What Is Spiritual?

The Error of Mistaking Kindness for Weakness

People often think that to be spiritual is to be soft and nice, but they make a huge mistake to confuse kindness for weakness. Having been in a barroom brawl, fighting side by side with my spiritual teacher and another friend (my teacher’s successor), I can tell you that spiritual people can scrap.

At the time of our brawl, my spiritual teacher was in his mid-sixties, an internationally recognized spiritual educator with some NY Times bestselling books and multiple successful organizations that were all doing work helping people. We had ironically just came from a fundraiser for his organization that was studying and promoting peace when the three of us fought off a group of thirty-something year old Irish lads in Texas.

It was epic. A great memory. Especially as we won, and no one got arrested when the police arrived. We didn’t start it, but we definitely finished it.

Whatever your ideas of “being spiritual” are, it’s probably best to toss them out the window. Regardless, eventually you will be disillusioned, which is a good thing. Once you can get rid of your ideas of what spirituality is, you can start to awaken to what it really is.

People attracted to spirituality often start out dabbling in manifestation courses, sound baths, chakra charts, crystal healing, vegan meals, speaking softly, using the right words, symbol cards, pendulums, a trendy yoga practice, wearing certain clothes or beads, and participating in whatever the current fad is in the spirituality industry.

One day you may stumble upon a spiritual master who is so ordinary they drink coke, eat burgers and fries, and wear blue jeans…but there’s something extra you can’t quite put your finger on about them. They are extra-ordinary. You feel something different. You see it in their eyes. They speak of far out things as if they are as normal as eating apple pie, but are also happy to have a laugh and don’t take it all that seriously. When they close their eyes, you can feel their energy move away. They travel in other dimensions. Something awakens in you that you always knew was there but somehow they provided the spark that lights your inner fire. You open to new experiences. Greater loving. It feels like you are coming home.