Welcome to the world of spirituality, the multidimensional phenomenon that guides us to our inner truth. Spirituality goes beyond thoughts and emotions. It is our expansion of consciousness.
As spiritual beings, we all come to earth favored with amazing gifts; the gift of intuition, the ability to sense and express love and joy, and the power to create healing energy not only for ourselves but for others as well.
To fully embrace these gifts and benefit from them, our spiritual work must include stepping out of our logical mind and stepping into the power of our hearts. It means getting in touch with our true authentic self – our essence of being.
As you journey on your path, qualities like faith, hope, and forgiveness have been proven to assist us greatly. (1) Here are six well-known facets of spiritual life that we can easily strengthen as part of the work to enrich our human life.
Faith is not only in God. Faith is what we have in anything that is bigger than ourselves, such as the Infinite Source or the Universe. Research has shown that faith increases the body’s resistance to stress.
Hope is often what gives us the strength to carry on in the face of life’s difficulties. Without hope, it may feel as if there’s no reason to live and we may become depressed and prone to illness.
Forgiveness is a practice that is encouraged by many spiritual and religious traditions. It is a release of hostility and resentment from past hurts. While forgiving others may not be an easy task, most people find the greatest challenge is forgiving themselves due to their perception that they might be the cause of past hurts to themselves and others.
Love and Social Support from a close network of family and friends can lend crucial help and emotional support that can offer protection against many diseases.
Prayer is another form of desire or intention. Putting ourselves in the presence of, or conversing with, a higher power has been used across all cultures as a means of healing throughout the ages.
Gratitude can be developed as we recognize that life is a gift that we can be grateful for. We can create paths to gratitude by creating opportunities to help others without expectations. Once we are grateful for the little things in life, the bigger things will come.
There are additional practices that can deepen our spiritual connection with our inner selves. (2) And as you can see, these practices require us to go within – to do the work to embrace our essence to be.
With Love,
Lenka Schulze, Ph.D.
(1) University of Maryland Medical Center. Excerpted from Journey of You. p. 114. (2) Journey of You. Schulze, Lenka. pp 115-117.