How Can I Be More Spiritual?

So how can you improve your spiritual health? Identify things in your life that give you a sense of inner peace, comfort, strength, love, and connection. Take time for yourself each day. Solitary activities, no matter how long you spend doing them, give you a break from everyday tasks. They also give you a chance to focus on your own spiritual well being.

Here are some questions from Mayo Clinic’s HealthQuest. Your answers may reveal a few clues to help you seek Spiritual Health on your own terms.

• What gives your life meaning and purpose?
• What gives you hope?
• How do you get through tough times?
• Where have you found comfort?
• What are your 3 most memorable experiences?
• If you belong to a religious community, how are you connected to this group?
• If you have survived losses in your life, how have you done so?
• Describe a time or instance when you felt comfortable and that all was right with the world.
• Describe a time when your life was filled with a sense of meaning or when you experienced a sense of awe.

An article in the October 1992 Balance magazine lists five strategies to grow spiritually.

• 1. Be quiet. Spiritual truths often come in the form of a still small voice that is difficult to hear above the chaos and confusion of a frantic lifestyle. Set aside time for solitude and meditation.
• 2. Be open to the spiritual. Spiritual experiences often come in unexpected forms and packages. They surprise us. Foster a nonjudgmental attitude so you’re open to the spiritual dimension in any life event – from hoeing the garden, to witnessing an accident, from watching a swim meet to reading the morning paper.
• 3. Be inquisitive and curious. An attitude of active searching increases your options and your potential for spiritual centering. Don’t shut doors before you check out what is behind them. For example, the laying on of hands may be a powerful centering experience. A silent retreat might renew your enthusiasm. Meditation or yoga may very well allow you to experience tranquility and peace.
• 4. Be receptive to pain and grief. Pain helps us focus on the widest questions of our being. It’s a deepener. A life without pain leads to a sparse, shallow existence. Allow yourself to feel your pain fully, then ask, “What is it trying to teach me?”
• 5. Be playful. Play is a pleasurable, freeing experience. It breeds spontaneous enthusiasm and celebration. When you make music, dance, laugh, sing – however you play – listen for sounds of the spirit.
  

  Yurt in Mongolia

Here are some other thoughts for cultivating your spiritual side:

Enjoy a hobby. Finding a hobby that you truly enjoy brings a sense of inner delight and joy.

Pray. Prayer helps connect you to your spirit.

Meditate. Meditation is an ancient art that has the ability to relieve stress, create peace, change perspective, and enlighten the mind, allowing for a deeper connection to your spirit.

Be Grateful. By becoming more aware of our blessings, we strengthen our connection to our spirit.

Regularly take part in spiritual practices. Make spirituality part of your routine.

Hiking and Climbing

Prescription for Spiritual Health

• Take time for self-renewal
• Practice sacred rituals
• Practice acceptance and non-judgment
• Keep the faith, pray; don’t abandon beliefs in crisis
• Embrace mystery. Allow yourself to believe things that can’t be explained
• Embrace the shadow, your dark side. Recognize and acknowledge it
• Forgive
• Put compassion into action
• Live your joy

Find Spirit in Nature. Outdoors is an ideal setting to connect with your spirituality.

One’s spiritual health can be impaired as a result of physical and mental neglect. Therefore, balance is crucial to total health, so incorporate all the Seek Health Apples into your daily life.