Philosophy & Spirituality

Philosophy consists of generally incomplete or closed theories and ideas and can be with or without any spiritual component at all.  Being philosophical is the act of thinking out and/or arguing or discussing ideas, and posing problems for which is may or may not proffer solutions.  Philosophy is very dry, detached, and not worshipful, with no awe or reverence.   Philosophy can be a gateway to the soul.  People who are philosophical are at least interested in higher ways of thinking, but philosophy gives no true meaning to life.

The Wikipedia entry for Philosophy:  Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.  Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions (such as mysticism or mythology) by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned argument.  Philosophy comes from the Greek φιλοσοφία [philosophia], which literally translates to "love of wisdom".

Spirituality is about making a connection to a higher power and way of thinking.  Our religion is the way we experience or practice connecting with people in a spiritual way, with certain attributes of divinity.  People can be spiritual without being philosophical, they may have no particular theory, form or grounding and may appear flighty and floaty, their spirituality is based on feelings and not reality or actual experiences.  Religion is the practice of our faith.  One of the main questions for the spiritually minded to answer is the issue of explaining to non-spiritual or purely philosophical or science minded individuals, the supernatural state of being.  Spiritual Philosophy must bring about a rational explanation for the born-again, mountaintop transformations so many people of faith have experienced; a rationale behind their faith.  Until the spiritual philosopher can successfully accomplish this feat, people will still feel compelled to follow the non-spiritual path, often a purely philosophical or science minded path. 

Questions:  Consider the following philosophical questions from a spiritual perspective - borrowed from a website that collects not only the deep philosophical questions, but also the humorous ones.    

1. What is more difficult for you; looking into someone’s eyes when you are telling someone how you feel, or looking into someone’s eyes when they are telling you how they feel?
2. Think of the last time you were REALLY angry.
3. You are on a flight from Honolulu to Chicago non-stop. There is a fire in the back of the plane. You get enough time to make ONE phone call. Who would you call?
4. You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?
5. You can have one of the following two things: trust or love.  Which do you choose and why?
6. You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?

7. What is the meaning of life?

For more questions - please visit the Random Philosophical Questions List people.