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Spirituality concerns itself with matters of the spirit. This is a concept closely tied to religious belief and faith, a transcendent
reality of one or more deities. Spiritual matters are those matters regarding humankind's ultimate nature and purpose, not
only as material biological organisms, but as beings with a unique relationship to that which is perceived to be beyond both
time and the material world.
As such, the spiritual is traditionally contrasted with the material, the temporal and the worldly. A perceived sense of connection
forms a central defining characteristic of spirituality. It is a connection to a metaphysical reality greater than oneself,
which may include an emotional experience of religious awe and reverence, or such a state of Nirvana. Equally importantly,
spirituality relates to matters of sanity and of psychological health. Spirituality is also the personal and subjective dimension
of religion, particularly that which pertains to liberation or salvation.
Spirituality as a way of life concerns itself with aligning the human will and mind with that dimension of life and the universe
that is harmonious and ordered. As such spiritual disciplines (which are often part of an established religious tradition)
enjoin practitioners (trainees or disciples) to cultivate those higher potentialities of the human being that are more noble
and refined (wisdom and virtue). Accordingly, many spiritual traditions across diverse cultures share similar vocabulary.
Terms such as the "path", the "work", the "practice" are universally applied to the ongoing discipline involved in transforming
the coarser energies present in the human soul into more subtle and pleasing ones. As a spiritual practitioner one seeks to
become free of the lesser egoic self (or ego) in favor of being more fully one's "true" "Self".
Science takes as its basis empirical, repeatable observations of the natural world, and thus generally regards ideas that
rely on supernatural forces for an explanation as beyond the purview of science. Scientists regard ideas which present themselves
as scientific, but which rely on a supernatural force for an explanation, as religious rather than scientific; and may label
such idea as pseudo-science. In this context scientists may oppose spirituality, at least in the scientific sphere.
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