29 April 2008

Touched.

This follows from the series on music but is not part of it. Last week the question was asked 'What's the difference between the so-called spirituality of a piece of music and that which is simply its aesthetic?'. HHHHhhhhhhmmmmmmmm.

A discussion ensued around the assumption that music's aesthetic was not where its spirituality lay, or at least, could begin to be found. As part of this i'd want to ask about a simple drum beat, and some people identifying it as 'spiritual', because if it is, it begs the question "How can just a drum beat be broken into layers such as 'aesthetic' and 'greater spiritual depth'?"

There are various thoughts i have on this and bits of argument i'm compelled by from both perspectives, but what has really stuck with me since has been a further question, the question that lies beneath this discussion; what is spirituality, anyway?

Not that i, in anyway, am about to approach anything like 'an answer' to this question here, or indeed, ever, but there does seem to be an understanding i seem to be coming towards, for the moment at least.

I think there's value in seeking an answer somewhere in the realm of 'connectedness'. IE what connects us, shows us we're connected or makes us feel connected to, either one another or God, is spiritual. It's also therefore related to wholeness. Obviously this is very open to perversion and manipulation(but hey, isn't that also true of spirituality!), but there does seem to be something about the communality of God which Christians profess which fits with this.

I don't know if i think 'spiritual' is absolutely connectedness or if connectedness is just a part of what is spiritual, but there sure does seem a bit more than a link to me.

16 April 2008

Anniversa-silly.



A year ago today i sat down to create a blog, and post for the very first time. Since then there's been a reasonable amount of self indulgent waffle; TV shows and films have come and gone, Welsh rugby and Spurs have had highs and lows, Agbrigg flooded and i attempted to express myself and my understanding of God. 49 posts in all (inc this one)- it's been fun, and so has following other people's blogs; i think i'll carry on for a bit. Which post generated the greatest response in comments? Well, after the interest in my second post (which included a futile discussion with a fundamentalist Yank Christian who had self-imposed the name 'Looney') it was the one about 'Which super hero are you?' of course!