1. Spirituality and the Meaning of Life After 50 Robert C. Atchley, Ph.D.

2. We are spiritual beings.

3. Spirit is the “vital principle or animating force within living beings.” It is also an awareness that this vitality exists. American Heritage Dictionary, 2003, p. 1313.

4. Spirituality is a capacity to be aware of the aliveness that accompanies our sensory and mental experiences.

8. What qualities do people report as characterizing spiritual experience?

9. Wonder

10. Stillness

11. Majesty

12. Playfulness

13. Peace

14. Mystery

15. Connectedness

16. What other qualities would you put on your list?

17. Spiritual experiences are usually positive. People who have them are usually motivated to want more.

18. Motivation to grow in spiritual capacity and increase awareness of spiritual experience leads many people to engage in a conscious spiritual journey.

19. Spiritual Journeys are stories that summarize how we became the spiritual beings we are today.

20. Each spiritual journey is unique. Accounts of spiritual journeys are a rich source of data on spiritual development and the interplay between spirituality and other parts of life.

21. Spiritual intentions are not fixed, but instead are adaptable and responsive to what we learn from experience.

22. The curriculum for the spiritual journey is shaped by enduring questions.

24. What other questions would you add to your list?

25. Growing Spiritually is sometimes difficult. It usually involves commitment, discipline, and coping with discomfort.

26. Spiritual journeys occur in a social context.

27. Mentors, teachers, peers, and texts provide a sense of spiritual possibility.

29. Most of those who are highly developed spiritually are elders.

32. Pointing fingers are important.

33. BON VOYAGE !

34. For more, see Robert C. Atchley, Spirituality and Aging , Johns Hopkins University Press (2009)