Christians often get tagged as people defined by a book. Our faith is older and broader than literature though.
Revelation, and relationship with Divinity, is a living, breathing daily practice of #SensingSpirituality.
This includes reading and rational understanding! But what is the stuff that is really important, the basis of human existence, and how do we sense, explore and understand it? Is there more to it than simply what you can see, touch, smell, and taste?
We have been using these #tags on Quartz social media to tagging moments when people recognise particular “sensings”. They are based on work carried out to develop chaplaincy in schools.
The consultation process revealed the need to clarify the meaning of ‘spiritual development’ as used in the consultation paper. The consultation paper states that spiritual development ‘includes being helped to recognise, reflect upon and develop a deeper understanding of the value and worth of each individual which comes from one’s dignity as a person‘.
Link to “The Report of the Religious Observance Review Group 2006” here
For example – seeing in someone in need could be described as #SensingChallenge and recognising the desire to help. When you think about how you will help you may be #SensingValues.
Looking at a sunset, or enjoying an uncommonly good day with friends you may be #SensingAwareness of being part of something bigger which makes you whole.
Recognising the feeling of #SensingOtherness is recognising that humans are more than just the physical five senses, but #SensingMystery usually quickly follows if you try to think about the metaphysics which underlies experiences like Love, Beauty or even a sense of self.
Learning #SensingMeaningfulness would be part of the skill set you’d need to link the many experiences which make us human with the practical day to day needs of getting (home)work done, cooking tea and getting along with the people around you.
Just as there are more than five physical senses, and they all work together, this list is just a start. They are intended to help us learn ways to discuss and evaluate the sensations we experience and which inspire us to wonder.
The @CyberCuldee twitter feed and Instagram accounts record moments of awareness of one of these sensings. It uses hashtags (#) to make it easier to search for them. The plan is to make what is normally invisible – visible, and to provide an artistic record of spiritual sensation.
Please use the #SensingSpirituality and other hashtags as part of your social media life to join in.
Here is a copy of a guidance booklet for chaplains working within the Scottish Curriculum for excellence
Quartz has also been collecting and developing resources to help the community encounter, explore and express #SensingSpirituality
Find out more here: Sensing Spirituality Resources