It’s a question that I hear asked most to the thought leaders of our time. What does spirituality mean to you? To me, spirituality is tuning into the a higher awareness within. It doesn’t have to be some esoteric connection to the great unknown (mind you I love connecting to the great unknown), but an understanding that it is worth asking ‘what else is there’? Here is my 8 practices of what being spiritual means.
1) Spirituality is about asking questions. Instead of just accepting what others tell you. Spirituality is about consciousness. If you’re reading this, you’ve had that moment in your life – where you wanted to know more. Where you stopped acting without thought and starting getting interested in the questions you had not yet asked. It is about getting curious. Knowing that there are questions within you that are worth asking and seeking for. It is about becoming an inner seeker.
2) Spirituality means thinking about how you respond to the world, and paying attention to the ways in which you respond instead of acting without knowing why you make the choices you make. Being curious enough to ask if the way you respond is serving you? It means finding the teacher within, using your experiences to educate and inform you. Using your life as the great Guru. I like to say that I am doing my PhD in myself. In uncovering my worn out beliefs and choosing to look at what feels like an authentic expression of me…vs doing what others want of me. It is about getting real with myself. It is about owning my mistakes and choosing to no longer hide from myself.
3) Means taking ownership of yourself and stop blaming others. I loved to blame others! It was the ultimate guilty pleasure. That way I didn’t have to own any of my own experiences. But guess what, if you are choosing to be a proactive agent in your life. You soon become aware that responding with indignant blame gets you no where. Blame only creates shame, a deep shame of swirling unhappiness. So I stopped. My experiences are of my own, and I also practice not taking on the truths of others. When others attempt to place blame on me, I am tempted to sink into shame again. But than I remind myself…hey! You don’t blame others for your own experience…so you don’t need to take that from someone else. So I choose to let it go, as a practice.
4) Choosing to stop indulging in drama. Geez, another way I that LOVED to respond to the world. I loved drama, if I could hang out here…I never actually had to think about what was really happening in my world. I could just keep creating or interacting with drama’s as a measure of self importance. You know, the kind of importance that gave me permission to not connect to myself. Oh I was shamefully good at it. I had to let this one go to realize a love for myself and to move towards a feeling of inner peace.
5) Letting go of the need to control. I had to let go of needing to control, and trust that I can accept whatever comes my way. The need to control consumed me, I would react when anything got in the way of my plans. I would feel pinched by anxiety with the amount I wanted to control everything around me. Like all the other practices, I had to stop trying to control. Even when others try to control you, let go of the need to respond with the same fear. Control often means, that you need to do it your way in order to feel like you are safe in the world. Whether it is in your life, or branches out to include the life of those around you. So look at the ways in which you need control.
6) Trusting in the things you can’t explain. I trust. Now more then ever. I trust in what magic happens around me. I trust in the power of sometimes waiting for the answers while other times responding from my gut. I trust in the power of my prayers. I trust in the power of my intention. I trust in a love greater then I currently know. I trust in allowing for things to come instead of trying to control outcomes. I trust in what I am being taught. I trust in my instincts. The things you can’t prove, but know them to be true. I trust beyond any comprehension. I trust beyond a need to control. I trust I have what it takes to guide me though any given challenge that life presents. I just trust.
7) Avoid the temptation to judge. We do it all day long, judge. Judge our environment and those around us. A judgement detox can help clear the ways we all judge all day long. When we judge someone else for doing the best they can with their current set of skills, we close, we are unable to see their light. The gifts they have to offer. If we can soften the outer judge we can also soften the inner critic, which is likely the most brutal critic.
8) Being spiritual means you are building an inner resilience, a resilience that helps you during your storms and serves you in a deeply sacred way. It gives you the power to be the commander of your own ship, that you get to choose from a deep wisdom within instead of having unconscious outbursts. And when you have those outbursts, you find the strength within to right your ship. Resilience allows for the capacity to navigate anything that comes your way, and is often built by those who choose to learn from their experience.
I am not the same person I was 10 years ago, and I imagine I will say that in another 10 year. I’ve learned not to act blindly in the world. I don’t want to be the same person I am today in a decade. I choose to be mindful of myself. I realize that I can choose to pay attention to my own thoughts and that they don’t own me. That my thoughts help show me what I believe of myself and that my thoughts can be brutal at times. Being spiritual means trusting in the power of loving myself in order to be of greater service to my friends and loved ones. My spiritual practice has taught me that responding from love wins over responding from anger, fear, and needing to be right.
with love
Noelle