Recapping an idea...

Spirituality pertains to the mindfulness of a person, the non-material aspect of reality that DIRECTS the usage of the material - NOT, as so often presumed, opposes the material... there has always been a despairing of the attainment of goods, yet the plentitude of the goods and their variety enriches our lives - so it seems only fair to utilize the 'this earth' attitude to justify the 'good life' and mark the accumulation NOT as being frivolous, but as having real depth to the wellbeing of the living... one could say it makes for the practical application of the ethics of viable values... it falls in line with Rand's assertion of aesthetics being 'the technology of the soul'... while she used the word 'Art', I in turn (since she equated aesthetics with art) use the broader term, because I consider the utilitarian aspects as much 'technology of the soul' as the contemplative aspects... spiritual needs involve 'meaning in life'... this covers both short term purposes as well as long term... as much of importance, it pertains to the real world, NOT the fantasy of some 'other world', or of the notion of the 'supernatural', which claims an incompetency of humans, that they are incapable of knowing on their own,and thus must remain perpetually as overaged dependents - children - instead of the self-responsible independent adult... from a psychological standpoint, spirituality means operating at a high level of consciousness - engaging in self-awareness and self-examinations, integrating the issues of values and life... it is considering how one experiences existence - not thru the delusion of faith and negation of the mindfulness - but thru consciousness committed to its own growth, cultivating the ability to see reality in all its manifestations, and as such remaining truthful to 'that which is', emphasizing the difference between believing and knowing... this means reliance on the mind - which involves the issues of independence, self-responsibility, the contrasting of meekness and self-assertions... this, in turn, involves the courage to treat oneself and one's convictions with respect... the end result is living purposefully - creating one's own meaning of and to life, and being a participant as opposed to being an observer... it also raises the issue of integrity, which involves the issue not of how perfect we are in integrity but how concerned we are in correcting breaches...