Spirituality & Self-Expression

I used to call myself a spiritual person, and with more than a little bit of pride. But after a while there were these patterns I started noticing, and the word "spiritual" didn't really help me relate to myself anymore.

When I told others I was "spiritual", suddenly their ideas of what that word meant came into play. In my relationship with another, I was now expected to conform to their beliefs about what that word meant, or I would no longer be properly "spiritual".

At first I tried to conform to their expectations so I could be a good "spiritual" person, but then something else became apparent. People have radically different ideas about what that word even means. To the highly religious, it means being highly religious. To the New Age, it means being part of the New Age. To the atheist, it means being an idiot. And that's not even counting people's personal definitions.

Spirituality, at least in most people's minds, is still part of this rigid societal structure. To the conformist, it looks like this type of self-expression, but it's a predefined kind of "self-expression" which is really a form of prejudice. It should go without saying, but real self-expression has to come from the self.

Now I'm not against the word, and if it means something to you, go right ahead and use it. I know it's a positive, empowering concept to many people and there's nothing wrong with that, I just have my own personal experiences that I wont ignore. If I were to define it my own way, it would be the Divine Experience of This Moment, completely free of any extra baggage or mental limitations.