Is spirituality evolving?

Spirituality is definitely evolving, man... I mean, once an individual’s consciousness starts leveling up, that whole concept of spirituality—which is really just our way of interpreting things—is bound to expand right along with it...

Sophia Parker8 said:In Christianity, sure.
The question was whether spirituality evolves in general; there wasn't any mention of Christian dogma specifically.

Look, at the core, every religion is just about love and actually showing it through your actions toward others. Every single one aims for that inner peace and trying to rise above all this worldly nonsense. Spirituality develops within every faith, even in smaller sects. It grows...

Brenda Smith9 said:Look, at the core, every religion is just about love and actually showing it through your actions toward others. Every single one aims for that inner peace and trying to rise above all this worldly nonsense. Spirituality develops within every faith, even in smaller sects. It grows...

I find myself in agreement. As long as we exist within the flow of time, change is inevitable, whether for better or worse. Ultimately, it’s up to us to choose our direction in the face of, well, entropy.

lilaamrit said:I wanted to tell you that to "reach perfection," you have to believe it’s actually attainable... Perfection doesn't have a shape—honestly, there probably isn't anything tangible that we humans could even begin to imagine or grasp... It’s very much like Robert's idea of "mastering matter"... essentially, you're donning a suit of armor... and leaving the "earthly grit" behind for some extraterrestrial realm!

Of course you have to believe—but not through the lens of physics. It has to be spiritual. I mean, if we're talking about mastering time, space, and matter, where does the human element fit in? Where is the soul that connects us to whatever comes next? If you orient your entire being toward pure physics, you lose the essence of who you are. To me, that doesn't feel like the future. It feels much more meaningful when you look at what gurus do out in the mountains of India—they head into a cave with absolutely nothing just to try and wrap their heads around existence. That is pure spirituality; nothing material is tethering you to this world. In my view, that's the way—there has to be some form of sacrifice or struggle involved. Because let's be real: if life is comfortable and you have everything you want, who in their right mind would ever choose to walk away from all that?

Richard Torres2 said:Of course you have to believe—but not through the lens of physics. It has to be spiritual. I mean, if we're talking about mastering time, space, and matter, where does the human element fit in? Where is the soul that connects us to whatever comes next? If you orient your entire being toward pure physics, you lose the essence of who you are. To me, that doesn't feel like the future. It feels much more meaningful when you look at what gurus do out in the mountains of India—they head into a cave with absolutely nothing just to try and wrap their heads around existence. That is pure spirituality; nothing material is tethering you to this world. In my view, that's the way—there has to be some form of sacrifice or struggle involved. Because let's be real: if life is comfortable and you have everything you want, who in their right mind would ever choose to walk away from all that?

You've got it backward. A being doesn't orient itself toward physics; it transcends it. Once you've done that, physics ceases to be an obstacle.
As for those ascetics living in caves... well, they exist. But bears live in caves too. Neither group is actually accomplishing anything.

Richard Torres2 said:Of course you have to believe—but not through the lens of physics. It has to be spiritual. I mean, if we're talking about mastering time, space, and matter, where does the human element fit in? Where is the soul that connects us to whatever comes next? If you orient your entire being toward pure physics, you lose the essence of who you are. To me, that doesn't feel like the future. It feels much more meaningful when you look at what gurus do out in the mountains of India—they head into a cave with absolutely nothing just to try and wrap their heads around existence. That is pure spirituality; nothing material is tethering you to this world. In my view, that's the way—there has to be some form of sacrifice or struggle involved. Because let's be real: if life is comfortable and you have everything you want, who in their right mind would ever choose to walk away from all that?

Life is understood through actual experience, not by sitting in a cave.

Sophia Parker8 said:You've got it backward. A being doesn't orient itself toward physics; it transcends it. Once you've done that, physics ceases to be an obstacle.
As for those ascetics living in caves... well, they exist. But bears live in caves too. Neither group is actually accomplishing anything.

And how exactly would you know that? 🤔

jademarlin26 said:Life is understood through actual experience, not by sitting in a cave.

Well, I suppose sitting in a cave is also an experience—just a different one, maybe.
And I wouldn't exactly call it suffering; from where I'm standing—it's more of a luxury, a privilege some people actually get to enjoy. 🙂

I wouldn't call it suffering; it's simply a complete waste of time. You have to step out of the cave if you ever want to grasp the mystery of your own existence.

jademarlin26 said:I wouldn't call it suffering; it's simply a complete waste of time. You have to step out of the cave if you ever want to grasp the mystery of your own existence.

So, I guess you’ve actually solved the mystery then—since you clearly know exactly what it takes to understand it, right? 🤔

driftingraven122 said:And how exactly would you know that? 🤔

Precisely. How am I supposed to know when they’ve left nothing behind?
Jokes aside, the people I know who actually accomplished something weren't hermits living in caves.
Nikola Tesla, despite his reputation for being a loner, actually maintained a vibrant social life while performing monumental work.
Albert Einstein, though perhaps not the most studious or socially conventional individual, also achieved greatness.

Of course, I’m exaggerating here.
There is a certain merit to solitude. But not in the sense of "I exist and that is sufficient"; rather, it should be used for mental discipline to gain profound insights. However, those insights shouldn't serve someone's selfish desire to wallow in their own perceived wisdom—they should be used to impact the world.
Ultimately, it comes down to overcoming one aspect of matter. Matter has a way of binding us. You can't escape that grip simply by denying matter's existence or labeling it as an illusion. In ancient India, just as it is today, they understood that "illusion" was merely our perception of reality—the perception of matter. Matter itself is real; it isn't some fabricated dream. It exists independently and exerts a very clear influence on us. Whether we are constrained by it or we master it depends entirely on our level of awareness and interest.

To simply accept our current state and play a passive role is to allow matter to bind us. That isn't consciousness; it's foolishness, which inevitably leads to forgetting, degradation, decadence, and eventually... unconsciousness.

driftingraven122 said:So, I guess you’ve actually solved the mystery then—since you clearly know exactly what it takes to understand it, right? 🤔

Understanding isn't a prerequisite. Desire is enough.
The mere will to grasp a mystery puts you miles ahead of those who have no intention of trying.

driftingraven122 said:So, I guess you’ve actually solved the mystery then—since you clearly know exactly what it takes to understand it, right? 🤔

Hardly. Even if I had, my path remains mine alone; it holds no obligation to serve as a roadmap for anyone else. I neglected to include "IMO" while lost in thought about the cave allegory.

If you feel the need to sit there, be my guest.

Sophia Parker8 said:Understanding isn't a prerequisite. Desire is enough.
The mere will to grasp a mystery puts you miles ahead of those who have no intention of trying.

True, I suppose. Though—and this is just my take—calling sitting in a cave a waste of time seems a bit much; it’s really just one way of doing things.

driftingraven122 said:True, I suppose. Though—and this is just my take—calling sitting in a cave a waste of time seems a bit much; it’s really just one way of doing things.

I wouldn't go that far. In fact, we haven't even touched upon the cave aspect yet. We started with the post by Elesarov:

an entire being orienting itself toward physics... I don't see that as the future. It makes more sense to me what the gurus do in India; they head off to some remote wilderness with nothing but their thoughts to try and grasp the essence of life. That is pure spirituality—nothing material binds you to this world. I believe that's the way; there has to be some form of suffering involved, because if everything is easy and you have the whole world at your fingertips, who in their right mind would choose to walk away from all that?

The point here wasn't actually about conquering matter via particle accelerators and colliders, but rather about the SPIRIT that will ultimately master matter. Science serves merely as the systematic pathway toward that end, given that one cannot simply conjure mental mastery out of thin air. Science should act as the foundation, while the skill itself remains the ultimate goal.

Sophia Parker8 said:You've got it backward. A being doesn't orient itself toward physics; it transcends it. Once you've done that, physics ceases to be an obstacle.
As for those ascetics living in caves... well, they exist. But bears live in caves too. Neither group is actually accomplishing anything.

Mastering the physical realm is actually much less significant than mastering the psyche... at the end of the day, physical tools become irrelevant when the mind is truly in control.

jademarlin26 said:Life is understood through actual experience, not by sitting in a cave.

I have to disagree here—life isn't just about the raw experience itself; if you don't take a moment to step back, analyze what happened, and actually process those lessons, then all that living was essentially for nothing...

jademarlin26 said:I wouldn't call it suffering; it's simply a complete waste of time. You have to step out of the cave if you ever want to grasp the mystery of your own existence.

The answers aren't waiting for you out there in the world... they're already inside you. Once you've experienced everything life has to throw at you, you eventually have to turn inward and face yourself.

Richard Torres2 said:Mastering the physical realm is actually much less significant than mastering the psyche... at the end of the day, physical tools become irrelevant when the mind is truly in control.

Control over what, exactly? How does the mind exert any authority when it is constantly being throttled by mere matter? Does the mind rule through empty platitudes about its own omnipotence?
I find the notion that overcoming matter is easier than conquering the psyche to be quite flawed. The psyche is only problematic because of our inherent human indulgence, whereas matter itself is stubbornly rigid. It doesn't resist out of spite, but out of pure inertia. And ignorance is arguably the hardest thing to overcome—as we see evidenced by countless examples right here on this forum.

Richard Torres2 said:The answers aren't waiting for you out there in the world... they're already inside you. Once you've experienced everything life has to throw at you, you eventually have to turn inward and face yourself.

Understood. Though I fail to see why one can't be introspective while actually moving through life. One doesn't need to retreat into isolation to achieve that. IMO 🙂