What is spirituality?

During conversations with friends or coachees, I notice some discomfort whenever the term "spirituality"comes up. For some, spirituality means religion or god, for others energies and auras. To me spirituality means looking in the mirror. A personal journey of self-discovery, cultivating a deeper understanding of life and existence. When we focus on internal processes, emotions and thoughts, we get to know ourselves better. But who is the "I" that gets to know us better?

Through stillness and attention, we become aware of the space that holds our experiences, the witness. We become aware of who we are at a deeper level. Getting to know ourselves, beyond our physicality, personality and belief systems, our relative self, connects us to a calm space which holds our thoughts, our emotions, our experiences.

Some people are naturally connected to that place within. For me it is a journey of self inquiry. I've learnt first that there is an awareness to all I experience, and then I realized that this consciousness is actually who I am.

What spirituality brings me is awareness of my psychological patterns and a way to escape some automatic behaviors. And on a deeper level, the knowing that I'm ok, that everything is ok. That even when big emotions of fear, anger or sadness arrive, I am bigger than them, and can contain them. Spirituality uncovered a sense of intimacy with myself, with nature with others and with life. 

The next step might be experiencing that my awareness is connected to yours. That at the deepest level we are all one.