Spirituality in Health | A Journey of Self-Discovery
Everyone is aware of what Health is, even its three dimensions (Physical, mental, and social), but what about Spirituality? The fourth dimension! What does this Spirituality have to do with health? Do we know what exact meaning does it serve? I guess, not!
Spirituality in Health | A Journey of Self-Discovery
Phraseitup in this Blog aims to explore the meaning, importance, effects, and need of Spirituality, and how this dimension helps in the complete upliftment of Health, let alone other life segments.
Spirituality is a multi-perceptional enlightenment that seeks interconnectedness with the soul, with others, with nature, and with God. The ultimate reward to this is Meaning, Hope, Comfort, and inner peace in your life. In a nutshell, acquiring Spirituality is nothing short of feeling connected with the higher one, an emotion that is transcendental and inexplicable.
Rachel Remen, from Zen Hospice, has stated it so beautifully, "Helping, fixing, and serving represent three different ways of seeing life. When you help, you see life as weak. When you fix, you see life as broken. When you serve, you see life as a whole. Fixing and helping may be the work of the ego, and service the work of the soul".
Selfless service-mindedness (nonjudgmental submission) is the fuel of Spirituality that keeps you ignited. You are only Spiritual when this behavior first becomes your identity, just inseparable! And that's not all! Besides this, there is a lot to understand about Spirituality.
IKIGAI is one such closely related life attitude that endorses Spirituality in health since it carries meaning and peace, but selfless service-mindedness still appears missing here.
So, how this transcendental sense of interconnectedness and selfless service-mindedness can be used to benefit health? Let's find out!
Meaning of Spiritual Health
Actually, Spiritual Health is the chief dimension of overall health that goes beyond the merits of physical, mental, and social health. This is the core feeder in achieving, maintaining, sustaining, and safeguarding all other three dimensions.
When you are Spiritually healthy, it is more than likely that your physical, mental, and social health will remain unadulterated. However, the reverse is untrue. Spiritual health is an independent element that doesn't guarantee its attainment just because you are at the completeness of your health with three dimensions.
Spiritual health needs to be acknowledged, understood, believed, and practiced, and yet it remains undefined, unlike others! What is missing here is a scientific link between spirituality and health.
- Physical Health is a sustained state of homeostasis and the absence of an illness.
- Mental Health is the ability of the mind to observe objectively, process judicially, respond consciously to a range of sensory stimuli (Boredom, anger, assault, abuse, opposite sex, etc.), and react internally, in a way, that complies with external behavior.
- Social Health is seeking, adapting, maintaining, and living in an ecosystem of meaningful and harmonious relationships.
Spiritual Health is a comprehensive wellness package that offers:
- Achievement of peace
- Meaning/ purpose in life
- A sense of selfless service-mindedness
- Clarity in life
- Connectedness with higher power
- Altruism and ethics
- Universe is home
- A sense of belonging
Religion and Spiritual Health
Also, mind well that being religious doesn't always mean you are Spiritually healthy, but the one who practices spiritual health often finds himself connected with something greater in the world.
Effects/ Benefits of Being Spiritually Healthy
#Longevity: How to live longer? Is it under our control? Well, some of the well-executed studies have found a link between improved quality of life and increased existential life expectancy with spirituality in health. Japanese rank with proud numbers of 53.9 centenarians per 100000 people, the simplest reason being, that they knowingly or unknowingly practice IKIGAI, a concept much nearer to spiritual health, though partially.
#Stronger coping mechanism: I bet you agree that proving existence in the present time is a challenge, and in the process what you award yourself with, is stress ranging from unavoidable negative feelings to hard-hitting depression, or even suicides.
The current suicide rate in India is approximately 12 per 100000 people, the highest since 1967, and this has increased 6.2% from 2020.
It is not like spiritual health stops uneventful deaths, but it certainly fortifies your inner to cope with the daily stressors as if they no longer matter.
#Uninteruppted Peace: Peace is not a state of quietness, serenity, or tranquility, in fact, externally this state is impossible to live without interruption. Of course, sometimes we call it retreat, but it is a transient relief from noise and not peace. Such endeavors are materialistic.
Peace is a free state where interconnectedness with a higher one does not let you lose the balance. Liberation here is infinite. Happiness or sadness (Blue), acceptance or rejection, success or failure, appreciation or humiliation, pain or pleasure, you never lose your balance and always feel liberated.
Such an uninterrupted state of freedom is possible to achieve with Spiritual health!
#Achievement of Health: Did I overstate? Well, it sounds like that, but Spiritual health is one such attainment that completes wellness. Physically it regulates hormones, fortifies immunity, sets the order, and sustains homeostasis. Mentally it neutralizes stress and anxiety, the precursors of almost all psychiatric illnesses. Socially it helps modify your ego, induces selflessness, and educates about meaningful relations.
Sanjay Dutt is one of the most revolutionary examples of people who transformed their lives with spiritual health. After his total physical, social, and mental breakdown he submitted to the Art of Living Foundation and found his meaning. In 2019, he started the #DrugFreeIndia campaign, and now he is living a life filled with purpose.
Spiritual health can teach you how to re-live.
#Direction: You can't enjoy the journey when you don't know the destination. It is nothing but an aimless wandering; like a dried leaf that could go in any direction where the wind takes it. A life without Spiritual health is similar to this brittle leaf; it is weightless, it is directionless, and it is aimless.
If asked, in which direction their life is going, many will be clueless. The first thing Spiritual health offers without fail is "Reason", and forces you to ask yourself "Why", which most of us never ask ourselves since we are the leaves driven away by the wind.
"Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, a man cannot live without Spiritual Life"- Buddha
9 Proven Tools to Practice Spiritual Health
Believe me, there are enough ways to reach spiritual enlightenment concerning health, and they all are easily practicable, doable, and sustainable. What is needed is an unwavering commitment to your Spiritual side. These are some of the proven ways that you can use.
#1 Get into Likemindedness
In the Book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napolean Hill, becoming a part of the "Master Mind group" is strongly emphasized. This is nothing but a community, that shares the same values as you share, honors your ideology, and pushes you further as a collective effort, the benefit of this group however is the monetary achievement.
Similarly, find an organization or institute that endorses and doesn't distract.
It is also called the Faith Community, a simple WhatsApp app group, evening gathering, or a religious group whose basic objective is to CONNECT!
#2 Prayer/ Yoga
The mightiest practice one can do to establish a link between mind and body is indulging oneself in daily Yoga and Prayers. A paper in Indian Psychology clearly concludes how Yoga, exercise, and meditation are strongly associated with creating inner harmony, fitness, and connection with higher power and a sense of satisfaction respectively.
One of the highly recommended books to understand the depth of Prayer and Faith is "Power of Positive Thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale.
#3 Meditation
Just get yourself corrected here that to sit and be quiet is not the only method of meditation. Connecting yourself internally while walking, getting ready to sleep, focusing on breathing, or simply observing are, too, meditations; the only requirements are acknowledging, being aware, and staying nonjudgmental while addressing the present.
As little as 5 minutes dedicated to Meditation is found to help with stress, depression, and anxiety. It also increases mindfulness and reduces headaches, high blood pressure, and insomnia.
ðOnline Meditation applications: Calm, Headspace, or Thinkright.me
ðOffline Meditations: Rajyog Meditation, Isha Yoga, Sahaj Samadhi Meditation
#4 Spiritual Habits
Nothing is superior to habituating yourself with these acts!
- Walking in nature enhances the sense of connectivity and offers calm and belonging.
- Gardening teaches you the elements of care, compression, and safeguarding.
- Spiritual reading reinforces your knowledge and understanding, and almost all the time doesn't fail in finding life solutions. It augments focus, clarity, and stillness.
- Journaling abolishes the obscurity of life, makes you honest, clears doubts, and gives you a chance to talk with yourself, which we often overlook.
Apart from these, creating art, listening to music, and solo traveling are more such habits worth cultivating.
#5 Be a volunteer
When you volunteer selflessly, sometimes, and then often detaches you from "I", "Me", and "My" kind of possessions, and this paves the way for freedom. As per BAPS (Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha), when your volunteering effort makes another person happy, is happiness indeed.
If you already are in a service offering profession, you are just a step away from achieving this feat, provided your service is selfless.
So, if you are not into selfless servicing, then get it done now, because it provides a spiritual perspective to you.
#6 Give Thanks
Paying gratitude keeps you away from easy negativity, that is taking things for granted! Every day, cultivating a habit of writing your ten, new blessings uplifts your sense of satisfaction and contentment. Be an expert in giving thanks to the tiniest things in life, and see the magic!
Application to write Blessings: Gratefulness.me
#7 Be mindful
This practice scores outstandingly since there is nothing more peaceful than living in the present moment. Past casts regret, future welcomes anxiety, but the present is promising. It is a form of meditation as well, but to put this into action is a challenge, not impossible though.
Besides meditation, writing a daily diary, too, is a simpler measure you can use to stay in the present.
#8 Introspect/ contemplation
It is a sincere examination of your thoughts, feelings, actions, and motivations to keep them uplifted. This liberates us from stereotypic attitudes and helps us scrutinize our long-staled beliefs and ideologies and develop new, fresher perspectives.
How to do this?
1. Find a quiet place without any distractions
2. Ask yourself this set of questions-
- Am I using my time wisely?
- What am I taking for granted?
- What worries me most? What am I afraid of?
- Am I holding onto something I need to let go of?
- When did I last push the boundaries of my comfort zone?
- If my body could talk, it would say…
- What is life asking of me?
3. Self-observe and try to answer non-judgmentally
4. Take a note and reflect
#9 Forgive
Forgiveness is beautifully described in the Book by Shri Gaur Gopal Das named "Life's amazing secrets". According to this, five types of forgiveness need to be understood. I request you to go through this for better understanding.
Forgiveness unburdens your heart, mind, and soul from the negative emotions that we use daily. Grudges, angst, hurt, hatred, jealousy, a sense of vindication, and sorrow are some emotions that depart as soon as you embrace forgiveness.
Final Thoughts
It is not possible to quantify Spiritual health as a whole, nor we can categorize a person as to how much he/she is spiritually healthy. But yes, its incorporation in modern times is inevitable if one wants to salvage himself from the evils of the presence and live a long, and truly healthy life!
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