When studying poetry in college I often heard, and posed, the question, “what does this mean?”  

One of the more commonly frustrating aspects of poetry is that, as a reader, it is natural to want to know the meaning of a poem when the meaning can be fluid and not obvious.  This begs the question, what is the meaning of poetry altogether?

It was only through the act of writing poetry that I began to truly understand the answer to that question.  More intelligent and creative poets are able to articulate their answers exquisitely, and while I cannot yet satisfactorily answer that question through prose I nonetheless have the understanding, the essential first illuminating step that precedes a verbal explanation.

What does this have to do with spirituality?  Like poetry, spirituality can seem elusive, vague, and unsatisfyingly fluid in its meaning.  But just as the act of writing a poem can help a person understand the meaning of poetry better than any cerebral exercise, the practice of spirituality is the basis for gaining a real understanding of the meaning of that word.  In the following video Eckhart Tolle beautifully articulates where the true meaning of spirituality can be found: