How do you define “spirituality”?

Spirituality is related to religion, but they are not identical. Spirituality is more of how connected a person is with other beings, whether it be a God figure or just spirits. There are many forms of spirituality and almost every person’s spirituality is different. Experiences and lessons people endure shape their spirituality and their belief system. Higher beings can be thought of in more ways than just a God figure or Jesus, which adds to the beauty of spirituality.

 Does spirituality differ from religion?

As mentioned above spirituality does differ from religion. Religion is more tangible in the sense that a religion usually has a set of beliefs or a code to follow and live by. There are many different religions, just as there are forms of spirituality, but religions seem to be more defined. Spirituality affects the way people notice and perceive situations, which was a point of discussion in this week’s assigned reading. While these two topics are different, there are many ways in which they are interrelated and connected.

 How do you define “creativity”?

I believe there are many different definitions of creativity, because the idea of creativity can apply to multiple things. A more general and overarching definition would be the ability to take traditional ideas or things and create something new and original that has different meaning or purpose. Having the ability to create or innovate new ideas contributes to the amount of creativity a person possesses. Creativity is also connected to inspiration and becoming inspired by various things. The beauty of creativity is it can come from various sources of inspiration or curiosity.

What is the source of creativity?

The source of creativity can come from a multitude of things. Some of those things are spiritual inspiration, experiences, current environment, and seeing deeply, which is discussed in this week’s assigned reading. I believe those who are very creative are also very observant and see deeply when others don’t, which allows them to see things most don’t. There are human traits and genes that might lend natural creativity to someone. However, if someone values creativity and actively seeks to be creative then they can develop skills of tapping into sources of creativity. Spiritual inspiration is a significant source of creativity, which is why pairing the two topics for this week’s material worked excellently.

 

Sources:

Grey, A. (2001). Art as Spiritual Practice. The Mission of Art (1st ed., pp. 205-233). Boston & London: Shambhala.

This week’s topic is creative spirituality, which is a very interesting concept. An even more interesting concept is how spirituality can influence artists and their pieces of art. Often people confuse spirituality and religion as the same thing and while there are some overlaps, it is not the same. Spirituality can be much more than just what religion someone believes in.

A way spirituality can influence artists is through things that inspire them to create artwork. Inspiration is something Grey touches in this week’s assigned reading. The opening line of this week’s reading really struck a powerful message to me. Grey states, “Most of our days are spent passing by things that we glance over but may barely be able to recall” (71). This is a very profound thought in the sense that there are so many things we glance over on a day-to-day basis. Even just a walk to campus can entail numerous things and events. These things we glance over may be hard to recall, but they do stick in our subconscious. These subconscious thoughts come through in forms of expression, such as artwork. I look forward to reading what others had to say regarding creative spirituality given I think most people will have a unique viewpoint.

 

Grey, A. (2001). Art as Spiritual Practice. The Mission of Art (1st ed., pp. 205-233). Boston & London: Shambhala.