I'm Not Religious But.....

"I'm not religious but I'm spiritual."

The god/God/g-d question comes up now and again. It floats to the surface in those getting-to-know-you chats with new friends, acquaintances, passersby, fellow party guests. 

I'm not religious but I'm spiritual.

What's that mean? What does it mean to be spiritual but not religious? Is this code speak for Christians in light of the Rush/Glenn/the Bush fam/Duggars/Gringrich (and, tragically, that list's endless) claims to the BEST Christan EVA Throne? 

I imagine so. No true believer wants to be seen as part of the Hypocrites Club.

It may also translate as "I don't go to shul/church every week but, me and god, we got a thing goin' on."

From Merriam Webster:

Spirituality
noun \ˌspir-i-chə-ˈwa-lə-tē\
: the quality or state of being concerned with religion or religious matters : the quality or state of being spiritual

And, more helpful, from Dictionary.com:

Spiritual

adjective \ spir-i-choo-uh\
1. of, relating to, or consisting of spirit; incorporeal.
2. of or relating to the spirit or soul, as distinguished from the physical nature:
a spiritual approach to life.
3. characterized by or suggesting predominance of the spirit; ethereal or delicately refined:
She is more of a spiritual type than her rowdy brother.

In any case, what about ME? A solidly confirmed agnostic? Am I spiritual? Not in any formal sense, no (yeah, I know, that's a big-ass shock for you).

BUT!

Back when I still had hearing there were some concerts that were my idea of full blown, this is IT, Heaven.

There was the World Drum Fest in Amsterdam where Terry Bozzio played in an old church/now club, Paradiso. I was up in the nosebleed balconies BUT I had a perfect aerial view of his amazing trap set. Christ on a Zildjian 10" transformer, this, THIS was it! I could've lived an entire lifetime in every last brush/wash/mallet note.

Another time that truly stands out as deeply spiritual was when I saw Paul Simon on The Rhythm of the The Saints tour. The whole show blew my socks clean off but when Cool, Cool River started up, well, every last atom of my being was engaged, absorbed, riveted. If you've not heard the tune, go to the link and give a listen. It won't be the same as seeing it live, with the lighting effects mimicking sunshine sparkling on an incoming tide BUT maybe it'll give you some idea of the intense beauty I was able to take in.

sidenote — another great percussionist is Mingo Araújo.  

Now that I'm deaf, where/when do I experience this? DO I still experience that hot damn, THIS is the essence of existence moments?

Yup. 

I get lost in the astounding, stone beauty of the dawn, the sun gleaming through the curl of a wave, the tall trees along the marsh path.

Is this "god?" Is the fat emotion — being stunned, amazed and enthralled by the natural gorgeousness around me "spirituality?"

I don't find the question relevant. What matters is not the name of the experience but the encounter with such wonderment itself.