What does it really mean to be spiritual?

Is it something we experience during meditation, ceremonies, or moments of awakening? Or is spirituality ultimately revealed in the ordinary moments of everyday life—in how we meet another human being, respond to challenge, and carry ourselves through the world?

This week I began working in a new environment where I meet people living with illness, emotional dysregulation, and deep human suffering. It has reminded me that our greatest spiritual practice is not escaping life, but learning how to remain present, compassionate, and grounded while fully participating in it.

In this week's Field-Reading, I explore The Practice of Being Human through the lens of everyday life. I reflect on what it means to meet intensity without becoming consumed by it, how highly sensitive people often become living reflections of the environments around them, and why many of the people we describe as "symptoms" may actually be showing us something about the society we have collectively created.

I also explore the Hero's Journey as a practical path of self-discovery, the energetic field that surrounds every human being, and why our personal presence extends far beyond the physical body. We constantly influence one another through our thoughts, emotions, and the quality of attention we bring into the world.

Drawing inspiration from Tim Bergling (Avicii), I reflect on how his music revealed many of the invisible pressures that modern society places upon us, and how experiences such as Weltschmerz may arise because we are deeply connected to one another through the fields we continuously create together.

For me, spirituality is not about becoming less human. It is about becoming more deeply human. It is about learning to see more of ourselves in one another, recognizing that every person we meet reflects another aspect of our shared humanity, and understanding that a larger perspective naturally gives rise to greater compassion.

Perhaps one of the most important abilities we can cultivate in our time is the willingness to step into another person's perspective—not to agree with everything they think or do, but to understand how life appears through their eyes.

Because every person we meet is, in some way, another expression of ourselves.

Read the full Field-Reading here:

👉 https://annpeggydivine.com/the-practice-of-being-human/

With warmth, Ann-Peggy Divine