Healing

Spiritualism for the Stressed

Exploring Spiritual Practices as a Coping Mechanism for Stress

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What do you think of when I say “spiritual?” It either conjures up visions of church-goers or the woo-woo sage burning, crystal-holding hippie. But it doesn’t have to be so black and white or ritualized.

In today’s world, it’s easy to neglect the spiritual. In our modern world of accessibility, connection, and endless entertainment it’s easy to be distracted into remembering that we have a fundamental need to connect to each other, nature around us, and tap into this bigger energy called spirit.

The more we learn, the more we discover how important the spiritual aspect of our lives is. When you’re interested in bettering yourself and becoming what you have the potential to become, you have to address your inner self every bit as much as you do the trappings of your outward life. You discover your fundamental truths and learn just how much more there is to life when you accept the mystery and awe of knowing there’s something more to life than what you see with your own eyes. In short, you become complete.

How do you manifest this change and step into your spirituality?

Start with a Commitment to Change

You will never be able to embrace something so radical and new as your spiritual side without first making a firm decision along with a concrete goal regarding this path. Start with something simple, such as learning about spirituality by picking up a book or subscribing to a handful of blogs. Then commit to the task of reading these, and spending time thinking about the information you learn and what it means to you personally.

Question Things

Your first commitment dovetails nicely with this next one. Become curious. As you learn and discover questions you don’t have answers to, take action to find the answers. Follow rabbit trails, explore new paths. Go wherever your mind takes you and discover things you never knew about yourself before.

Practice Mindfulness

Whether you engage in prayer or meditation, take time to reflect, and find your inner peace.

Laugh

Nothing does the spirit more good than laughter. By finding the funny side to things, we relax into who we are and stop taking ourselves so seriously. We engage with the absurd and recognize the universe has a sense of humor.

Take Care of Yourself

You can’t engage on a spiritual path if your flesh is weak. Eat right. Exercise. Get enough sleep. Don’t allow physical discomfort, pain, or illness to get in the way of your spiritual journey.

Pay Attention

When you experience coincidence, nudges, roadblocks, or sudden interests that feel like are guiding your path, allow yourself to follow. Sometimes we’re given more guidance along the way than we realize. Learn to go with the flow and see where these divine nudges take you.

Create a Tribe

Finding people of a like mind to travel with you will make your own journey more pleasant. You also will find companionship, mentorship, guidance, and encouragement along the way. We need people around us, and a group of like-minded individuals is a powerful thing to have.

Your spiritual journey doesn’t have to be complicated, especially as you start out. By taking these small steps, you’ll soon discover a world you never knew existed. Enjoy the journey, and the new you that you’re about to discover!

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