In Tibet you may come across a monastery filled with monks sitting in the lotus position repeating mantras. Their entire lives are devoted to spirituality and a simple philosophy of nothingness. Their way of life is devoted to becoming enlightened. It is a peaceful scene and one begins to think that maybe they are very spiritual - how spiritual are they?

In a different part of the world you may witness a group of thugs robbing an elderly couple of their possessions, beating them up and finally killing them. The gang lives by their rules of violence and is devoted to them - can any of them be spiritual?

In a remote part of a third world country, natives move out of their huts early in the morning and begin their day scratching the earth for tubulars. The men are out hunting for food, while the children gather berries and firewood. They stay in tightly knit groups and sing songs and laugh. Around the community fire they tell stories of their elders and of the white men who have come to their country to change their way of life - are these spiritual people?

In New York, Tokyo or Toronto, people are getting up late and rushing through their morning, missing breakfast, so they are not late for the commute. Maybe the couple might kiss each other goodbye on the way out and give some hurried instructions to the kids as they race out the door. They may not be aware of whom their neighbours are as they pass them in the elevator or along the side walk; they are just faces along way. They no longer notice the graffiti on many of the buildings and the garbage they trip over each morning. Their eight hour working day turns into 12 hours after the commute and a quick trip to the grocery store before heading home. They rush through making supper, tell the kids not to be out to late; then settle down in front of the tube. Are these people spiritual?

So what is the difference between these groups spiritually? Why are some looking to be spiritual? Who are the ones that demonstrate what natural spirituality is, and why do some spend so much time looking for it? What is so special about being spiritual that we talk so much about it and devote so little time to it; and when we do, it's a paid performance? Have the Buddhist monks found the way? Are the natives more inclined than the Western World?

The truth is that none of them are more or less spiritual than the others. Everyone is born spiritual. We are spirit by nature and therefore everything we do is spiritual. As a species we try too hard to be what we already are. Along the way someone has told us that this is how it should be and we believed them. We are born spiritual beings and as we grow up people tell us that we are not and that we have to become spiritual. The difference between the groups is in knowing ones connection between each other and their environments. If one is spiritual (which we are) then he does not have to think about it. If he/she is thinking about it, then somewhere locked in the back of his mind, he believes he is not. A spiritual person does not think about being or acting spiritual; they are themselves. It is the simple mind that is more aware of his/her spirituality. The more we think about being spiritual the further we move away from the experience of being spiritual.

Many people think that being religious is being spiritual - it is not! Religion is man's attempt to explain spirituality. You don't have to be religious to be spiritual; in fact you can't help but be spiritual.

So what is the advantage of being spiritually aware, and what is the nature of spirit and spirituality? The spirit which is the medium between body and mind is the servant of the ego. What the mind can perceive the spirit will conceive. In the awareness of being spiritual our lives become simpler, we make better choices and we tend to live in abundance. Abundance comes in many forms, not just physical abundance.

In being spiritually aware we move in harmony with our destiny or purpose in life. And as we move with spirit we lose our fear of death and of the afterlife. Death becomes a welcomed and earned new beginning. Peace of mind is our reality not a goal.

Being spiritually aware does not excuse us from the physical experience; it makes it more desirable. In fact the physical experience is so intense and stimulating that many of us try to anesthetize the experience with drugs.

The truth and simplicity of being spiritual is just about being yourself. You are God or spirit having a physical experience - that's all there is to it. If you allow spirit into your awareness, then your life will no longer be a struggle. They way back to spirit can happen in the blink of an eye or it can take a lifetime of study and devotion to all kinds of rituals. It comes naturally within your ability to accept and let go of what you have experienced and been taught. And in the very act of trying to become what you already are, you turn away from it; it is not acknowledged and therefore not experienced. If you are asking "am I there yet;" you are not!

Who are the spiritual - we all are; some just don't know it yet.