How Spiritual Are You?

from JoeUser Forums
Recently Time magazine ran a cover story and article titled, "The God Gene." In the article, a quiz was posted that supposedly helps one determine how spiritual they may be. I found out I was "spiritually average." Certainly not the outcome I expected.

While I do not necessarily agree with the questions asked determining spirituality, I thought it would be interesting to see how my fellow JU's rated on this quiz.



Quiz: How Spiritual Are You?
To find out, take this test, which is adapted from a personality inventory devised by Washington University psychiatrist Robert Cloninger, author of Feeling Good: The Science of Well-Being


Oct. 25, 2004

1. I often feel so connected to the people around me that it is like there is no separation between us. True False

2. I often do things to help protect animals and plants from extinction. True False

3. I am fascinated by the many things in life that cannot be scientifically explained. True False

4. Often I have unexpected flashes of insight or understanding while relaxing. True False

5. I sometimes feel so connected to nature that everything seems to be part of one living organism. True False

6. I seem to have a "sixth sense" that sometimes allows me to know what is going to happen. True False

7. Sometimes I have felt like I was part of something with no limits or boundaries in time and space. True False

8. I am often called "absent-minded" because I get so wrapped up in what I am doing that I lose track of everything else. True False

9. I often feel a strong sense of unity with all the things around me. True False

10. Even after thinking about something a long time, I have learned to trust my feelings more than my logical reasons. True False

11. I often feel a strong spiritual or emotional connection with all the people around me. True False

12. Often when I am concentrating on something, I lose awareness of the passage of time. True False

13. I have made real personal sacrifices in order to make the world a better place, like trying to prevent war, poverty and injustice. True False

14. I have had experiences that made my role in life so clear to me that I felt very happy and excited. True False

15. I believe that I have experienced extrasensory perception. True False

16. I have had moments of great joy in which I suddenly had a clear, deep feeling of oneness with all that exists. True False

17. Often when I look at an ordinary thing, something wonderful happens. I get the feeling that I am seeing it fresh for the first time. True False

18. I love the blooming of flowers in the spring as much as seeing an old friend again. True False

19. It often seems to other people like I am in another world because I am so completely unaware of things going on around me. True False

20. I believe that miracles happen. True False

SCORING: Give yourself one point for each TRUE answer and 0 points for each FALSE answer. 14 and above = highly spiritual, a real mystic; 12-13 = spiritually aware, easily lost in the moment; 8-11 = spiritually average; could develop more spiritual life if desired; 6-7 = a practical empiricist lacking self-transcendence; 1-5 = highly skeptical, resistant to developing spiritual awareness


Published with permission from C. Robert Cloninger, Sansone family Center for Well-being, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.




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Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top

1. I often feel so connected to the people around me that it is like there is no separation between us. True 

2. I often do things to help protect animals and plants from extinction. True 

3. I am fascinated by the many things in life that cannot be scientifically explained. True

4. Often I have unexpected flashes of insight or understanding while relaxing. True

5. I sometimes feel so connected to nature that everything seems to be part of one living organism. True 

6. I seem to have a "sixth sense" that sometimes allows me to know what is going to happen. True 

7. Sometimes I have felt like I was part of something with no limits or boundaries in time and space. True

8. I am often called "absent-minded" because I get so wrapped up in what I am doing that I lose track of everything else. True

9. I often feel a strong sense of unity with all the things around me. True

10. Even after thinking about something a long time, I have learned to trust my feelings more than my logical reasons. True

11. I often feel a strong spiritual or emotional connection with all the people around me. True

12. Often when I am concentrating on something, I lose awareness of the passage of time. True

13. I have made real personal sacrifices in order to make the world a better place, like trying to prevent war, poverty and injustice. True

14. I have had experiences that made my role in life so clear to me that I felt very happy and excited. True 

15. I believe that I have experienced extrasensory perception. True 

16. I have had moments of great joy in which I suddenly had a clear, deep feeling of oneness with all that exists. True 

17. Often when I look at an ordinary thing, something wonderful happens. I get the feeling that I am seeing it fresh for the first time. True

18. I love the blooming of flowers in the spring as much as seeing an old friend again. True 

19. It often seems to other people like I am in another world because I am so completely unaware of things going on around me.  False

20. I believe that miracles happen.  False

So, totalling that up, I scored....18.  I am higly spiritual, a true mystic.  No surprise there......

Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
1. I often feel so connected to the people around me that it is like there is no separation between us. True

2. I often do things to help protect animals and plants from extinction. False (just being honest -- can't think of anything specific I've done)

3. I am fascinated by the many things in life that cannot be scientifically explained. True

4. Often I have unexpected flashes of insight or understanding while relaxing. False

5. I sometimes feel so connected to nature that everything seems to be part of one living organism. False

6. I seem to have a "sixth sense" that sometimes allows me to know what is going to happen. False

7. Sometimes I have felt like I was part of something with no limits or boundaries in time and space. False

8. I am often called "absent-minded" because I get so wrapped up in what I am doing that I lose track of everything else. True

9. I often feel a strong sense of unity with all the things around me. False

10. Even after thinking about something a long time, I have learned to trust my feelings more than my logical reasons. True

11. I often feel a strong spiritual or emotional connection with all the people around me. True

12. Often when I am concentrating on something, I lose awareness of the passage of time. True

13. I have made real personal sacrifices in order to make the world a better place, like trying to prevent war, poverty and injustice. True

14. I have had experiences that made my role in life so clear to me that I felt very happy and excited. True

15. I believe that I have experienced extrasensory perception. False

16. I have had moments of great joy in which I suddenly had a clear, deep feeling of oneness with all that exists. False

17. Often when I look at an ordinary thing, something wonderful happens. I get the feeling that I am seeing it fresh for the first time. True

18. I love the blooming of flowers in the spring as much as seeing an old friend again. True

19. It often seems to other people like I am in another world because I am so completely unaware of things going on around me. True

20. I believe that miracles happen. True

I am spiritually aware; easily lost in the moment.
Galactic Civilizations IV
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top

So, totalling that up, I scored....18. I am higly spiritual, a true mystic. No surprise there......


I am spiritually aware; easily lost in the moment


Ok...so what is wrong with me? Tex did you expect that outcome? Obviously dharmagrl did.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
I'm not sure what I expected . . . the test measures "spirituality" in a very unreligious sense, and I'm not really into that. I'm religious (Christian), but it's something I struggle with. I'm not into oneness of people with nature or any of that stuff (no disrespect to people that are).
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top

I expected that outcome because....I am.  Spiritual, that is.  I'm not uber-religious, I'm just very aware of the inter-connectedness and interdependence of things.  Part of being, Buddhist, I think.


 

Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top
Maybe I am confused....can you be religious (i.e. Christian) and not be spiritual? Can you be spiritual and yet have no religious basis?
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
I think you can be spiritual and not be Christian, but I don't think you can be Christian and not be spiritual. However, this quiz does not look at the type of spirituality that is involved in Christianity.
Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top
However, this quiz does not look at the type of spirituality that is involved in Christianity.


I guess that was what bothered me. This quiz was inserted into the Time article that addressed humanity's need for God and whether that need was in our genes (evolutionary) or not. I thought the quiz was completely out of place. Upon reading the title question of "How Spiritual Are You?" I expected to rate highly considering I am a very devout Christian, highly in tune with my "higher being" (although I do not regularly attend church). I was mostly interested in learning how others rated and if they had the same definition of spirituality inferred from this quiz.
Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top
iamheather:

Religion has to do with the practice of faith as expressed in an institutional or semi-institutional sense. Spirituality is a means of interpreting the world through a set of precepts like faith. So, yes, you can be very spiritual and not religious. I scored 16 but I see God everywhere. Even where evil occurs, we cannot eliminate God from our views if we are spiritual. That doesn't mean God doesn't want us to think but rather to understand that we are on a journey that includes Him.

"We are not humans having a spiritual experience, we are spirits having a human experience."
Reply #12 from JoeUser Forums Top
Hello All,

This sort of thing helps us to clarify things a bit. In my opinion, "religious" does not mean "spiritual," but they are not exclusive of one another, either. I think religion in some faith traditions is often about belief (and faith) and spirituality is about experience. Sometimes we are so bound by what we think we need to believe that we become (essentialy) spiritually constipated.

To experience reality directly means that we must be willing to practice setting ourselves and our beliefs about things aside. When we do this, we are in a position to see clearly an undistorted reality. In Buddhism we call this reality the Dharma. To me, this is the essence of spirituality as it involves practices such as zazen (seated meditation) which require us to look at our breath until the self drops away. The root meaning of "spirit," after all, is from the latin word for breath.

"Sitting quietly, doing nothing, the grass grows by itself". This is an old Zen saying and reflects the essential meaning here that anything we add to something is truly something extra. When we sit with ourselves and look at our breath, adding nothing, just experiencing what is, we begin to see what dharmagrl meantioned earlier, the vast interconnectedness of all things,. as well as the truth of the impermenance of all things.

Once we see this, our answers to the questions on the "test" may become very different.

Be well,
Sodaiho
Reply #13 from JoeUser Forums Top

Once we see this, our answers to the questions on the "test" may become very different.


Exactly.  I can't think of anything else to add!

Reply #14 from JoeUser Forums Top
I'd say this test ranks in there with the "How Hot Is Your Man" quizzes in Cosmo. No twenty question test can quantify something as subjective as "spirituality".
Reply #15 from JoeUser Forums Top

No twenty question test can quantify something as subjective as "spirituality".


which is why heather said in her original article: While I do not necessarily agree with the questions asked determining spirituality,

Reply #16 from JoeUser Forums Top
I think the responses have been fascinating. I love seeing how other people view metaphysical questions. It helps me define my own answers and offers me insights as to other ways of thinking. Thank you for the interesting responses. A lot to ponder about.
Reply #17 from JoeUser Forums Top
Dharma - I was agreeing with her. Did I need to give a score or something too ( a 5 if you must know)? What is your point?
Reply #18 from JoeUser Forums Top

Dharma - I was agreeing with her.


Oops...my bad.  I thought that you were discrediting her entire article.


again, i apologize...

Reply #19 from JoeUser Forums Top
On a lighter side, I've felt some of the 'oneness' or interconnectedness to objects, plants, clouds etc., but usually while in the middle of a LSD binge...

Just for the record, I'm a 7...
Reply #20 from JoeUser Forums Top
Not a problem dharma, I came across too bitchy. Someone on the site had me all worked up and I let it get into the post I made here. The "What's your point?" comment was unneccesary. Sorry