Do you have everything you need? A pleasant home? A decent income? A fairly stable family life? A hobby or two? Some friends, maybe even good friends?
Is this enough?
How about your spirit? Your soul?
Does your spirit seem to long for more?
Perhaps, this is the year that you get serious about feeding your spirit. Perhaps, this is the year you begin to connect with God. Or deepen this connection.
I have noticed that more times than not when my clients have little or no spiritual practice, they tend to have a difficult time finding contentment and peace.
Yes. I believe there is a strong correlation between faith/spirituality and a sense of inner peace.
Stephen Covey was my guru when it came to life planning. Took the courses. Bought the books and tapes. I use his Franklin Planner to this day. One of his lessons that really stuck with me was the need for life balance. He explained that there are 4 areas of successful living that need to be attended to on a daily basis. These areas are: work, health, social (family & friends) and spirit.
Yes. Your spiritual life. On an equal par with work, health and social life. Every day.
Covey did not originate this idea. Earlier self-improvement writers also had stressed maintaining this type of life balance – Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie, Norman Vincent Peale, to name a few.
I do know that when I maintain a consistent spiritual practice, I am more likely to feel at peace and my approach to each day is just easier.
Practices may vary among various faiths and teachings. I am a Christian so my practices tend to follow the teachings of this faith. However, there are some common practices outlined below that occur across many faiths.
Consider the following spiritual practices:
- Prayer and meditation – I find walking the labyrinth while praying and meditating to be very meaningful.
- Group worship – being part of a faith community where you feel comfortable and safe can provide wonderful spiritual support.
- Personal study – routine reading of texts such as the Bible, Torah, Koran, Tripitaka along with other devotional writings. If you do not ascribe to any particular faith, consider reading them all.
- Aligning your beliefs to your everyday life – such as showing love and generosity to the less fortunate and bringing less anger and more kindness into your words.
Why not make this year where you find or deepen your spiritual practices.
Why not make 2020 the year of more harmony and peace in your life.
