Here are some of my “Peak Experiences” in life:
Watching my one-year-old daughter giggle when I wiggled my fingers at her. Holding my wife’s hand while she reads her Kindle before going to sleep at night. Watching the sunrise over the Grand Canyon while listening to Ferde Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite. Executing a “perfect” ski run down an intermediate slope at Vail, age 30. (I was never expert.) Every time I watch Wolf Hall on television. Doing Yoga. Learning that the Pythagorean Theorem can be expressed in both algebra and geometry. Learning that the wonderful colors of flowers and birds are an example of co-evolution. Watching the Nature documentary, “My Octopus Teacher.”
These experiences and others gave me emotions of awe, joy, excitement, and deep connection. Can we call these experiences “spiritual,” even though they are not supernatural? Can spirituality be based on natural events, like “school spirit”? Or does the word “spirituality” always have to mean something supernatural?
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