Pronunciation: SPIR-ih-choo-ul
Simple meaning
Spiritual means relating to the spirit, inner life, moral condition, faith, relationship with God, or things beyond purely physical life.
Today, people use spiritual in many different ways. Some use it religiously. Some use it personally. Some use it to mean inner peace, moral growth, connection, purpose, or a way of living.
In Big Book study, the word is important because it appears in connection with recovery, change, experience, awakening, and the solution being described.
Older meaning
Older dictionary definitions often describe spiritual as relating to the spirit or soul, not merely to the body or material things.
That older meaning matters because spiritual does not only mean having an opinion about religion. It can point to the deeper part of a person’s life: motives, dependence, surrender, honesty, conscience, relationship with God, and the way a person lives.
Why this word matters
In Big Book reading, “spiritual” is one of the central words.
Some readers hear spiritual and immediately think of formal religion. Others hear it and think of vague feelings, personal ideas, or private beliefs. The Big Book often uses the word in a practical way connected with action, change, and a new way of living.
That makes the word worth studying carefully.
Spiritual does not have to be reduced to church membership, religious language, or emotional feeling. It can point to a change in direction, a new basis for living, and a way of dealing with self, others, and God.
Common misunderstanding
A common misunderstanding is to think spiritual means only religious.
Another misunderstanding is to think spiritual means only emotional, private, or undefined.
In Big Book study, spiritual often points toward something practical. It is connected with honesty, surrender, inventory, amends, prayer, meditation, service, and a changed way of living.
A useful question is:
Is this word describing a label someone claims, or is it describing a way of life that produces change?
Helpful meeting handle
A common phrase in meetings is “spiritual, not religious.”
That phrase can be helpful for people who are afraid the program requires joining a specific church or accepting someone else’s exact religious beliefs.
But the phrase is only a starting point. In Big Book study, spiritual is not just a way to avoid religion. It points toward real action, dependence, change, and a new way of living.
Study note
This website works best with a copy of the Big Book in your hand. Look for the word “spiritual” in the first 164 pages and nearby discussion. Notice whether the surrounding passage is talking about belief, action, experience, awakening, growth, or a changed way of life.
Related words
awakening
experience
sanity
recovered
solution