Spirituality practice

Spirituality as people practice it and as researchers study it, taught comparatively and without advocating for any path. Learn how spirituality differs from religion and what the surveys on “spiritual but not religious” show; the forms of prayer; meditation lineages across traditions; contemplative reading, chant, fasting, pilgrimage, sabbath and retreat; mystical experience as William James described it; meaning and purpose; awe and self-transcendence; ritual and community; secular and nature-based spirituality; chaplaincy and spiritual care; and the research on spirituality and health, with the confounding that makes it hard to interpret. It also covers the harder parts: spiritual struggle, “spiritual bypassing” (using spiritual ideas to avoid difficult feelings), and how to evaluate a spiritual-wellness claim. No tradition is ranked above another, and contested findings are taught as contested. Distinct from World Religions (beliefs, texts and history) and Mindfulness (attention training): this is about practice and experience across traditions. Educational — not religious instruction, therapy or medical advice.