At some point in our lives – it could be due to a major life transition, traumatic event, illness, loss, or growing older – many of us arrive at a place where we begin to think about our mostly deeply held beliefs and views. Maybe we simply have a reflective nature and are curious. Whether spiritual inquiry is focused on a specific matter or an ongoing process, it is a process of opening, curiosity, exploration, and perspective-seeking into one’s relationship to her own spiritual experience as humans. For many, spiritual inquiry can result in our sense of enjoying more engaged, liberated, and courageous lives, with a spacious sense of presence and a solid sense of relationship to ourselves, those we love, fellow humans, and the world.
For many, spiritual inquiry is a consideration of how psychological issues intersect with spiritual beliefs and practices. Who are we really – beyond our familial and socially- constructed selves, beyond “persona” and roles? What does “spirituality” mean to us, and what is our relationship to spiritual traditions and lineages, to spiritual ideas and language/labels? What is the difference between psychology, spirituality, and philosophy, between heart, soul, and mind? Spiritual inquiry is often an exploration of our spiritual experience relative to that of our family-of-origin or partner, or our ethnic or cultural group, and it can be a broad horizontal (comparative) consideration, study or practice, or it can be a deep, vertical (immersive) consideration, study, and practice.