them by asking them to step out of what works for them?
3. The Heart-Centered Seekers
Okay. This one I understand but cannot think of good, concrete examples of these types of people. According to Ellerby, the Heart-Centered interact spiritually through relationships. They are enriched by having a relationship with people, churches, Gd, what have you. Their challenge is to look within themselves and define their beliefs on their own rather than by the practices of those around them.
The only people I can think of that fall into this category are the Baptists I know. There's this major necessity to have a church, to go to it, to actively listen to your preacher, to only read the one translation of the Bible they prescribe to you, etc. These are the sorts of people whose biggest complication with moving to a new place is finding a church to attend. So, what are you really about in that case? Your soul, your own beliefs, or those that have been dictated to you?
4. The Soul-Centered Seekers
Well, here's the description from the article: You devour stories of saints and mystics, fantasize about traveling through India, and wonder about monastic life. What you want most is to take your spiritual experience to the limit.
Now, that's me, basically... but many people, I would imagine, who possess components of all three of the other types belong in this group. I do a good bit of reading on the mystics, I have wanted to put India on my list of places to see before I die to visit an ashram somewhere, and I have had fantasies of being a hermit or a type of nun making cheese and devoting myself to silence. Now, I'm pretty realistic about this... not all these things are practical... and the challenge Ellerby prescribes is to tone it all down. He suggests things like not fasting the whole 40 days of whatever religious tribe one reads about and instead fast for seven... especially to not push it when you've had some hard experience (he mentions a break up). That bothers me... because for someone who is truly devout to enhancing their spiritual experience this way, maybe the fast is how he or she will actually survive said break up. Maybe that's how this person finds Gd or feels less abandoned and alone. In any spiritual practice, it's important that we only do what feels right... and if you need to fast for 40 days to do it, then as long as you don't operate heavy machinery, what's the problem? If you know you're going to fall over on day 10, don't go that far. Seems like he's crossing basic common sense with a deeper, esoteric need in some people.
As disappointed as I am with the article itself, I do think it's a great question. Are there more than a couple ways to express spirituality? Most of us go straight to thoughts of people yawning through hymns of which they've never questioned the lyrics or monks in a temple in Tibet with bobbing shaved heads chanting in a foreign language... but surely people who don't go to church or even believe in Gd must have some form of spirituality? Maybe they don't have religion or a recognizable path, but something must inform the deepest parts of who we all are.
So, if I were to review the types, here's my revision to the Ph.D. list:
1. The Body Motivated
I think of people like Daddy who work themselves to death. You'll be hard pressed to find a man who works himself into the ground the way he does... and I'm not saying that he couldn't stand to back off a little, but this is how he feels fulfilled. He needs to accomplish things, to promote a comfortable lifestyle for his family taking on all the burdens of his business on himself. I don't think he would be happy without an abundance of physical activity. Besides, his business is security systems... how much more spiritual could a work-a-holic be? He spends all this time protecting others.
Now, I agree that some competitive athletes must have a body-mind connection between what they can do that gets pushed overboard. But, then you're talking about a different problem. I see something outside of their spirituality bleeding into their athletics. I'm willing to bet that the majority of people in my yoga classes, even the "warrior types," probably get the gist in one form or another of what else yoga has to offer. There are some who are only there for the workout, but that's not just a symptom of deficient spirituality... maybe another need is being fed here.
2. The Mind Motivated
The mind is a great place for spiritual practice in all its forms... exploring the benefits of compassion, fellowship, histories, etc. There are some people who work best when given the space to work things out in their minds. I know I have this quality... I have to chew on things, analyze them before, if ever, adopting ideas. I will admit that this prevents me from believing in much of anything. I do think things to a bloody pulp and then have trouble breathing life into a set of beliefs (but then we could discuss the role "beliefs" play in "spirituality," but I won't take you down that headache of a mind tour). Believing in something is my challenge. Faith does not come easily to me in any form be it with people who say they love me or in some supposedly benevolent Gd who has some plan for our lives.
So, if there are others like me who have fallen into the trap of thinking things to death, I guess the challenge is certainly to lend some space for not figuring it all out. If we can do that, then the mind can be a magnificent place to practice our spiritual exercises. I guess openness is necessary to do this, to live both in the mind and in the realm of possibilities.
3. The Heart Motivated
Again, I see Mr. Ph.D's point here... people who require personable contact to express what's important to them (or to find it... some people prefer or need a guide). I guess people just need to be picky about their spiritual confidantes and protect their hearts. There are some great people with whom to dive into spiritual talks... I know a great handful of people with whom I truly enjoy these spiritual discussions... even people whose ideologies differ completely from my own. However, when I was more dependent on others for my information, I think I was injured a few times. I still remember this night when an acquaintance from the church I was attending called me and we got into this terrible discussion. He told me that Jews were going to hell because they had not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior... and I started crying so hard that my parents could hear me. I started to hyperventilate to the point that my hands went numb and curled. Daddy came into my room, hung up the phone, picked me up, and sat me down in the living room where he and my mother began the work of calming me down. I was given a bag, encouraged to try deep breathing with my head between my legs, etc. I stopped attending the church and actually dove into a spiritual bitterness for several years. That bad relationship informed my own spirituality for a long time... I hadn't formed my own ideas and that allowed this person's opinion of the truth take me off my own path.
So, interacting with others can be enriching, but obviously it can't be the end-all of your belief structure.
4. The Soul Motivated
What it sounds like to me is that these are people who express their spirituality in more ways than one. They are very aware of the path that they are on and are open to many methods of travel on that path. They are the most well-rounded of the groups. These are the people who... well... didn't really need to read this article. I think of people like this character in a movie called Gd is Great, and I am Not. The lead female tests out several different religious practices, going to several holy houses, and reading dozens of varied spiritual texts... though she originally thinks that she'll find one religion to call home, she eventually sees that she's just forming her own practice by being casting a wide net. I'd like to think this is where I'm headed. I'm largely in my mind still, but I teach and practice yoga which both reaches beyond earth and helps you receive something greater than yourself. I am a Medievalist and have done my share of reading and continue to do so with interest. Then I also, in small doses, and with those I trust, talk to others and allow myself to be inspired (rather than heavily influenced) one way or another.
I can see the atheist question popping up here, but I think they can fall into the same groups. They have something to which they are reaching as well even if it's not Gd... maybe it's becoming a better person, finding meaning in life on earth, learning etc.
So, just like dissecting assessment tests that tell us how children best learn (visually, intellectually, physically, etc), I think it's an interesting exercise to look at the many ways we are all spiritual people, seeking in our own truths...
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