Infused with spirit
'We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.'
Attributed to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Flowing through the human body like breath is a subtle and mysterious energy that suffuses every aspect of our being, animating and sustaining us and breathing into us the urge to keep growing and changing. We call it the human spirit. It is, as the ancient Hebrews described it, our life breath. To speak of it in this way reflects the ancient origins of the word ‘spirit’ for the words we use to name this energy are the same as those for breath in many languages across the world. Spirit is like breath. It is neither fixed nor static. It is neither predictable nor unchanging. It ebbs and flows like the tides. It is a unique and deeply personal life force which is both life-giving and life-enhancing and its presence within us is as essential to our being as oxygen is to our bodies. It is the spiritual energy of our being.
To speak of the human spirit is to speak of a profound mystery. It is intangible. It cannot be observed or measured. It cannot be tied down with words. Its existence cannot be proven. And yet, there is within us a deep, intuitive knowing that it points to a dimension of our being that is real. It carries meaning for us for it resonates with our lived experience. We know this because we have been speaking about this mysterious energy all over the world for over two thousand years and we are still doing so now. All of the world’s major spiritual traditions speak of the spirit as they have always done and more recently, many modern-day philosophers, psychologists and therapists are doing so too, though they do not always call it by its original name. The word ‘spirit’ also finds its way into our everyday conversations more often than we might think. We talk of being in high or low spirits, of feeling inspired or dispirited or of our spirit being uplifted or quenched. We talk too of the strength and resilience of the human spirit in the face of tragedy, disaster and hardship.
And sometimes, if we turn our attention inwards, we may sense the presence of this mysterious life force. There have been a number of times in my life when, for a few moments, I believe I have been aware of the spirit within me. I experience it as a subtle and mysterious energy which flows through and sometimes floods my body. It brings with it feelings of aliveness and joy and what I can only describe as an unusual ‘lightness’ of being. This is, as I see it, spirit as life breath, animating and energising us.
The spirit is then part of the fabric of our human nature. It is in a sense the breath that sustains our inner life. But that is not the only part it plays, for its presence within us is one of the two aspects of our nature that make us the spiritual beings we are. The other is the soul. The spirit awakens us to the presence of that mysterious dimension of reality that William James calls 'the more', both in the world and in ourselves. The soul is the core of our being which determines our unique response to this awareness. Together, they shape what we call our spirituality.
What I have learnt, both from my own experience and from my deeper conversations with others is that our spirituality is a much more complex, multifaceted aspect of our being than I had realised. If I were to try and put into words how I have come to see my own spirituality, I would speak of the profound aching in my soul for a greater spiritual reality in my life. I would tell you of the stirring of my soul when I catch a glimpse of the More, when the beauty of nature, of music, of words, of another’s soul takes me into another world and I know myself to be standing on sacred ground. I would give voice to the feelings of awe and wonder that sometimes bubble up within me and catch me unawares. And I would share with you the ways in which I make sense of my experience of the More and the symbols and images that speak to me most powerfully of this Other reality.
I would also try to articulate my sense of ‘what really matters’, to share with you the principles and values about which I am most passionate. I would speak to you of that which gives my life its meaning and purpose, which sustains and resources me when it feels as if life is asking too much of me. I would tell you of the particular way of living and of being in the world to which I aspire, of the way in which I try to live out the spiritual beliefs and ultimate values I hold as I engage with the world around me. And I would express my longing to come to know who I really am and to live more fully from this self that I discover myself to be.
What I have learnt too is that all of us, whether we recognise it or not, are spiritual beings. From time to time, all of us catch a glimpse of the spiritual dimension of our world, however briefly. All of us wrestle with questions about the true nature of reality, about what ‘really matters’, about what it means to be fully human and about how to live a good and meaningful life. This does not mean that we will always see or experience ourselves as spiritual beings, that we will always embrace our spiritual selfhood. For as I know from my own experience, there are times when our spiritual self lies dormant beneath the surface of our busy lives. Whether we acknowledge and attend to it or not, however, it is always present, always open to us. And all we need to do when we sense the movement of the spirit within us is to pay attention, to ask ourselves what it is saying to us and to trust that it will take us wherever we need to go.
Spiritual practices:
Exploring my spiritual self
Begin by spending some time in quiet reflecting on the nature of your spiritual self as you see this part of yourself now. Make note of any words, symbols or images that surface in your mind as you do so. Take as much time as you need over this part of the practice and try not to analyse whatever surfaces or to reject it if it doesn’t immediately make sense to you. Trust your intuition to know what to include.
Then, drawing on what has emerged from your reflections, write a short description of of your spiritual self. Alternatively, create a wordmap entitled 'my spiritual self', write a poem about it or create a collage of images, a drawing or a painting which captures something of its nature. You could draw, for example, on pieces of artwork, photographs, pieces of material, quotes, poetry, song lyrics or anything else that comes to mind. Again, take as much time as you need over this second part of the practice. You may want to work on it over a number of weeks or even months, letting your picture evolve slowly as you continue to explore and reflect on your spirituality.
©Copyright Kaitlyn Steele 2026
Kaitlyn Steele
Comments