The usual antonym for the word "spiritual" is "material." That at least is what I believed when I began this inquiry-that the whole issue with spirituality turned on a question of metaphysics. Now I'm inclined to think a much better and certainly more useful antonym for "spiritual" might be "egotistical." Self and Spirit define the opposite ends of a spectrum, but that spectrum needn't reach clear to the heavens to have meaning for us. It can stay right here on earth. When the ego dissolves, so does a bounded conception not only of our self but of our self-interest. What emerges in its place is invariably a broader, more openhearted and altruistic-that is, more spiritual-idea of what matters in life. One in which a new sense of connection, or love, however defined, seems to figure prominently.
( Michael Pollan )
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