“Transhumanisten” has recently come home from a 3-week visit to Goa, India, and the sweet voice of Mama-the-fruit-seller on Vagator beach is still ringing in my ears: Maango, Coconut, Pineapple..
If you pressed me hard, I’d say the meaning of life is joy in the present moment, and the beaches of Goa are highly suitable for practising just that: Joy, relaxation, comtemplation..
However, living the good life, or, if you like: Being Here Now, Dude ! – is not really getting us anywhere, is it..
At least that is how, as a Transhumanist, I look at things, and I was hoping, on returning home, to find the inspiration to write at length about all this, but alas, I’ve been walking around like a Zombie for nearly a week now, and I am not too sure what the outcome of this crisis will be.. – I have too much to write about, and I really would love to share it with you.. – On the other hand, I thoroughly ENJOY “just” Being Here Now, Dude ! – so question is: How to reconcile..
One subject I really wanted to write about is SPIRITUALITY.. - These days, I hear this word constantly, and to tell you the truth, I am sick of hearing it ! – “Problem”, for me, is that people who are fond of presenting themselves as “spiritual”, are, for the most part, nice and well-meaning folks, and it is not all that easy for me to tell them my true thoughts, which are.. , nah.., maybe at a later time, when I am in a more constructive mode…
In Mumbay Airport, before departing for home, I met one such sweet, and self-declared “spiritual” person, a Kenyan-born English lady, to whom “spiritual” meant becoming a better person, and if that was “all” there was to it, I would have no problem with the concept at all.. – Unfortunately, there is usually a lot more to it, like finding your “inner self”, and similar mumbo-jumbo, but as I said.. I will maybe tackle all that at a later time..
Actually, spirituality can be interpreted as a quest to become a better person, according to this dictionary:
spiritual [ˈspɪrɪtjʊəl]
adj
1. relating to the spirit or soul and not to physical nature or matter; intangible
2. (Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms) of, relating to, or characteristic of sacred things, the Church, religion, etc.
3. (Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms) standing in a relationship based on communication between the souls or minds of the persons involved a spiritual father
4. having a mind or emotions of a high and delicately refined quality
So, – let’s just stick with that, shall we : )
Come to think of it, I / we met yet another “spiritual” person upon arriving in Mumbay airport, waiting for a connecting flight to Goa. This sweet lady, Canadian I gathered, but born in New York, now living in Japan, told us the most amazing personal story: She was actually a psychologist, but upon graduating she decided to see the world..
She was now around 65 and had been living in Japan for about 20 years. She had met some Japanese guy, whom she married, but was now alone as her husband had died from cancer. She had actually decideded to return to Canada and had had the good fortune to get herself a job as a psychologist, but.. was fired after only four days !
Apparently, her superiors found her a tad too spiritual..
She had then decided to return to Japan and was now doing the same she’d been doing for years: studying Indian dance, for which reason also she came to Goa every year.
“Amazing characters” is really India in a nutshell.. but, between you an me, the majority of all these “spiritual” folks are not exactly.. , – well, – not the most rational, let’s put it that way..
At one point, I complained about this to my wife, to which she said: Bright people.. don’t hang out on the beaches of Goa, – they are.. more likely to go to conferences…
On the Lufhansa Airbus bringing us back to “civilization”, I was sitting next to a guy with his nose into this “magazine”, with photos of what looked like brain-scans…, and as I was dying to have a real conversation after three weeks of “spirituality”, I interrupted and boldly asked the brainy looking guy if he was a researcher..
To my delight, he was, and he told me he was returning home from.. a conference.. in Munich, our Lufthansa destination.
Related articles
- Oh, Goa – Vagator, India (travelpod.com)
- dolphins (goingtogoa.wordpress.com)
- Why be Spiritual? BeyondThePurchase.org Determines the Top Five Benefits of Spirituality (prweb.com)
Know what you mean about Goa and the characters one comes across. We met a doctor who kept telling us how enlightened he was. If one is truly enlightened– or even sprirtual– isn’t it self-evident, and, doesn’t humility and modesty prevent one from announcing it? I don’t think I have ever hard the Dalai Lama pronounce his own enlightened state, for example. Thanks for the great read. Our Going To Goa Blog tells more about why we are here.
Thanks for your wise comment. Good point about Dalai Lama. Actually my main objection to the use of “spiritual” is that most people seem to have only vague ideas about its meaning. It is used uncritically, and I intend to find out what people have in mind whenever I hear someone using it in the future, – always in a friendly manner of course, and who knows, I might even learn a thing or two myself.. :)
Defining “spiritual(ity)” is not easy, I am aware of that, but a bit of self-reflection on the part of people using it, mainly because it sounds great and self-aggrandizing, would be more than welcome.
Going to check out your blog..
Having traveled a while myself, I know exactly what you mean. I have developed a high tolerance, though, and now I mostly smile.
I don’t go to conferences, though. I learn most of my stuff online. I hope that does not make un-smart…
Always a pleasure when someone knows exactly what I mean :)
Smiling is a wise attitude, – some might call it “spiritual”, no doubt.. – I prefer this saying: “A smile is the shortest distance between two people“, and hey, apparently this saying is attributed to Danish-born American comedian Victor Borge. – ( I am Danish myself ). – Here’s another saying: “”Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is..” – ( Isaac Asimov ). – I’d say this is only partly true.. – True in the sense that learning hinges on personal motivation, but there are brilliant people in this world with the potential to teach us a thing or two, and we’d be wise to listen, albeit always with a healthy portion of skepticism..
I visited your blog and found nothing un-smart there, quite the contrary :) – I see you are interested in Longevity / immortality. Are you aware of the Longevity Party ? – I am a member of the Facebook group myself.
I had never heard about the Longevity Party. Just joined. It seems like an awesome idea.