# What Matters/Spiritual Development
## Spiritual Development

Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his or her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop an individual's inner life. Spiritual experience includes that of connectedness with a larger reality, yielding a more comprehensive self; with other individuals or the human community; with nature or the cosmos; or with the divine realm. Spirituality is often experienced as a source of inspiration or orientation in life. It can encompass belief in immaterial realities or experiences of the immanent or transcendent nature of the world.
You may find that questions raised through spiritual contemplation are best answered through scientific investigation.

### Assignment:

* Continue your spiritual growth.
* Savor awe and wonder at the glory of the universe.
* Ask questions and seek true answers. Seek real good.
* Work to transcend dogma.
* Adopt the Charter for Compassion.
* Follow this advice of Hildegard of Bingen: "Glance at the sun. See the moon and the stars. Gaze at the beauty of earth's greenings. Now, Think."

### Suggestions for further reading:

* Moody, Harry R. (1998). The Five Stages of the Soul: Charting the Spiritual Passages That Shape Our Lives. Anchor. pp. 384. ISBN 978-0385486774.
* Lerner, Michael (2002). Spirit Matters. Hampton Roads Publishing. pp. 384. ISBN 978-1571743602.
* Abrams, Nancy (March 10, 2015). A God That Could Be Real: Spirituality, Science, and the Future of Our Planet. Beacon Press. p. 200. ISBN 978-0807073391.
* Legrand, Thomas (December 4, 2021). Politics of Being: Wisdom and Science for a New Development Paradigm. Ocean of Wisdom Press. pp. 520. ISBN 978-2957758302.
* Ricard, Matthieu; Daniel Goleman (2007). Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill. Little, Brown and Company. pp. 304. ISBN 978-0316167253.
* Azarian, Bobby (June 28, 2022). The Romance of Reality: How the Universe Organizes Itself to Create Life, Consciousness, and Cosmic Complexity. BenBella Books. pp. 320. ISBN 978-1637740446.
* Krauss, Lawrence M. (2012). A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing. Free Press. pp. 224. ISBN 978-1451624458.
* (Evaluate the book: Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris)
* (Evaluate the book: Common Fire: Leading Lives of Commitment in a Complex World )
* (Evaluate the book: Essential Spirituality: The 7 Central Practices to Awaken Heart and Mind )
* (Evaluate the book: American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us)
* (Evaluate the book: Is Religion Good for Your Health?: The Effects of Religion on Physical and Mental Health)
* (Evaluate the book: Religion for Atheists: A Non-believer's Guide to the Uses of Religion )
* (Evaluate the book: Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue )
* (Evaluate the book: Unstoppable: The Incredible Power of Faith in Action )
* (Evaluate the book: The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself )

### References:

* ↑ Ewert Cousins, preface to Antoine Faivre and Jacob Needleman, Modern Esoteric Spirituality, Crossroad Publishing 1992.
* ↑ Philip Sheldrake, A Brief History of Spirituality, Wiley-Blackwell 2007 p. 1-2
* ↑ Margaret A. Burkhardt and Mary Gail Nagai-Jacobson, Spirituality: living our connectedness, Delmar Cengage Learning, p. xiii
* ↑ Kees Waaijman, Spirituality: forms, foundations,methods Leuven: Peeters, 2002 p. 1
* ↑ Lerner, Michael (2002). Spirit Matters. Hampton Roads Publishing. pp. 384. ISBN 978-1571743602.