Spirituality Matters: Deeper Thoughts for Spiritual Curiosity

By Amy Hunt

Beckoned by unsatisfied curiosity about matters pertaining to spiritual life, Amy Hunt set out on a journey to answer questions she didn't even realize she had. As mystery compelled the search, what religion couldn't answer, spiritual searching did. Designed uniquely with a Q&A Appendix, Spirituality Matters deeply examines the common questions spiritual seekers ask. What happens after death? Does it matter? Likewise, similar questions are addressed in a hearty, deep analysis, assisting seekers in life's persistent, meaningful, and soulful search.

• Which religion is true? Do such beliefs matter?

• Who am I?

• What is Love? 

• How does ego relate to spiritual life?

• What is the purpose of life?

While answers to these questions are important, the journey towards answering them is the real matter. Ultimately and continuously stretching the mindset past its limits, the soul yearns to know Truth - to know it in such a way as to live it. Including personal stories as well as philosophy and science, Spirituality Matters provides information and tools to assist spiritual seekers in growth and benefits such an awareness of eternal life. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amy Hunt
• Release date: Jan 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393628569

Amy Hunt

Educated in psychology and a proven leader in spiritual events and workshops, Amy Hunt enjoys articulating the intersection of psychology and spirituality. As a published, thought-provoking author, she combines deep exploration with cutting-edge thoughts in her works, intentionally challenging one’s mindset and status of growth. Focused on matters probing personal and spiritual growth, Amy continues to produce various works to enhance life as we are discovering it.

Book preview

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

With great gratitude to those who were key players in my personal awakening, who encouraged me to live both from heart and reason, who challenged me to grow in the ways of spirituality set forth in this volume:

God/Spirit

Esther Grabow

Rae Henson

Aven Aimelle

Jean Parcher

Spiritual Explorers

Beka Mullins

Jaclyn Miles

Cres Lake

and various other authors, speakers, and groups.

PREFACE

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How and Why This Book Was Written

The Bible told me what it could, but even after several years of religious dedication I still had questions that weren’t getting answered. In order to find any answers at all, I had to go somewhere else. So, I unleashed myself from the relatively biased belief system in which I was taught about spirituality and life ethics, and opened myself to new thoughts and philosophies. What if other beliefs were true as well? The first thing I discovered is that, in a general sense, religions are each culture’s way to understand that which is spiritual.

As some of my questions were being answered, I found a new way to understand everything that is going on. Initially, I jotted down meaningful thoughts, which turned into deeper, more developed, essay-like chapters, all of which eventually evolved into this book. All the while, I wanted to fairly encapsulate and synthesize what it was that I was discovering. This compilation slowly turned into something I wanted to share with those who are undergoing a similar journey.

My intention in providing this work to others who are also going through their processes of awakening is to help stimulate thinking not only with the mind, but also with the heart. One cannot always follow the mind; likewise, one cannot always follow the heart. Since we are beings that encompass both mind and heart, the journey begs for such a balance. This book is designed to encourage and stimulate those who are in the early awakening stages of self-growth by delving into topics that accompanied my own journey of self-growth.

The insights on spirituality shared herein serve as food for thought. Perhaps spiritual maturation is something that cannot be taught, but rather meaningfully discovered or mentored. Whether it is spurred on by knowledge, inspiration, or chasing feelings, faith is a personal matter that we all must sort in our own mind, heart and soul. In this book are recorded my insights pertaining to common themes within the walk of spirituality. The subjects covered in this book are common, general questions asked in beginner spiritual journeys, particularly foundational in my personal understanding of spirituality.

Spirituality Matters: The Meaning

Spirituality matters do matter. The punny title of this book, as a play-on-words, allows two meanings to be expressed: the following chapters dive right into the life of spirituality covering matters like death, purpose of life, energy, and more; on the flip side, in an overall scope, spirituality matters because it is important for life beyond life as we know it. Hopefully by the end of the book, the reader can gain a glimpse as to how and why spirituality matters for personal life. Spirituality matters matter because it is a deeper matter that calls us home, back to our core, back to what really matters.

I can’t tell you how much I wish I had more material to study about spiritual matters when I was going through my awakening process. Though I was not much of a reader at that time (friends may find that hard to believe), I was definitely in the business of seeking. What was I seeking? More me, more relation with God. Both of these are common matters of spirituality. I sought more of that which encourages spiritual wisdom and growth.

For spiritual journeys, there is typically no guidebook for seekers because everyone’s journey is so specific to their life and purpose that compiling a how to be spiritual instructional book isn’t as easy as it sounds. Everyone’s journey is different, but in this book, I share some common themes that I have noticed among spiritual seekers, which even then take on different details and perspectives. Not every spiritual seeker starts on these subjects, but I decided to start with the matters I had been trying to discover and understand.

Matters (Chapter Summaries)

Like some entertained by this book, my exploration of the spiritual began with a spark of curiosity about the afterlife. What happens after Death? Though the Bible and other religious texts may provide insights to this phenomenon, really knowing the experience after death is nothing except a personal experience. No one really objectively knows, or so I believed. But what if we could know what to expect as death came? Thus, my curiosity about these spiritual matters beckoned me to search. I discovered real-life examples, such as fasting, that exist to symbolize and metaphorically represent spiritual life apart from physical life. These practices, mostly stemming from religious traditions, give us a glimpse of what life is like after the expiration of this physical body.

Beliefs, and the establishment of them, play an important role for spiritual seekers. Because supernatural phenomena are not otherwise understood by the nature of humanity, spiritual beliefs act as foundational markers simply because they are developed out of observations and formulations of one’s interaction with the realm thereof. Religious beliefs are the most common set of spiritual belief systems. Additionally, philosophy and science, like that of Plato or Einstein, operationally attempt to rationalize beliefs pertaining to a life that remains invisible or beyond this world: Plato tried to diagram the soul and Einstein’s discoveries fueled quantum research to shed new light on spiritual life. Whether by personal experience or rationalization, however the belief system is birthed, the individual’s beliefs are crucial to the progress of their meaningful journey, especially in regards to the growth and/or healing of the spirit in quest.

From here I go into writing about the concept of the I AM and how it demonstrates a point of complete existential rebirth and transformation. I AM is a simple state of consciousness that realizes what is real: who one is – the actual, immortal being. A search for identity is normal, but those who seek to know their spirit may define the search less concretely. In this chapter, I examine the perplexity of (re)becoming the simplest essence of who one is, which is the practice of many spiritual devotees, though it can vary by belief or perspective. While one may seek the I AM state of being in presence or oneness with God, another may find the I AM presence by sitting in a silent meditation. Furthermore, I highlight the I AM journeys of a few religious figures, especially Jesus, who incorporated this being completely as his identity, fulfilling the very purpose of his essence.

What constitutes the self? The self consists of different departments, as I call them, of which Spirit & Ego are probably the most commonly used terms. These terms like psyche, ego, soul, and spirit are defined in similar ways, but definitely used differently and for different teachings. Some religious people may vote the ego to be an unfavored quality of the self while spirit remains favored. This chapter addresses the functions of each field of self, organizing life in a much more understandable and relational way between these similar parts of self. The focus from each perspective has its right of concern and expression and naturally facilitates assurance of life in its own way.

As a topic that is minimally covered in spiritual or self-help literature, I find that Love is really not as hard to write about as I expected. However, through outlining this matter, it will become apparent that love is not what we prematurely believe it to be. With this particular topic, I attempt to define it and, by comparing and eliminating what it is not, deeper meaning sprouts. In analyzing the etymological roots, its metaphysical constructs, and the image of love, I posit that love comes most clearly as an experience – a unique phenomenon of its own kind – rather than a feeling or emotion. As we grow in a spiritual way, we gradually awaken to the fact that we are beings of love.

Energy deserves much more credit than we give it. Expanding the boundaries of thought on energy, I dive into both the traditional physics meanings and artistic forms through which energy reveals itself. Different perspectives and philosophies on how we perceive energy can help guide our understanding of life. Incidentally, energy already guides our life in subtle ways. In fact, it is likely what guided you to read this book. Finally, our interaction with energy is a dual process, as we are both subject and

Reviews for Spirituality Matters

[BobRich · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amy Hunt has attempted a very difficult, perhaps impossible task: to put the ultimate Truth into words. She does this by describing her personal journey from practicing Christian, through a wide exploration of many religions, to a final realization that all of them convey the same teachings. She presents this commonality in her book.
If you are grappling with the ultimate questions of existence -- why are we on this planet, what is the purpose of life, what is reality really like -- you will benefit from reading what Amy has assembled from the wisdom of the ages.