Yes, praying and posing can bring joy – but true spirituality demands something more of us

I don’t want to be ‘McMindful’ but rather extend myself beyond my ‘self’ and contribute to the wellness of all beings

M indfulness, spirituality, wellbeing – these words are treated as interchangeable in the global wellness marketplace. But spirituality is not the same as being happy. Spirituality, according to almost of the world’s great wisdom traditions, requires work, service and sacrifice.

The world’s dominant religions – Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam – all encourage practices such as yoga, mindfulness meditation, chanting, prayer, group singing and dancing. These have long been effective tools in giving followers an experience of deep connection, sometimes accompanied by sensations of awe, ecstasy and transcendence – feelings that encourage them to return.

But a sense of joy or connectedness is not an end in itself. These feelings are the emotional motivators of ethical action. Every religion sets out rules for right conduct – consider Buddhism’s eight-fold path, Judaism’s 10 commandments, or Vedic Hinduism’s restraints and observances. Indigenous traditions go beyond these religions, including humans and non-humans (or “more-than-humans”, as the Potawatomi botanist and writer Robin Wall Kimmerer describes our partners in the natural world) in the circle of those to whom we owe service.

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