According to Attachment Theory and neuroscience, we’re wired with a need for connection. Human beings don’t thrive without safe and secure relationships. If we inquire more deeply into this longing, what is it really? Might it be synonymous with a spiritual longing that lies at the very heart of what it means to be human?
The word “spirituality” may conjure up something otherworldly or transcendent. We may see it as a pursuit of practices that connect us to some larger presence that we call God or enlightenment. But instead of pursuing a vertical spirituality of transcendence, what would it look like to pursue a horizontal spirituality that invites us to be awake in our everyday lives and relationships?
Horizontal Spirituality
Martin Buber is a renowned Jewish spiritual philosopher who had a revelation after a tragedy. One day while absorbed in prayer in his room, a student visited. Buber listened but was distracted by his desire to return to his spiritual practice. Buber was later horrified to learn that the student had apparently killed himself.
