Let's find Something Better Than Spirituality.

Anthony Korahais of Flowing Zen recently posted an interesting and thoughtful piece that I felt was worth passing on.

The Oxford Dictionary defines "Spirituality" as "the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things."

Sifu Anthony, as he likes to refer to himself, states that the word is "It’s too vague, too loaded, too easily hijacked by dogma, magical thinking, or fluff."

In someways, I believe it's unattainable in modern culture.

What is the "spirit or soul" and can you really not be concerned with "material or physical things"?

Everyday life intrudes on this concept. For example, how are you going to put food on the table and maintain your form of shelter?

Sifu Anthony proposes living by the phrase "Values-Based Self-Cultivation".

He states "It points toward trauma healing, nervous system regulation, and emotional maturity. It hints at integrity—at showing up, practicing daily (and imperfectly), and slowly becoming the kind of person you actually want to be."

He also suggests rather then using this "clunky" phase that we look to the Chinese concept of xiūxíng (修行) (sounds "kind of like shoo-shing"). He describes this concept as a way to "describe the inner journey—not a quest for enlightenment or transcendence, but for real, embodied transformation.

It literally means “to cultivate the path” or “to refine your way of life.”

It refers to the lifelong work of aligning your actions, energy, and awareness with something deeper—whether that’s called the Dao, awakening, or simply becoming a better human. This isn’t fluff—it’s a grounded, classical concept that captures exactly what many of us mean when we talk about personal or spiritual growth."

It's an approach to life that embodies a more practical philosophy "that helps us navigate the world and live well. Socratic philosophy wasn’t about abstract theory or belonging to a system; it was about daily practice, self-examination, and living with integrity."

He goes on to explain his definition of xiūxíng. He states:

"It’s about how you breathe. How you respond when you’re triggered. How you move through grief, fear, confusion, or rage.

It’s about facing the parts of yourself you buried to stay safe. About feeling again in the places you’ve gone numb.

It means sitting with discomfort—without fixing, fleeing, or numbing—until something inside begins to soften.

It means finding the courage to stay present with your own mess."

I personally never thought about trying to achieve Enlightenment. As I said earlier I feel that it is unattainable given the pressures of living in our modern society.

Xiūxíng makes sense to me. It's how I've tried to live my life as I matured to realize what's important. Honestly I may not often be successful but the idea is there in the back of my head pushing me forward to that goal.

For many years I've kept a sign up in my office and classroom about the attributes of a successful man. It has been wrongly attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson but always expressed my view of how to conduct oneself. It goes like this:

"“What is success?

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate the beauty;

To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded!”

I don't usually use this blog to be philosophical and apologize to those of you who don't come here to be preached to, but it hit me that in times like now it was worth presenting.