Where were you first introduced to Spirituality?
Answer: You must look back at that first impression.
This is an important question because this will be your first impression and first impressions last.
Most people who grew up in a religious home would have been brought up with some type of spirituality, because Religion is considered in broad terms spirituality, though I would debate that and go on further to say they are totally different, in which case it’s probably why you have struggled.
Most people who have had some spiritual teaching would have learnt this from their parents or the school they attended. Most schools have religious teaching, and in general we have a huge population of Religious people, so parents are the obvious source. Now when I speak of Religion I am talking across the board, all Christian faith and non Christian faith teachings. I am talking orthodox teachings, what ever the rule comes under.
So think back and find the place where you first heard about spirituality. What were you taught? How did it make you feel when these words were first spoken to you.
Was it fear driven? This is another important factor, was it fear driven?
- Believe this or you go to Hell
- Do this or you go to Hell
- Behave this way or you will be punished
- Conform or you will be excommunicated
- Be Submissive or be punished
When you are a child, fear driven language is used to get you to conform to a certain behavior, (Neuro Linguistic programming) this can have a devastating impact on you as an adult. This is programming and conditioning and to break this cycle of embedded fear is difficult. As a child we are so impressionable, the beliefs systems we are taught as children will underlay our belief systems as we get older, So You must look back at that first impression.
What does spirituality mean to you?
Answer: look at what spirituality gives you truly, is it companionship of others or is it food for thought for your own personal pondering?
What part of your being is called to the need of spirituality? Is it the community spirit of a church and the companionship of like minded people that fills that space of what you call spirituality? Is it the gathering of people who have the same set of belief systems and because of this they are more trustworthy?Would it be the same feeling if you joined a gym and had a community of people there that had like minded information and interests as you? Or is it something very personal and intimate where it does not require others to be involved? It is food for thought simply for yourself? So look at what spirituality gives you truly, is it companionship of others or is it food for thought for your own personal pondering?
What is it that you struggle with about Spirituality?
Answer: Find the programme that is the issue.
Why are you struggling with what you believe? What are you questioning? Something obviously doesn’t sit right with you, for you to be struggling with the concept of your own belief system. Somewhere you have learnt something that goes against your insightful intuition. This is a time you need to be totally honest with yourself regardless of consequences. If you are struggling with spirituality you have a program running that is a conditioned message that must be turned off. You may find once you dig deeper and find the source of this struggle, you will have a whole new view on spirituality. Don’t be afraid of change. So find the programme that is the issue.
Is spirituality something you really need?
Answer: discard what you don’t need.
Have you considered that spirituality is something that you might not really need? I am serious have you asked yourself why is spirituality important to me? What do I get from my beliefs? how does it benefit my life? If there is a struggle you are not getting what you need, quite the opposite it’s causing conflict in your life. Can you live without it? If the answer is yes than discard your spiritual beliefs and let them fall away, holding on to something that serves no purpose is a wast of time and energy, and whats more it’s stopping you from moving forward. So discard what you don’t need.
How does spirituality make you feel?
Answer: stop to analyse how accommodating your spirituality is to the rest of your life, does it support you?
Lastly but not least how does spirituality make you feel. I would hope that it makes you feel awesome if not, why not? If you go through the five steps of looking within to find the answers you should by now know the answer to this question. Spirituality is an extension of who you are as a human being. It should lift you, comfort you and be there as a leaning pole with things get tough. It should beunconditional, spirituality is not punishment, it is not judging, it is not controlling, it should be insightful, meaningful, and loving. It should be accepting unconditionally, it should be your rock. So stop to analyse how accommodating your spirituality is to the rest of your life, does it support you?
Spirituality is about creativity, freedom, wholeness, unconditional love, freedom to be individual, It is enlightening, intuitive, compassionate. It is all we can be, emotionally, physically, mentally and more.
If your view of spirituality is different, than your belief system is probably religious based not spiritual, and yes there is a big difference.
Hope you enjoyed the post, let me know in the comment box below, that would be great.
Comments
Thank you Sandra and Merle for reading our post, we are so happy you liked it!
Rhonda and Chris, thank you for an insightful commentary on an important subject. I believe in God and in Christ as my Savior. I believe I have a spiritual life. Shared this on Google+.
Great post Rhonda and Chris and agree with Terri. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Terri, thank you for the welcome and comment on our post. We are pretty new to blogging, so we are working our way through understanding syndication and how we can use it to help each other.
We are wrapping our heads around twitterfeed and will and add 3 or 4 member's RSS feeds.
Rhonda and Chris I definitely liked it and glad to have you in the SE community. I look forward to reading more of your posts. I'm happy with my spirituality and my life. You summed it up nicely in the last paragraph "Spirituality is about creativity, freedom, wholeness, unconditional love, freedom to be individual, It is enlightening, intuitive, compassionate." Truth is being spoken here. Shared via Syndication Automation, Networkedblogs, and SE on Google. I will be reposting on the Syndication Express blog for more people to see and read it too. Keep up the great writing and have a blessed day.