How important is spirituality in your life?

I would say spirituality is one of the great intangibles. It presents in so many ways. I have no idea where I sit on the spirituality spectrum. Nowhere near the elite end, but probably more spiritual than a broad bean.

Proof of how intangible spirituality is I looked up the broad bean only to discover that it is quite the Spiritual Legume.

Broad beans, also known as fava beans, have a complex symbolic history, particularly in relation to death and the afterlife. While not universally considered spiritual, they have been associated with funerary rituals and the belief that they contain the souls of the deceased in some cultures. However, other traditions view them as symbols of resurrection, good luck, or even royalty. 

Here’s a more detailed look:

Symbolism related to death and the underworld:

• Ancient Greeks and Romans:Believed broad beans were linked to the underworld due to their long roots and the black spots on their flowers, which were seen as a connection between the world of the living and the dead. 
• Funerary rituals:Broad beans were sometimes spread over tombs to provide peace to the deceased. 
• Fave dei morti:In some traditions, like those in Italy, small cakes shaped like broad beans (but not actually made of them) are eaten on All Souls’ Day, symbolizing “beans of the dead”. 
• Soul wind:Some believed that eating broad beans released the soul wind through the body. 

Symbolism related to resurrection and reincarnation:

• Growth:The bean’s upward growth from the earth can be seen as a symbol of resurrection and spiritual awakening.
• Rebirth:Some traditions view beans as symbols of reincarnation, where the seed contains a dormant soul waiting to be reborn. 

Other symbolic meanings:

• Good luck:In some traditions, like 17th and 18th century Britain, broad beans were associated with good luck, sometimes found in cakes like the Twelfth Night cake. 
• Royalty:In traditions like the Portuguese king cake, a bean inside the cake signifies the person who gets to provide the next cake. 
• Magic:Broad beans are also mentioned in folklore as having magical properties, such as warding off ghosts or even being connected to witches. 

Research is a fabulous thing. I have just learned that Fava beans are Broad Beans. I had no idea, but I also discovered that spirituality-wise I am exactly a  broad bean.

• Broad beans are not considered universally spiritual.
• Sometimes I suffer from ‘Soul Wind’
• Will I ever be able to say the Lord’s Prayer without thinking? ” Our Fava”.

I have been enlightened.

*The Buddha with the fractured skull lives in our yard and has lived in my last three gardens.

She was a regular,uninjured, deity until a freak mini tornado in South London picked her up and tossed her against a garage wall. Her left Temporal bone was caved in. An earthly rather than spiritual injury.

Instantly she was turned from a peaceful piece of garden adornment into a unique planter. Her scars and missing bits of skull are covered by plants as she lays serenely in our yard.