"Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of their being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop an individual's inner life; such practices often lead to an experience of connectedness with a larger reality, yielding a more comprehensive self; with other individuals or the human community; with nature or the cosmos; or with the divine realm. Spirituality is often experienced as a source of inspiration or orientation in life. It can encompass belief in immaterial realities or experiences of the immanent or transcendent nature of the world." Wikipedia

I have been apart of and or studied the doctrine of a variety of old and new religions over the years. At the end of the day the source of my greatest understanding comes from acknowledging that 'I am a spiritual being having a human experience'. Not sure when or where I first heard that but ever since it has opened my eyes and my heart to a truer sense of my place in life. I acknowledge all that exists in the natural world in which I live has a spirit. The plants, the animals, the minerals and the atmosphere that surrounds us, shares the earth and the universe as we know it are all made up of spirit. Making the connection is a spiritual experience. At the centre of all this is a sense of a higher spiritual power that is outside yet connected to the earthly life we experience.

I think the journey to finding a sense of spirituality comes from that moment of silence when you speak to that desire. When you honestly ask of your spirit (your heart, your breath) for the understanding to sense its existance, to feel its connection to your being and to see it in all that is around you, visible and invisible. If it is the desire of your heart to connect with spirit in a way that you can feel and understand then by desiring it you make it happen. Be attentive to it showing itself to you when you see something or experience something in a new way.

I feel most in touch with my spirit when I am in the garden digging in the dirt. Or when I am walking in the forest and smelling the cedar and listening to the songs and voices of the birds. Or when I am sitting along side the river and hearing the sounds of the trickling water. Examining the roots of the trees that cling to the shore. Admiring the resilience of the rocks smoothed on the surface by the waters rushing power. Gazing at the clouds, at the rock cliffs and even the pebbles under my feet. In all that surrounds me I see lessons for my life that are given to me first in spirit and then through understanding the relationship to my earthly experience and spiritual existance.

I think more important to you then all my ramblings about my spritual relationship to all that is created to share my earthy experience is for you to consider why you seek spiritual understanding. If you know what it is you seek to gain then it may help to guide what at first you are able to perceive as spirit and thus embrace as spiritual understanding and comfort. Once you acknowledge your own sense of spirit you may then be open to seeing it as the life force behind what you see and tough and smell. You may become more connected with what you intuitively feel and sense in your heart.