Finding the Common Ground Between Science and Spirituality According to Spirituality, spirit is infinitely subtle, with no concreteness at all It gradually concretizes into mind or interiority and then into the body or the exteriority of things as shown in Figure 2-1 In this diagram, the horizontal axis is a measure of the degree of concreteness, increasing from spirit on the right to a physical object on the left Each point on this line shows the degree of concreteness of a principle constituting the interior or the exterior of the object A group of gross principles constitutes the body or the exterior of the physical object and a group of relatively subtle principles constitutes the mind or interior of it There is a group of principles immediately next to the spirit that are too subtle to be identifiable What they are remains a mystery and the deepest mystery of them all is the spirit Spiritual study uses the term spirit to point to this unseen reality that is the bedrock from which all mind and matter emerge The term metaphysics is also used to refer to the spiritual mode of investigating existence An important characteristic of this form of investigation is its holiness But not in a religious sense What exactly is holiness? Holiness is wholeness Holy is that which “must be preserved whole or intact, that cannot be transgressed or violated.” (7) Because the universe and all of its objects emerge from one common though unseen reality, all universal beings, whether animate or inanimate, are connected at their core as an indivisible whole; one source – energy/spirit Science started with a completely different approach to our existence Modern scientific endeavors began with the denial of things imperceptible to the cognitive senses It therefore then focuses on the commonality of all matter’s existence: Energy being the undeniable yet invisible source of all matter Scientific study of existence then engages in the investigation of matter and its interactions as it manifests as diverse building blocks of the universe and various genres of objects within it 39