Spirituality is (has become?) a complicated term (at least in German). The german wikipedia article about spiritualität mentions a consent about its meaning from a conference in 2010: "Etwas anderes als der schnöde Mammon" (something different from dull mammon) - that fits but still we stay a bit helpless, yet with a smile, maybe. But after all spirituality might just be be something you cannot define for everybody - you may need to find it personally. And yet I try to define it right here for you...
Wikipedia describes in the mentioned article (in October 2021), in which immense width this term is used and maybe also misused. It has become a buzzword of self discovery and self optimization industry for example. There are movements, which completly deprive it of it's transcendential core, which clearly seems to be inherent when approaching spirituality in context of religion. Also spirituality is use as a synoyme for the esoteric, if one does not want to be assotiated with the prejudices conntected to that word - somehow trying to say: esoteric, but not negative...
So many terms seem to be "burned" in a dialog with others and often I find myself using phrases like "... but not ...". Why don't I simply say, what I have to say. Specifically this "... but not ..." tempts us to seperate us from others and add a kind of judgement to it. I just write about it and already I am in the middle of (very close to?) separating and judging.
Difficult - maybe the "What is spirituality?" is not that important after all. Maybe it is more the "What does spirituality do for me and with me?".
Ok then...
What does Spirituality do for me?
For me it is a motor, which encourages me to be open for new ideas, possibilities and ways to see the world. It provides me with a kind of stability on this way into the unknown by believes, ethics, a general idea about world, meaning and a value system. And yet this stability is what keeps it alive, as I want to see it change and grow with me: it is just a cloud of faith, that surrounds me: everything is allowed to change - even the believes and my view of the world. This cloud of faith helps me to go on, even when my way seems to leave my comfort zone. I say "it seems", as I think this impression only occurs when I try to keep the illusion of a comfort zone with all my power, even though it does not exist anymore.
And in "real life"?
I am open for many "esoteric" ideas and views of the word but will not see any of them as the one and only truth. E.g. I find it inspiring to take a serious look into astrology and tarot and yet I will always nourish that inner smile that tells me: this is just one of many views of the world with its own mechanics and explanations. This smile tells me: I have and keep the responsibility for my being and the authority in my life, no matter what any mechanics of any system seems to tell me. This is what I call an inner "spiritual smile" (in German I use "spirituelles Schmunzeln").
To me this spiritual smile is the way to my inner self - it may even be my best way to explain my understanding of this inner self. Maybe "inner smile" is yet a better word but I like the word "schmunzeln" - I am prone to take so many things too serious and it reminds me of the shadow parts of myself. To help others to find their way to their inner self, their center whenever needed seems to be the challenge my spirituality asks of me.
Faith, ethics and an open worldview are a living, breathing framework offered to me by my spirituality. In these I find my urge and strength to meet other people, living beings and life in general with respect, compassion and gentleness. Sure - this may not always work, but I do not have to be too hard on myself for this. After all I am also just one of these all-too-human beings, which I am allowed to meet - anew each day.
What is spirituality for you or what does it do for you?
Spirituality is a corner stone of my advisory work, as to me it is a static source of trust and open-mindedness.