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When we talk about religion or belief - almost any religion or belief - it is easiest to talk about the aspects which can be expressed in words. Obviously.
We can't talk in any meaningful way about the subjective experiences people have, but these are often just as important - possibly, they are often more important - than the intellectual and conceptual details which we can talk about relatively easily.
We sometimes note the social aspects of belief - the ways that a belief can create, shape and sustain a community, and the ways that membership in that community is important to the people who participate in it.
But we rarely talk about the experiences which arise from, or are associated with, the personal and individual aspects of the belief. Which is ironic, given the rampant individualism of our society.
Many believers, from many religions and traditions, will talk about entering the presence of a divine being, or perhaps of encountering a holy, sacred being. There is a mystery about such encounters, and they are often accompanied with feelings of wonder and awe. They cannot be scheduled, and it seems they rarely happen when they are most desired, but when they do happen, they can be life-changing.
Perhaps more surprisingly, many non-believers will choose to spend time in traditional places of worship. Sometimes this is purely for architectural and cultural reasons but, surprisingly often, they will also say that this is partly for aesthetic reasons - the beauty and tranquility of the place - and also partly for transcendental reasons: the feeling of connection with the transcendent, or with a 'deeper' reality. They generally struggle to put what they mean by this, and what they experience, into words, but it is real and important to them.
And many people who don't subscribe to any organized religion can talk about their personal experience of some supernatural, transcendent, numinous reality. While they sometimes call it 'god', they generally don't identify it with any of the gods they hear other people talking about - but neither do they deny that it may be what believers encounter in their religious practice.
Please don't worry too much about the language used here: I'm trying to talk about things which we can't really talk about. I'm not 100% comfortable with all the terminology, such as the words, 'deeper reality', but that is language I sometimes hear. And I do think it is reasonable shorthand for something which most people would recognize. You can just walk along a woodland path as a way to get from A to B, or you can be alive to the experience, fully present in that location at that moment. You can be sitting with friends and family, just talking with them in a superficial way, or you can engage with them in a more meaningful way. Reality may not change, but your experience of it can; you can engage with reality in a careless, superficial way, or in a deeper, more intentional way. The difference may be hard to put into words but, for many people, the difference is a real one.
Spiritual experiences are not reserved only for the religiously inclined.
There may not be much talk about religious experience on this site, but that does not mean it is unimportant.
Comments
I am deeply suspicious words such as 'deeper reality'. By definition there is only one reality. If something isn't real it is false. People frequently credit deeply felt emotion to outside influence, when it is always a personal reaction to stimuli in the context of previous experience. Why do I enjoy visiting beautiful religious buildings? Yes for the architecture, yes for the history, but I freely admit because of the way they make me feel. They trigger memories of the past, of my childhood. They are full of triggers to thought. Sitting in a large gothic cathedral, or playing the organ in a small parish church makes me feel good for all sorts of reasons. However none of those are to do with an external agency (e.g. God). I think the sooner we accept that what people call spirituality is simply feelings which have been compartmentalised, either strictly (e.g. stern religion) or loosley (e.g. new age). Whether or the perception of a 'deeper reality' helps or hinders the individual is moot. Perhaps understanding why things make us feel the way we do, and exploring that in a rational way, would make us feel even better.
Mark, that is fair enough as a personal reaction. I'm not claiming everyone - or even that most people - feel this way. But I keep on having conversations with people, both inside organised religion and outside it, who tell me that this is their experience. I had another such conversation last Friday, which is what prompted this piece.
I sympathise with your reaction to the words, 'deeper reality', and I'm not 100% comfortable with them, but that is language I sometimes hear. And I do think it is reasonable shorthand for something which most people would recognize. You can just walk along a woodland path as a way to get from A to B, or you can be alive to the experience, fully present in that moment. You can be sitting with friends and family, just talking with them in a superficial way, or you can engage with them in a more meaningful way. Reality may not change, but your experience of it can; you can exgage with reality in a careless, superficial way, or in a deeper, more intentional way.
Actually, I think that is quite an important point. I hope you don't mind, but I think I should add it to the article...
I've just re-read my comment and I should first apologise for the grammar. Dreadful!
I think you are saying exactly the same thing in different words - the woodland walk is a good illustration. How we feel is often massively influenced by our engagement with our surroundings, and how they affect us. Rather like the appreciation of art, some will love, like me, a Pre-Raphaelite masterpiece and be enticed and intrigued by it, others will be left cold, even if they force themselves to try to engage with it. I would be the same with a Damian Hirst piece!!
It is a really good point as it expresses what I think happens - how we engage has a great deal to do with how we feel.