How often have you heard people say that someone is spiritual? I always wonder what they mean exactly, and when asked, no one has ever given me a satisfactory explanation until now. Dr. Dean H. Hamer, a geneticist at the National Institute of Health postulates in his book, The God Gene about the origins of spirituality. He writes that new discoveries in behavioral genetics and neurobiology indicate we have a predisposed, inherited need to embrace a higher power. In other words, we are genetically programmed to believe in something larger than ourselves. Throughout history humans have worshiped a variety of gods, in ancient Egypt it was the sun god Ra, ancestor worship is still prevalent around the world, primitive tribes have sacrificed animals and humans to appease their gods, made offerings of food to altars in order to gain a favor—be it a better crop or healing an injury, or doing a dance to a rain god to ease a drought.
We are not that different today. Whether we pray to Allah, Jehovah, Jesus, or the multitude of Hindu gods, we still invoke a higher power or powers who can hear us and act on our behalf. Some of us pray to a god to save an ill child, others for peace in the world or to win a sports competition. And all believe that their particular god is on their side.
Dr. Hamer devised a self-transcendence scale based on the work of Dr. Robert Cloninger of the Washington University Medical School. It measures the ability to see oneself as part of a large, connected universe. This scale is based on three components of spirituality: self-forgetfulness, transpersonal identification, and mysticism. I extrapolated from it the following:
Self-Forgetfulness
- Do you ever get so involved with a project that you forget where you are or what time it is?
- Have you ever loved someone so deeply that you felt like there was no boundary between the two of you?
Spiritual people score high for self-forgetfulness, the first component of self-transcendence. Self-forgetful people often experience flashes of insight or understanding when they are in this frame of mind. Creativity is maximized; originality is fostered. Even the most ordinary things seem fresh and new.
Transpersonal Identification
- Are you concerned about protecting animals and plants from extinction?
- Do you feel a sense of unity with all the things around you?
The hallmark of this trait is a feeling of connectedness to the universe and everything in it—animate and inanimate, human and nonhuman, anything and everything that can be seen, heard, smelled, or otherwise sensed. People who score high for transpersonal identification can become deeply emotionally attached to other people, animals, trees, flowers, streams, or mountains. They feel that everything is part of one living organism.
Mysticism
- Have you often found yourself moved by a fine speech or piece of poetry?
- Do you sometimes feel a spiritual connection to other people that can’t be explained in words?
Individuals who score high for mysticism are fascinated by things that can’t be explained by science. They see a parking space that opens up just in the nick of time as evidence of a higher power. Often they feel they have a “sixth sense” or extrasensory perception. They may believe in miracles.
From what I gather, spirituality does not have to have anything to do with religion or belief in a particular god but more with a feeling of connectedness to all things in the universe. It may or may not include a specific deity or his or her emissaries, and it may or may not include a belief in the possibility of being heard by this god or emissary.
In taking this test, I scored high in all dimensions:
- When I write I lose sight of time, when my husband was alive, I often felt like we were one.
- I am a pantheist—my molecules vibrating in unison with the world around me.
- I can be moved to tears by music or a poem and indeed, I feel connected to some people without an explanation, incomprehensible unconditional love.
So I guess I am a spiritual person, which surprised me. I had never thought of myself that way. I have lived my life more in my rational left brain but have recently become more open to right-brain experiences—everything seems possible.