The Advantages of a Spiritual Path for Improving the Quality of Your Life
© Nirodhaanupamadrck | Megapixl.com
Have you been on a journey of personal development and self improvement for a while, and found yourself beginning to ask deeper questions? Do you wonder about the purpose of your life, or how you can achieve your highest good? Do you want to find a path that aligns with what the Universe or God intends for you?
As you begin to explore your personal spirituality, you can start to answer all these questions and more. You will begin to trust your intuition more, and to find a divine beauty in everything around you. It will bring your life into a whole new level of awareness and experience of daily events.
What is Spirituality?
Spirituality is the quest to understand the life of the soul. It is the journey that takes place within our hearts and within our minds, as we come to understand ourselves and our lives on a deeper level. We learn to shift our focus solely from the events taking place around us to our own awareness of those events.
What is the Difference Between Religion and Spirituality?
Spirituality can take place either within organized religion, or it can be a path you take on your own. You can do this using new age beliefs, reading and studying, or participating in religious services. You can consult with psychics or tarot readers. There are many paths all with a single goal of coming to a greater understanding and awareness of life's deeper truths.
Living with Intention Using Mindfulness, Meditation and Yoga
You can come into greater awareness and alignment with yourself using practices such as mindfulness, meditation and yoga. All of these ask you to still your mind and become more aware in the present moment. Put your phone down for a moment, and fully participate in the life that is happening all around you.
As you do this, you come into a deeper state of calm and peace in your daily life. Focusing on your breathing, your body, and the experiences of your senses in the moment allows you to be more present in each moment. Cultivating this type of awareness helps you to find calm and peace in your life.
Why Starting a Journaling Practice can have Many Benefits
As you begin your spiritual path, starting a journaling practice can be extremely valuable as well. You can do morning pages, free write, or write affirmations or do a gratitude journal. Writing can help you focus on and be aware of your feelings. Putting words onto the page can be a meditative practice as well, and keep you fully immersed in the moment.
The more you write, you may find yourself discovering interesting things about yourself that you never knew before. You can allow yourself total honesty and freedom that are typically not present in conversation. This allows you to open up your mind and your heart further.
Using Affirmations and Gratitude can Help You Create a Positive Mindset
Affirmations and gratitude are both powerful tools that you can use to help yourself to create a more spiritual focus in your life. By thinking of all the good things about yourself and your life, it helps the blessings in your life to multiply. Thanking God or the Universe for all of the goodness you experience can create a profound sense of connection and alignment with spiritual forces.
Spending Time in Nature
In addition to traditional spiritual practices, it can also help to spend time outdoors in nature. There is a profound healing that takes place as we immerse ourselves in the natural world. We can connect this way with the vastness of our world, and the beauty that is all around us. Spending time in green and blue spaces (near plants or water) can help to heal our mental health and our spirit.
It is easy to connect with a higher power when we are in nature, because we can see reflections of the creator in the beauty of the natural world. It also helps us to be more present in the moment, and to focus on what is happening right here and now. Personally, I like to do my mindfulness practice outdoors, so that I can focus on the natural space and the beauty of the plants and the sunshine.
Reading and Study
In addition to bringing spiritual practices into your life, it is valuable to read spiritual texts, to learn the ancient wisdom that they have to offer. You can read the spiritual texts of world religions that date back centuries, or you can read interpretations by modern authors. There are many blogs (like this one!) that regularly discuss spirituality as well. The more you can learn about mystic wisdom from throughout history, you can incorporate this into your spiritual practice as well.
If you want to read the ancient sacred texts for yourself, they have a lot of wisdom to offer you. By studying world religions, you can decide which path is right for you, if any. Some of the most prominent ancient texts, according to History Lists, include:
Bible
Torah
Quran
Vedas
Egyptian Book of the Dead
Tao Te Ching
Upanishads
Bhagavad Gita
Buddhist Sutras
Non-Religious Ancient Books
As you read these ancient texts, you may look for modern interpretations of how to apply what you are reading in today's world. It is helpful to do this in addition to studying the texts themselves, so that you can learn about what religious scholars and practitioners have to say.
You can check out my ebooks on spiritual topics if you are interested in my interpretations:
Practicing Buddhism in Everyday Life
Compassion is the Ultimate Goal of Spirituality
You can also check out other popular authors on spirituality today. Oprah has put together a list of the 15 best spiritual books that you can check out:
Untamed, by Glennon Doyle
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World , by his Holiness the Dalai lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Abrams
A Girlhood: Letter to My Transgender Daughter, by Carolyn Hays
This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us, by Cole Arthur Riley
Freshwater, by Akwaeke Emezi
Blue Nights, by Joan Didion
On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World, by Danya Ruttenberg
Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson
Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit, by Lyanda Lynn Haupt
The Rumi Collection, edited by Kabir Helminski
Muslim Cool: Race, Religion, and Hip Hop in the United States, by Su'ad Abdul Khabeer
Bring on the Blessings, by Beverly Jenkins
Truth's Table: Black Women's Musings on Life, Love, and Liberation, by Ekemini Uwan, Christina Edmondson, and Michelle Higgins
Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief, Tradition, and Practice , by Rabbi Wayne D. Dosick, Ph.D
Native Believer, by Ali Eteraz
There is a lot to learn about different spiritual perspectives, and many writers attempt to navigate the waters of explaining spiritual principles to a modern audience. These type of books take into account what it is like to live in our times while attempting to hold spiritual principles within our hearts. We can become deeply spiritual even while navigating modern life, by incorporating spiritual knowledge and practice into our daily lives.
Finding Community
Sharing our spiritual journey with like minded people can help us to refine our beliefs and find a sense of community. At times, it feels like the path of a spiritual seeker is a lonely one, but it doesn't have to be that way. There are many of us on a spiritual journey today, and you can find people across the world or on your own street that can become a part of your journey.
There are many faith communities in your local area that may resonate with your beliefs whether you are Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Wiccan or New Age. You can find a local meeting place to attend formal services or informal gatherings to discuss your faith and spirituality. If you don't align with one specific faith and consider yourself spiritual but not religious, not to worry. You can find local shops to buy crystals and tarot cards where you can meet other solo spiritual practitioners.
You can also find a vast spiritual community online, in things like Facebook groups as well as on other social media sites. There are great online communities that you can tap into to get to know spiritual people from across the world whose ideas align with yours.
Having support from other spiritual people along your journey can prove to be invaluable, whatever stage of your journey you are at. If you are just starting out, many of the people you meet in communities can help you learn more about spiritual beliefs and practices that will help you for years to come.
I hope that all these tips will help you get started on your spiritual path. I write regularly about spiritual topics, so come back and visit regularly! If there are any specific topics that you would like me to cover, just let me know in the comments, and I am happy to share!
