What Does It Mean To Be Spiritual? Top

Spiritual people generally believe there is more to life than the physical world around us and that there are higher powers within the universe than ourselves. This belief is the core of spirituality, and determines how you think about your life choices, your soul, and the possibility of life after death. Most spiritual people have specific spiritual practices to which they adhere. Spiritual people have a code of ethics that reflects their spiritual values and commitments and supports them on their journey to inner peace and enlightenment.

Spirituality does not belong to a specific culture, religion, or belief system. Spiritual people come from all cultures, all religions, all philosophies. However, they all have in common an understanding of how the Universe works, and how to live in harmony with everyone and everything around them.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation and a world-wide movement to develop spirituality, said the following:

Why Is Spiritual Growth Important?  Top

For many people, spirituality brings a sense of purpose and direction in life, through a search for life's significance and the need to feel part of something larger than ourselves. Spirituality brings a sense of love and connection, an awareness of community and completeness, of compassion and oneness. Spirituality encourages questioning and reflection and leads to intellectual and emotional growth. Spirituality can give us the inner peace and the resources to make meaning out of difficult experiences.

Science Recognizes Spirituality Top

It’s important to recognize that spirituality is not at odds with science. Ancient spiritual leaders and modern new-age thinkers agree that our thoughts influence our reality. This is the belief at the heart of The Law of Attraction – that we have the power to shape our futures just by changing how we think and feel.

Modern science supports this. According to quantum physics, nothing exists until it is observed, and the act of observation changes what is observed. Reality has an ever-changing structure. Scientists from the fields of quantum physics, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral genetics are now supporting the theory that how you think changes what happens to you and the world around you.

We have been taught that everything is material, physical; however, classical materialistic science cannot explain consciousness. Materialism cannot explain the concept of mind, the soul, or life. Consciousness is the fundamental foundation of our reality. Consciousness is what gives us Life.

We take for granted that the objects we encounter are solid. We perceive them as real and present. In reality, everything around us is made up of electromagnetic waves. Everything we experience is energy, even when it looks entirely solid to us. If everything is energy, including ourselves, then everything is interconnected on some level and has the potential to impact any other thing.

Advanced physics supports this theory. Theoretical physicist, John Wheeler, was one of the first scientists in the early 20th century to theorize that our observations of reality influence its unfolding. We live in a “participatory universe,” Wheeler proposed, “in which mind is as fundamental as matter.”

There's a good reason (both spiritual and scientific) to believe that your words can transform reality as well. The power of words is significant and can change the way you think and feel. Studies on the impact of pictures, phrases, and music on the state of water have shown us that frozen water takes different forms depending on whether it was previously exposed to positivity or negativity. And if this is true of water, consider just how much your word choice can impact others, as well as on yourself.

Spiritual leaders have long recognized the power of feelings, thoughts, and words.

Buddha said, “All experiences are preceded by mind, having mind as their master created by mind…guard well your thoughts…with our thoughts we make the world.”

Gandhi said, “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes…”

Spirituality And Religion Top

You can be spiritual without being religious. Many scientists and thinkers are deeply spiritual yet follow no formal religion. While it can be argued that both religion and spirituality lead to the same experience, the path is very different. Religion generally focuses on the future, while spirituality focuses on living in the present moment. Religion typically requires its followers to strictly adhere to a specific code, rules, and beliefs. Spirituality generally encourages the questioning of everything in a search for freedom.

Spiritual Awakening Top

We are all on a path of spiritual growth, whether we recognize it or not. Life is spiritual – the wholeness of our existence, physical and non-physical, that makes us human. However, most people are so involved in the external (physical) aspects of their existence, that they forget the importance of the inner aspects of their life.

Spirituality is not simply a state of being – it is a journey towards greater awareness – of ourselves and our relationship with the universe around us, and ultimately of the consciousness that is the foundation of our life.

A spiritual awakening can happen at any time in your life. Often it is the result of some powerful experience, where when your concepts of reality are strongly challenged. The result is a journey of questioning, of searching for the source and purpose of life and living. It is not always an easy journey. In fact, your reality may be repeatedly challenged as you grow, and this will change how you perceive and interact with the world around you.

You Are Unique Top

Your spiritual journey is uniquely yours alone. However, you will not be alone. You will meet many others on their own unique journeys. Some will be teachers from whom you will learn some basic truth. At other times you will be the teacher, helping others based on your own experiences and understanding. We are all in this together, because, as physics indicates, we all share the same existence at some level of life. For this reason, it’s important that we help others and allow ourselves to be helped in turn.

How do we measure our spiritual growth? It’s not something that can be seen from the outside. Your looks and actions may not change. The changes take place within you, on the level of Awareness itself.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi describes how to measure one’s spiritual progress as follows:
“The measure of growth of spirituality is not an increase in the sense of detachment or renunciation, or less involvement in the world, or less interest in the world. The criteria of the growth of spirituality is how much have I grown in peace, in power, in wisdom, in creativity, in happiness. How much have I increased in creativity, in wisdom, in happiness. These are the criteria of real growth of spirituality."

Where Do I Start? Top

Sadhguru, a modern day mystic from India, describes getting started on your spiritual quest quite well:
“So where should you start? Does it happen in stages? Where should you start? I think we have been repeatedly saying you can only start from where you are. You cannot start somewhere else. Don’t try to start anywhere. There is nothing to start. It's already… long ago it's been started. You are trying to just hasten it, that's all. You can't start it, it's already started. Your longing to grow has started…”

An important thing you can do is to tune into and learn to listen to your inner voice. At first you may not be able to hear your inner voice. The coaching/healing programs on this site are designed to help remove limiting beliefs that prevent you from experiencing spiritual clarity. My programs as the only way to enhance your spiritual growth. As you follow your own path, you will experience opportunities through which you can grow, and even accelerate your growth. Follow what makes sense and feels comfortable and right for you.

The content of this site may not resonate with you. I certainly don’t expect everyone to be inspired by what I present on this site. Some people will find my site interesting, perhaps inspiring, and may want to work with me. Others will not. Don’t let this stop you from exploring, searching for more in your life. Find someone – perhaps several people – who inspire you and offer you help in your journey.

You Are Not Alone Top

You may feel alone, scared, or confused as you begin your spiritual journey. It’s part of the awakening process. But be aware that you are never alone. There are millions of others who are experiencing the same awakening, each of them at his/her own stage of awakening. Seek these people out – they will generally welcome you with open arms.

Only a full cup can overflow. There is a reason why the airline flight attendant asks parents to put their oxygen mask on first. The more awake you are, the more you can help others, sometimes just by your presence in their lives. Spiritual development is the most important activity in which you can engage, for your own life and for the lives of everyone and everything around you.