Ten Ingredients of a Contemporary Spirituality of Optimal Living

 

By Julius-Kei Kato, SSL, PhD

(version: 2024-12-18)

JK Kato's Website: https://jkato.kingsfaculty.ca/

[Premise 1]  Spirituality  

For our purposes here, spirituality will be understood in the following way: It is the quest to live: not in morally-compromised ways but in integrity, not superficially but deeply, not in a self-centered way but for something bigger than one’s self. We can say, therefore, that spirituality is the effort to live “deeper and bigger” with integrity. In other words, it is a quest for integrity, depth, and transcendence.

Why are we using the term “spirituality”? |  The quest mentioned above leads one to touch the “heart and core” of reality and existence. That core is something that cannot be measured empirically, hence, it belongs properly to the “spiritual” realm.

Some other important things to note about spirituality. First, spirituality (or cultivating your own spirituality) is not something supernatural or super-human, but deeply and fundamentally, a human trait (or a human activity) in the sense that it is what we humans are hardwired to seek and do. Second, its pursuit makes us more fully human. Therefore, spirituality is not optional; rather, it is a necessary human quest.

Finally, spirituality is the heart and core of all religions but, as is common today, it does not have to be, strictly speaking, linked with organized religion in order to be authentic.

[Premise 2] Optimal Living: Showing Up as the Best Version of Yourself in the Here and Now  

The foundation of spirituality as it will be proposed here is this conviction: Human life--every aspect of it--is a spiritual quest, a quest that is nevertheless rooted in ordinary life with all its ups and downs; with all its beautiful, ugly, and neutral factors. There is no need, therefore, to be afraid of "spiritual quests"! (For more on that, go HERE) That means, the spiritual quest is not an elite activity that is beyond the reach of ordinary people like you and me. Rather, simply put, the spiritual quest consists in trying to live an "Optimal Life," which is nothing else than trying our very best to be the best versions of ourselves, in service to something bigger than ourselves, wherever we are in life, from moment to moment. To that let me add the important word "mindfully." Therefore, my fuller description of optimal living is this: While being mindful of where we are and what we face in life, we try to be the best version of ourselves in every moment. (A more detailed blogpost on that can be found HERE)

An important caveat: Optimal living is NOT perfectionism. The former is healthy because it is firmly based on reality and takes account of our different limitations; the latter can be unwholesome because it tends to have unrealistic demands. 

With the above premises in mind, I’d like to propose the following ingredients of a spirituality that, I hope, people today can adopt and put into practice, no matter whether they are religious or not. This kind of spirituality ultimately aims to help people to live fuller and more meaningful lives today (aka, “optimal living”).

Here are simple descriptions of each ingredient with key quotes and suggested basic practices.

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[1] Be Mindful! Be aware of and embrace REALITY here and now 

Keep in mind: the present moment is the only moment that you actually have (to live). The past is already gone; the future is not yet here. It's important then that you live the present moment to the full. Otherwise, you will lose this precious moment forever. If you lose many "present moments," you are, in effect, "not living"! So then, what is the key to live fully here and now? It is Mindfulness! Be mindful then ... of the here and now, of yourself, of the world within you, of others, of the world around you and outside of you.

QUOTES

Mindfulness is the moment to moment non-judgmental awareness and acceptance of ‘what is’ in the here and now. (adapted from Jon Kabat-Zinn)

When we are mindful, touching deeply the present moment, in the here and now, we gain more understanding, more acceptance, more forgiveness and love of self and others; our aspiration to relieve suffering grows; and we have more chances to touch joy and peace. We need the energy of mindfulness to recognize and be present with our habit energy so that we may prevent it from dominating us and stop its often destructive course. ~Thich Nhat Hanh in Savor

BASIC PRACTICE

Frequently go back to your "true home" (the "here and now") by mindfully focusing on your breath and what is happening within you and outside of you. This is the most basic mindfulness practice. Mindfulness can be maintained throughout the day and in all activities. Meditation is the concrete and formal practice of devoting a period of time to consciously practice mindfulness and other spiritual exercises to increase one’s spirit of mindfulness.

Arguably the most important way to maintain a mindful awareness in life with lots of other benefits such as inner peace, ability to concentrate, resilience, etc., is having a MEDITATION practice. There are many ways to do this. My suggestion for beginners is B-Re-T-M-A. Short for: Breath—Read or Recall—Think—Meditate—Act. Read about that HERE.

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[2] Constantly Aim for ‘Better’! Move One Step at a Time from ‘Negative’ to ‘Positive’

KEYWORDS: Onward, Avanti, Ippo-Zenshin (一歩前進)

Let’s constantly try to move from - (minus) to + (plus) in our lives. In ingredient #1, we are encouraged to be mindful of and embrace one's reality, fully, without judgment, in the here and now. That is foundational. Now, in ingredient #2, we acknowledge that no one is perfect, that there is always room for improvement. This is why we constantly try to improve. Concretely, that refers to: moving from “minus” factors, such as: morally-compromised, harmful, negative, distracted, superficial frames of mind (those are minus factors) ... to ... "plus" factors, such as: moral/ethical, mindful, deeper, life-affirming (or optimistic) frames of mind. Ingredient #2 is a further step beyond ingredient #1. 

QUOTES

“Habits of thinking need not be forever. One of the most significant findings
in psychology ... is that individuals can choose the way they think.” ~Martin Seligman in Learned Optimism

“But we can change. No one need ever feel resigned and say, 'There is nothing I can do.' There is everything we can do. That is the purpose and the power of that persistent upward force within us: if we turn inward we can remake ourselves completely, modeling ourselves in the image of the loftiest spiritual ideal we can conceive.” ~ Eknath Easwaran in Conquest of Mind

BASIC PRACTICE

Be aware that from moment to moment in our lives, we have a choice: either go forward or step backward. (Brian Johnson in Arete). A move forward can be called a "+1". Then, act on that and increase those +1 choices.

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[3] Know your Purpose!

Do you have a purpose in your life, for your life? Have at least one big, noble purpose that you're passionate about! "Purpose" is a "big idea" about the path you're supposed to be walking on, the big purpose that you feel you're called to be doing in your life (aka, your "vocation" or "calling"), the big thing you're supposed to achieve with the one life that is given you. In short, this is what you're supposed to be focusing the best of your energy and your quality time on.

In many cases, your specific “big purpose” may not yet be clear to you in the present moment, especially if you’re young. It often becomes clearer as you walk the path of life, learning through trial and error. Nevertheless, you can always adopt a general “big purpose” such as the following: Achieving the best version of yourself (optimal state) ... for your own self, for others, for the world!

This is something the ancient Greeks called arete (ἀρετή) or excellence. The Japanese concept of Ikigai (生き甲斐) can also come in handy to understand this. Ikigai is simply “a reason for living.” Explained simply, your ikigai is what makes you get out of bed and start your day with zest.

QUOTE

The ultimate game is: showing up consistently as that best, most heroic version of yourself" ~Brian Johnson in Areté

BASIC PRACTICE

If you have a big, all-consuming passion in life, recall that every single day, regularly and intentionally. Make all your smaller goals align with it (ingredient #4).

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What Can a Theology-Without-Walls Contribute to a Secular Age?

By Julius-Kei Kato, PhD 

These are some random thoughts I have on this topic which I will present at this year’s AAR session of the movement Theology Without Walls (November 24, 2024, San Diego, CA)

[00] Introduction: From a ‘Religion of God’ to a ‘Religion of Life’

The urgency of theology being in dialogue with secularity is obvious: Many of us are located right smack in the middle of very secularized people and contexts. Hence, I’m asking: What can ‘Theology Without Walls’ (henceforward, TWW) contribute to this conversation? 

Above everything else though, let me point out that there is this contemporary phenomenon in which the kind of “religion” (Note that I take “religion” here to mean “a passionate devotion to something”) … so, the kind of ‘religion’ unconsciously professed by a great many people in secular contexts, it seems, has undergone a seismic shift in the recent past. It has effectively shifted from a religion centered on ‘God’ (theos), to a religion centered on “life” (I mean the Greek: zoé), not just “life in general,” but rather: life in the here and now. Hence, the operative religion of many people we know (perhaps even the religion we ourselves follow without being fully aware of it) can be called a “religion of life.” And this is often true even if people can still identify with a traditional kind of religious faith.

To elaborate, the prevalent situation in which many of us are located, particularly in the West (and in Westernized contexts around the world), is one in which the primary “devotion” (to use a traditional, religious-sounding term) or—to use a more neutral term—the primary “concern” of many … perhaps most(?) people is no longer directed to a theistic notion of God (still the operative notion of God in many churches). No, the utmost concern, (I like to use) “devotion” of many people has shifted instead to ‘life itself in the here and now’. Back to my basic question: Can TWW explore and suggest alternative meaning systems/new paths of religion or spirituality that are more relevant in our contexts today as conventional ideas of God and religion, hitherto prevalent in the West, are increasingly fading away? That would be an elaborate version of my burning question.

This presentation is something like my two-cents worth on this topic.

[01] What is Theology “Without Walls”? (How I understand it)

I guess it’s good to start with TWW’s opposite—Theology WITH walls (TWiW) aka, traditional theology. Theology WITH Walls, we can say, is a particular religious community’s “inner discourse” regarding—what the community considers—ultimate matters. In the Western religious tradition, “the Ultimate” has commonly taken the form of theos or “God.” Since it is “insider talk,” the community itself, namely, its own authority structure, is the ultimate arbiter of the discourse. Outsiders should not interfere. We can say that this way of doing theology has serious limitations because it is a product of in-breeding, in a certain sense. It can listen and try to learn from others. And sometimes, it does. But the fundamental stance it takes (especially for well-established religious communities) is that our community’s “discourse about God” is the “the best” … at least for us.

TWW is (or at least aims to be) the antithesis of that. It proposes that theology CANNOT and SHOULD NOT remain an “insider discourse.” It proposes to break down the walls of the enterprise of theology. Theology, it proposes, in the sense of “Discourse regarding Ultimacy” is common to humanity because seeking ultimacy or transcendence is a deeply hardwired human pursuit.

In this endeavor, theology without walls can consider secularism as an ally. How so? (The following is from philosopher John Caputo’s explanation) “Secular” refers to a public order where ideally there is no one who has hegemony or control over others. Hence, it includes the separation of church and state so that each would not interfere with the affairs of the other. Instead, there is the existence and acceptance of a plurality of opinions (including religious ones). The secular order is envisioned then to be an open-ended, polymorphic, polyvocal order which includes diverse voices saying all sorts of things. In principle, anyone in a secular society has the right to ask any question. (This is from an online talk of Caputo at The Wheatly Institution)

In such a context, if there be any “discourse about ultimacy/transcendence” (aka, theology), it necessarily has to be “without walls,” that is, an “open-ended, polymorphic, polyvocal order of diverse sorts of people saying all sorts of things. In a secular context, one cannot take refuge in “insider’s discourses” about ultimacy or about God.

Worldviews and Religions: The Role of Religions-as-Worldviews in Building a Global Community of Justice & Peace

image from gracechurch.org

By: Julius-Kei Kato, PhD

I acknowledge my debt to the many thinker-teachers who have taught me precious lessons about the topics I write about here, particularly, Ken Wilber and his iteration of “the Integral Theory.” A full list of references for sources of the content here as well as for further study is found at the end of the article.

Part I

Worldviews and Religion-as-a-Worldview – Attaining a Worldview that Can Help Build a Just and Peaceful World

This essay is principally about the importance of worldviews, especially religious and spiritual worldviews. It describes what worldviews are and how they can impede or contribute to the building of a world in which true justice and peace are present.

[1] Building a Just and Peaceful World |  One of the most important keys to building a just and peaceful world today is to bring people (as individuals and as groups) to truly want to be “global citizens,” in other words, willing participants of—what we shall call here—a “global community.” Let us define “global community” along the lines of the concept of “global citizenship” as a movement of many people throughout our increasingly globalized and interconnected world who value the well-being of others: one’s own insider group of course but, equally, also those outside one’s groups of affiliation (extending this concern to the whole world even). A particularly urgent matter at this juncture in history is for members of this global community to become deeply aware of the precarious ecological situation of our common earth-home and act to improve the situation.

Global citizens (the members of this envisioned global community) commit themselves, first, to refrain from things that harm others and, second, to act in order to realize better the vision of a more peaceful and just world not only for themselves and their in-group members (aka, one’s “tribe”) but for everyone in the world, particularly, those who have been considered “others” by one’s tribe.

[2] What We Mean by “Tribe" |  We will use the word "tribe" or “tribal” frequently here. It is proper, therefore, to describe it further. “My tribe” can mean many things. It’s basically the human group that I consider “my own people” or my “in-group.” Hence, “my tribe” can refer to: my family and extended family, my clan, my village. It can also refer to: my race, my culture, my social and economic class, my gender and gender-orientation. More specifically for our purposes here, we should be aware that “my tribe” has also meant “my religion and my religious community” for many people in past history and continues to mean so in the present.

Note that it is of course natural and good to value one's "tribe." We affirm that. However, we should also remember that if we uncritically overvalue our tribe in a way that excludes others, that unfortunately results in neglecting other groups or, worse yet, it can make us marginalize, discriminate against, and even cause harm to others not included in our tribe.

[3] Worldview and Its Pervasive Character | Our aim in this reflection is to understand better the potential contribution that spiritual-religious traditions can make to the building of a truly just and peaceful global world. To reach that aim, it is important first to recognize the importance of “worldview” and how that is a key to humans becoming active and committed global citizens.

A worldview is, literally speaking, the way by which one views and understands the world. It is a combination of all the influences one has had in one’s life up to this point. One is largely unconscious of it but it informs practically all the areas—big and small—in life: what one believes; what one holds as true or false; how one approaches life; how one relates to others, and so forth. It is like the pond someone is swimming in if they were a fish.

Another useful analogy to understand worldview is this: It’s like someone’s mother language and all the complex grammatical rules that make up that language. One is largely unconscious of this process, but people speak their mother language perfectly, without being aware that they’re actually following all the complex grammatical rules of the language flawlessly as they speak. We only experience how actually complex any language is when we learn a foreign language and, as if for the first time, marvel at how effortlessly native speakers can speak a language that, for us, seems so difficult to learn. Thus, our mother language is an accurate image of the all-pervasive, total character of our keyword here—worldview, in the life of individuals as well as groups of people.

[4] Religion is a Worldview |   It is obvious that religion (or any spiritual tradition for that matter) is definitely a worldview. It is a way of viewing the world which usually involves some “ultimate reality” that is meant to pervade the whole existence of believers, influencing how they understand the world and informing them how they should live their lives if they want to reach the particular religion’s ultimate goal. That goal may be the Christian union with God, Buddhism’s Nirvana, Islam’s total surrender to God or Judaism’s fidelity to the covenant, and so forth. Moreover, it is good to be aware that a religious worldview has an arguably stronger hold on the psyches of those who are living entirely within it because they believe that this particular worldview has been somehow “revealed” and gifted to them by an ultimate or divine Being or Entity, hence, carries with it some kind of absolute character. 

[5] How Worldviews Develop |   There is a basic and foundational principle about worldviews: Worldviews can and do undergo a process of evolution/development from: earlier, basic, (arguably) immature and more selfish stages – to: more advanced, more inclusive, (arguably) more mature stages. Since religions are worldviews, that principle is equally true about religions.

Up until now, the various spiritual-religious traditions of the world have not given much attention to the process of how spiritual-religious worldviews evolve and develop in individuals (as well as in whole groups of people). And this is perhaps one of the major things that religions lack which must definitely be rectified: a lack of knowledge and awareness of developmental processes as explicitly applied to religious faith.

To elaborate on this, various developmental studies have pointed out that humans (across different cultures and historical eras) go through a predictable general pattern of growth or development in their worldviews.

The pattern usually begins with a first level (Stage #1), a stage at the start of life that can be described as Egocentric. This is a stage in which one’s worldview is focused on oneself. Babies and young children are clear evidence of this. From that stage though, if humans would develop properly, they should grow and transcend their natural egocentric worldview and move on to being (2) Ethnocentric, a stage in which the person goes beyond and overcomes the “natural self-centered focus” of life’s initial stages. Instead, the person advances to a stage in which they can include the people closest to them (one's "tribe" or "in-group") as valuable for themselves. In short, the circle of one’s concern is getting bigger as one grows. That is a sign of good human development.

[6] Moving Beyond Ethnocentricity in a Global Community |  Today, in our more interconnected, diverse, and globalized world, it is more urgent that one should not stop at the ethnocentric stage unlike in the past. From an exclusive focus on one's "tribe" or “in-group” (ethnocentric stage), people in a globalized, interdependent world, as an ideal, should grow further into higher worldview stages, that is, (Stage #3) Worldcentric, a stage in which we acknowledge that those who, up to this point, were considered "Others" (by our “in-group”)  are deserving of the following things: at the basic level, a just and humane treatment and, if possible, also friendship and care. The highest level of development would be becoming more (4) Cosmocentric, a stage in which we consider not only humans but also other living and non-living things (our whole cosmos even!) as the objects of our concern and care. This cosmocentric dimension is in the forefront today in our globalized world as we become more aware of the precarious situation in which the ecological order of our earth finds itself.

Understanding Religion and Which Aspects of It Can Impede or Advance Human Flourishing

 

Philosopher Ken Wilber's Keynote Address at the Integral European Conference (IEC) 2018 

(The Original Title of Wilber’s Lecture)

Is Religion Evolution’s Ally or Enemy?

 

LINK (in the public domain): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z9vyJDME7w&t=2118s

Published: Oct 1, 2018 / Accessed: 2021-05-11

 

(The numbers in-between parentheses are timestamps. Parts in blue are my own [jkk] annotations to Wilber’s talk. When parts are italicized within Wilber’s talk, those are my own emphases. Special thanks to my research assistant Christine Atchison for help with the transcription of Wilber's talk.)

[jkk annotation] Have you ever wondered why religion can produce both the best things and the worst things in the world? I think the best way to answer that is by explaining religion through what is called “the Integral Theory.” I’ve found that this talk of philosopher Ken Wilber, the major proponent and exponent of the Integral Theory, is one of the best and most succinct-yet-complete presentations that could help us gain a good “big picture” of religion – its lights and shadows, its tremendous potential as well as its darkest dysfunctionalities. This talk of Wilber titled “Is Religion Evolution’s Ally or Enemy,” gives us an excellent overview of an understanding of religion and spirituality that could help humanity advance through the proper developmental stages and grow into a more mature and more holistic state as individuals and as groups, and also experience the highest states of bliss that religious traditions envision.

 

Introductory Remarks on Religion in the West

     Hello everybody, my talk is titled ‘Religion: Evolution’s Ally or Enemy?’. So let me start by asking ‘what are we going to do with this thing called Religion?’ Around two or three hundred years ago the percentage of people in, for example, [Northern] Europe who considered themselves ‘churched’, that is, serious and regular followers of a traditional church (in this case the Catholic Church) was well over 90 %. Today the percentage of people in Northern Europe who consider themselves ‘churched’ is less than 11%. The number of people who are followers of any sort of traditional religion has dropped dramatically—especially in the modern, developed countries. In the pre-modern or developing countries the numbers of religious believers are much higher and, as we’ll see, there’s a reason for that. But, in general—and this is the central point—the more evolved a country is, the less religious it is. And this is true for individuals as well; the more evolved a person is, the less religious they’re likely to be. Why is that? Are religion and evolution the opposite of each other so that the more you have of one, the less you have of the other? Is religion an ally of evolution or its enemy?

 

Defining Terms: Spiritual Intelligence and Spiritual Experience

     First of all, we need to understand what we mean by the word religion. There are at least two very different meanings of that word. One meaning is called religious intelligence or spiritual intelligence. It’s how we think about spirit, how we think about what we believe is an ultimate reality or ultimate concern. It’s how we interpret or conceptualize or think about ultimate reality. The other meaning is not spiritual intelligence but direct spiritual experience or immediate religious experience. Human beings have both capacities—spiritual intelligence and spiritual experience.

[jkk annotation] I would avoid using the word “religion” altogether because it has negative connotations nowadays in many circles. We can use terms with a more positive resonance for people today, such as the Japanese word ikigai (生き甲斐) or “spirituality”. “Human beings are spiritual beings” might be a foundational principle. Why? Because a person is usually animated and motivated to engage with life by interior and exterior factors that are “greater than (but also inclusive of) the physical.” That is just another way to say “spiritual.” Hence, the spiritual dimension plays a foundational and crucial role in humans.

     In certain instances, like listening to beautiful music, walking in nature, making love, having a peak experience or an altered state of consciousness, humans can have a direct spiritual experience. William James explored these direct spiritual experiences in his classic book The Varieties of Religious Experience. But even if we have a direct spiritual experience, we almost always start interpreting it, conceptualizing it, giving it some sort of meaning or using some sort of conceptual framework—however simple—to make sense of it. So, as soon as we have any direct or religious or spiritual experience, we use our spiritual intelligence to interpret it, conceptualize it, frame it. We have spiritual experience and we have spiritual intelligence. (4:15) 

     Sometimes people have not had any direct spiritual experience, but they have lots of ideas and thoughts about what spirit is or what they think spirit is like. Most people have some sort of idea of what an ultimate reality is like, or at least what the most important reality or ultimate concern is for themselves. In other words, they have some form of spiritual intelligence, however vague or crude, but they have no direct spiritual experience. Some of these people even have very advanced spiritual intelligence. They’ve read texts from all the world’s great religions; they know all sorts of theological theories and ideas. They’ve thought a great deal about spirit and ultimate realities They might even have tried to weave together all of the latest leading-edge versions of modern science into a ‘new paradigm’ and then claim that this new paradigm represents a mystical, interwoven unity of all reality—just like Zen, or Daoism, or Vedanta. And yet, even though they believe this theory they themselves have never actually had a genuine spiritual experience in their life. So when it comes to spiritual reality they have lots of knowledge by description (or spiritual intelligence), but no direct knowledge by acquaintance (or direct spiritual experience, or satori, or enlightenment).

     On the other hand, others have had a great deal of spiritual experience or several of them, but they can’t articulate it well or show how it relates to all the other areas of life. They have much spiritual experience but not much spiritual intelligence. These two forms of religious engagement—spiritual intelligence and spiritual experience—are very different in their fundamental nature and recognizing that difference is truly important, as we’ll see. These two forms cannot be completely separated from each other but they are different in several important ways and it’s crucial to recognize that difference. Spiritual experience, in its highest form, is claimed by its adherents to be a direct and immediate experience of pure one-ness with an ultimate reality.

     This experience itself has been known in almost every major culture throughout history and around the world and given names such as enlightenment, awakening, metamorphosis, Satori, Moksha, Fanaa—the great liberation. And this is said to result in states described as ultimate unity consciousness, divine oneness, pure unity, infinite wholeness, or the supreme identity. Supreme because it is said to be one with spirit and thus one with the entire universe. And this oneness is said to constitute a person’s real self or true self. For the moment, simply assuming that something like this ultimate, religious, experience exists, I refer to this overall process in any of its forms as ‘waking up’. ‘Waking up’ is the ultimate form of spiritual experience. (8:22).

     Spiritual intelligence, on the other hand, is one of up to a dozen multiple intelligences that all human beings possess. That is, in addition to cognitive intelligence we have emotional intelligence, moral intelligence, aesthetic intelligence, linguistic intelligence, interpersonal intelligence and, yes, spiritual intelligence. These are not so much experiences as they are intelligences. That is, mental operations that address fundamental questions faced by humans. Emotional intelligence, for example, addresses the issue of ‘what are you (or I) feeling?’. Moral intelligence addresses the question ‘what is the right thing to do?’. And spiritual intelligence is the thinking process that humans engage whenever they think about some sort of ultimate reality or ultimate concern. A person might use their spiritual intelligence and decide that there really isn’t any spirit or ultimate reality—they’re atheistic. Or they might conclude that they just can’t decide that issue—they’re agnostic. Or, as I said, they might look at today’s leading-edge sciences and come up with a new paradigm about a fully interwoven and unified nature. In any of those cases, they’re using their spiritual intelligence because they’re thinking about ultimate realities.

Note Well: Spiritual Intelligence, according to Wilber, is one of several multiple intelligences that human beings possess.

     Now, like all multiple intelligences, spiritual intelligence grows and develops through a well-known sequence of developmental stages. People aren’t born with any of their multiple intelligences operating at their highest and most mature levels. Like all things in nature, any multiple intelligence has to grow and develop through a series of stages. Each stage being more functional, more complex, and more mature. The same is definitely true of spiritual intelligence. So, what stages does spiritual intelligence grow through? What stages are there? (11:05).

[jkk annotation] To summarize：Religion―Spirituality consists of two main factors：(1) Spiritual Experience and (2) Spiritual Intelligence. Traditional religions know #1 well; they unfortunately are largely unaware of #2 and hence they cannot “get” why religion has become irrelevant to many people in the West today.