Foundations of Spiritual Health

This is the last part in a 3-part blog series covering the foundations of a holistic lifestyle. In this section I will cover the foundations of spiritual health. If you haven’t read the first two blog posts, you can check them out here. Everything will come together better if you read them in order.

If you prefer to listen, here is a podcast version of this blog post:

Once you have all your physical needs met and have improved your mental and emotional well-being, you are now ready to work on your spiritual health. Of course, not everyone goes in this order, but I believe it works best and it is based off Maslow’s hierarchy of needs which I talk about quite often.

When I talk about spirituality, it can include religion, but so much more than that. You don’t have to follow a religion to be spiritual. There is room for everyone here! (Learn the difference between religion and spirituality here)

The third part of a holistic lifestyle is about the spirit or the soul, and this includes anything that makes you feel alive, anything that makes you feel connected to the universe and other people, and makes you feel joy in living out your life.

Finding Your Life Purpose

Finding and following your life’s purpose is a huge part of spiritual health. Some people might not think these two are related, but as you will find when learning about holistic health, everything is related!

When someone finds their reason for living, it changes everything. All aspects of your health will improve when you know why you are here on this Earth.

I strongly suggest if you haven’t already, to really dig deep to explore this. It doesn’t have to be related to your career, but it usually is. When you do what you love, it doesn’t feel like work (at least not nearly as much as work you hate!)

Finding your life purpose is fun, or at least it should be! Some things you can explore are volunteering, taking courses, trying a new hobby, starting a vision board, or writing in a journal. (I have a whole blog post on finding your life purpose, here)

Journaling every day is immensely beneficial and I strongly recommend getting yourself a gratitude journal as well as a daily brain-dump type of journal. Writing your thoughts out before bed is a great way to let go of the day so you can sleep better. I have a gratitude journal available on Amazon, if you are interested check out the link at the bottom of this blog post.

Connecting To a Higher Power

Probably the most well-known way of developing spirituality is connecting to a higher power. It is important because it helps us to feel loved, protected, and important. Whoever or whatever created us surely had a plan or the ability to create something out of nothing, and you have to respect that.

Whether you feel this connection in a church or in nature doesn’t matter, as long as you feel it. If you feel isolated and separate from everyone and everything, you are cut off from life and will have a hard time thriving.

Connecting to Nature

Feeling a connection to nature is also vital to living a holistic lifestyle because we are made of the same elements that are found in nature. It is impossible to deny we are part of nature. Just because we appear more sentient than rocks and trees doesn’t mean we are separate or more important.

It is clear that being in nature makes us healthier, spending too much time indoors cuts us off from all the energy around us. (I have a whole blog post on how to connect to nature, here)

If you have read my other blog posts in this series, you will remember how I talked about fresh air and sunlight being crucial to our health. I also believe being in physical contact with the Earth itself is also important, with our bare feet. You might have heard of grounding (or Earthing) which provides some amazing benefits that I have personally experienced. In general, as much as you can be outside, the better. Of course, only if the weather is cooperating! (I have a whole blog post on Earthing, here)

Spiritual Teachers and Gurus

I think almost everyone who ventures into the world of spirituality has become hooked on many different gurus and spiritual teachers. In my book, I write about the importance of becoming your own guru. This is one step beyond learning about spiritual teachings and what this guru has to say vs. what that guru has to say.

It is important to keep and open mind when learning and researching, but also important to have a critical mind. It is also okay (and recommended!) to take what parts resonate with you and let the others go. No one guru will have all the right answers for you, no one philosophy or religion will have the perfect set of rules for you.

Become your own guru built upon the various things you resonate with. And keep in mind, this will most likely change over the years, so it’s important (and fun) to find new schools of thought that mesh well with the current ones that work for you. For example, I recently went down the Taoism rabbit hole and found parts that work well with my Pagan and Pantheistic views.

If you’re looking for a list of spiritual experts to start with, I have a blog post on that here.

Prayer and Meditation

Prayer and meditation are probably the most common practices related to spirituality. If you follow a specific religion, prayer is usually involved. If you are just spiritual or follow a general philosophy rather than a religion, meditation fits. Of course, anyone can do either.

I heard this somewhere but can’t remember where, but it has always stuck with me so I like to share it: Praying is talking to God, and meditation is listening to God. (insert The Universe, Higher Power, Nature, or Higher Self in place of God if you like).

Journaling

Journaling, along with meditation, are two of the best spiritual daily routine activities, particularly at night before you go to bed.

Part of what I do is creating and selling journals because I believe very strongly that journals are therapeutic in so many ways. I always say if you can do any one thing to improve your holistic health, it would be journaling. The act of writing your thoughts out on paper clears and calms your mind, brings on peaceful sleep, balances your emotions, improves your mental health, and opens up the lines of communication with your inner self, your higher self, and the universe. I go more in depth on the benefits of journals here.

Gratitude journals are even more powerful in manifesting a better life for yourself. I highly suggest you get one and write in it every day.

Below you will find my gratitude journal, clicking on the image will take you to Amazon if you are interested in starting a journaling practice!

If you need something more substantial, I have a Spiritual Health Workbook available! This makes it even easier to improve your spiritual health with the help of checklists, planner pages, journal pages, and more! Click the image below to check it out on my Etsy shop:

Download my free eBook on Spirituality here: What Is Spirituality?

The following are some amazing resources on all things Spirituality! Enjoy!

Hay House -Hay House is a publishing company dedicated to supporting positive change in the world by helping people to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Hay House offers products and resources that empower, educate, and inspire.

Gaia TV -Gaia TV is my personal favorite source for spiritual learning! They offer documentaries, films, series, and interviews that can’t be found anywhere else (most of their stuff is not even on YouTube!). Subjects range from aliens to yoga, from afterlife expriences to sustainability.

Shift Network -The Shift Network offers courses, events, and much more, on all topics pertaining to spirituality and empowering yourself through personal transformation.

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