Spirituality and Self Help » god

Six Ways Spirituality Can Boost Wellness

shimon — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 11:02:14 +0000

This guest post is contributed by Karen Anderson, who writes on the topic of online bible colleges . Karen welcomes your comments at her email : karen.anderson441@gmail.com
It’s a diverse world we live in, one that is filled with a number of religions and Gods.

Some religions like Buddhism are a way of life, others like Christianity and Islam believe in the teachings of one God, while others like Hinduism have a pantheon of Gods and rituals.

On the other hand there are the atheists and agnostics, the ones who believe that there is no God or spiritual being who is responsible for our destiny.

Spirituality however is something that is innate in each of us; it is godly and goes beyond the belief in God because even non-believers are spiritual. To define it in a nutshell, spirituality is the voice of your conscience, that tiny nudge from inside that tells you if you’re doing right or wrong.

So here is how you can use spirituality to boost your wellness quotient, the instant feeling when you wake up in the morning that tells you all is well with your world:

1Listen to your conscience: In short, don’t do anything that makes you feel guilty after it’s done. If you knowingly do something wrong, your conscience is going to prick you continuously until you apologize for your mistake or seek amends in an alternative way.

2Do unto others as you would have them do unto you: This sounds like something from the Bible, but it applies to practical life very well. If you don’t like being lied to or cheated, don’t do the same to other people. If you want respect and admiration, be prepared to offer them yourself. In general, people respond to the way you treat them, and treat you accordingly.

3Expect very little: I always teach my children that expectation is the root cause of disappointment. When you expect other people to make you happy or relieve your sadness, you’re only building a dependence that could become addictive and unhealthy. Instead, trust your own mind and heart and find constructive ways to build your self-esteem and confidence.

4Give in to your loved ones: No man is an island, and the relationships we form as we go through life say a lot about us. When you value your loved ones and treat them well, you forge deeper and more emotional bonds with them. And you’re not going to lose anything when you give in to them once in a while instead of getting your way all the time. Relationships are all about tolerance and understanding, not who’s right or wrong.

5Let go of everything that’s unhealthy and stressful: It may be a relationship that is going nowhere; it could be the food that you gorge on; or it could be a lifestyle that is hedonistic – whatever it is, it’s best you give it up for your own good. It may be difficult at first, but when you strive hard and hold on to your willpower and self-control, you’ll be very satisfied that you beat a personal demon.

6Set a side a few minutes every day for some quite time. A time you dedicate for breathing and nothing else. If you suddenly realize you’re worrying about something just say to yourself: this is my quiet time, if I’ll need to I’ll dedicate a few minutes to worrying later. This act will replenish your energy and help you cope with everyday life.

Getting to know your spiritual side and becoming more in tune with it helps you become a better person, someone with fewer base emotions and more good ones.

Spirit and Psychology: Ego and the Greater Self

shimon — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:30:44 +0000

This is a guest post by Paul Maurice Martin. Paul is the author of Original Faith: What Your Life Is Trying to Tell You. He has master’s degrees in religious studies and counseling and blogs at www.originalfaith.com. Paul is participating in the WOW! Women On Writing Blog Tour.

How can you tell the spiritual you from the psychological you? Both concepts refer to inner life and there’s certainly some overlap. However, recognizing these four major differences can be important to your personal development.

Egoism vs. the Greater Self – Egoism has myriad manifestations, but is basically a distorted view of self that produces negative effects on self and others. For example, it may lead us to place a higher priority on personal convenience or luxury than on the real needs of other people – or, in a self-deprecating mode, to judge ourselves more harshly than we would ever judge others.

Psychology works primarily with the ego and how it becomes elaborated as we defend and justify it. In contrast, the spiritual self is a greater self that’s as much a part of being human as egoism. It’s the self that keeps us in perspective and places our desires in the context of the greater good.

Past vs. Present – Psychology is about how our past lives on in our present. Included are old wounds from childhood that add energy to our egoistic desires and anxieties, and long established patterns of thought that are self defeating and harmful to others. Spirituality is about finding out what we’re like when we leave the past behind.

Complicated vs. Simple – Psychological work is complicated. It involves insight into past events, how they affected us, how this is reflected in our current patterns of thought and behavior, and unlearning those patterns. In contrast, spiritual techniques such as meditation and mindfulness are simple. The greater self to which they lead us is also simple in the best sense of the word.

Others vs. Life Itself or God – Psychology focuses primarily on how we experience ourselves in relation to other individuals. Although spirituality has profound implications for how we relate to others, its focus is on how we experience ourselves in relation to life as a whole, or, according to our beliefs, God.

Spiritual practices like sitting meditation and mindfulness techniques aren’t remedies for levels of anxiety, depression, or neurosis that seriously impact our day-to-day functioning and satisfaction with life. Whether we are able to do it on our own or with professional help, we need to do the heavy lifting of addressing any seriously self-limiting psychological issues that we face before spiritual experiences and practices can transform us into the person of our best intentions and our highest aspirations.

8 Obstacles To Using The Law Of Attraction Successfully

shimon — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:38:17 +0000

Have you ever tried to use the law of attraction to achieve something in your life? Have you ever failed?

Some people when they fail decide that “it is all just a big scam” or that they just weren’t “positive” enough. In this post I want to share eight impediments to using the law of attraction successfully.

By knowing the obstacles we can avoid them and deal with them if needed, it also provides another reason for the failure.

1 Negative thoughts- these are all the thoughts that negate the idea of the achievement. Let’s say you want a promotion at work or a better paying job , negative thoughts would be thinking about all the reasons why you won’t achieve it: The economy is in recession, your coworkers have a better connection with the boss, you don’t always succeed at your job and so on.

Clearly this way of thinking is the exact opposite of what you should be doing- thinking about all the reasons why you will succeed. It doesn’t matter what you think the “reality” is.

For example let’s take the last argument- you don’t always succeed at your job, think about all the managers you (If it didn’t happen to you it probably happened to one of your friends.) had who were less qualified then you. The “reality” is fluid it constantly changes according to your point of view. When you know you deserve it you’ll achieve it.

2 You’re not motivated enough- If I tell you that you have one year to make a million dollar or else I’ll kill you or your family and you can’t go to the cops will you achieve it? This is a radical example yet it shows that with the right amount of motivation you can achieve anything.

Find what motivates you, if for instance you want a luxury car go to the dealership and ask them to test drive it. Feel what it will be like when you’ll own such a car. Collect pictures of it and anything that will make you feel that you own it. Remind yourself why you want it. There are countless resources for motivation: books, seminars ,audio cassettes use them daily.

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing -- that’s why we recommend it daily. — Zig Ziglar

3Patience- Although you create your reality with your thoughts and emotions, it takes time. How much time? That depends on the ratio between beneficial and negative thoughts and upon your skills. It’s a simple math, the more positive thoughts believing that it is possible for you the quicker it will be achieved.

Another example is if you are working on changing your personality (e.g. become braver or more assertive) then you have to give yourself time to change.

4 Attachment- The word attachment means that you fear you’ll fail. You’re attached to the outcome rather than release it to the universe. The attachment doesn’t have to be a word or a phrase you say to yourself, sometimes it is just a feeling, a fear that you won’t achieve your desired outcome.

To release it remember that it is your job to decide what it is you want and do whatever you can to achieve it, after that the universe will do the rest.

5Doing nothing- It is not enough to visualize your desired outcome or to repeat affirmations. You have to help god help you. If you want to lose weight and you don’t eat less or exercise you’ll probably won’t lose weight. All the techniques should supplement they aren’t the main course of action. If it is difficult try a mentor or a coach someone that achieved it already or someone that will motivate you and give you tools to succeed.

In this video Will Smith talks about the law of attraction and about the importance of work.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pke9gEZfJXk

6Beliefs- Sometimes your believes get in the way of your outcome. For instance if you want to be rich but you believe that all rich people are greedy or that “money doesn’t grow on trees” and so on then even if you’ll make a lot of money you’ll find ways to get rid of it even quicker, after all you don’t want to be greedy right? You’ll need to work on those believes before you’ll see progress.

You can work on your beliefs on your own or use a professional.

7Asking god- Believe it or not asking god isn’t a good idea because:
a) He/she already knows what you want.
b) By asking you’re declaring that you don’t create your reality after all if you did you wouldn’t ask god for help right?
c) You implant the idea that you don’t have the things you ask for now.

What you can do is to feel and think as if the things you want are already present in your life. Don’t try to lie to yourself, if you’re trying to lose weight and you can’t say to yourself that you’re thin then at least you can say that you’re becoming thinner every day. Say it with emotion, really feel it and believe it.

8 Not wanting it enough- All the aforementioned impediments really come down to this one. All the obstacles are really excuses. If right now you’ll decide that you’re going to dedicate your life to become rich and really focus solely on this: you will go to seminars to get a financial education, you’ll find a mentor, you’ll work on your people skills etc, You will become rich without a doubt.

Yes it requires a sacrifice, you’ll probably have to watch less TV and maybe see your friends less often. So is it worth it? Your answer will determine your success.

Change Your Model – Change The World

shimon — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:12:41 +0000

We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are. — Anais Nin

Each of us operates out of a model of the world, a map if you like. We often forget that the map is not the territory and sometimes the map isn’t even accurate.

We have global beliefs like the belief that after periods of economic prosperity there must be a period of economic depression. Our “experts” predict that the situation won’t last. Such thoughts stem from the belief that everything which is good is too good to be true; They stem from beliefs in lack, struggle and poverty.

The opposite is also true. Once the situation is bad and the unemployment is at it’s peak, some say that it can’t get any worse and it’s bound to be better.

In both situations the forecasts are realized not because they are true but because that’s what the masses believe. We shape our reality with our beliefs and then we forget we did it. It’s important to concentrate on the things we want rather then the things we don’t because every thought creates our reality.

Good and bad

Furthermore the concept of good and evil can be explained with the same principles.
First of all no one is inherently evil. There are two basic emotions that contain all the other, love and fear. Fear creates separation and it can cause the personality to split into a situation where it seems that it is separated from god. However the fear is an illusion. Everything exists inside god even things we consider as bad, and therefore there can’t be a struggle between good and bad.

There is a reason for every act we do. Ask yourself what kind of feelings and beliefs does an “evil” person has? Bad people are people with a distorted point of view, a wrong map. They usually believe that they are helpless and that they aren’t loved. Once we believe in something our mind blocks any information that can contradict it. The truth is they are in pain even if they don’t show it. This is why these people are the ones needing the most love and affection. Of course that doesn’t mean that they don’t need to assume responsibility for their actions.

Judging

This is one of the reasons why you shouldn’t judge other people. However the major reason isn’t because it’s the spiritual thing to do, it’s because you deny your power to create with every judgment you make.

When you judge you declare that there is right and wrong; and when you declare it you declare that you don’t have freedom of choice because if something is wrong then you can’t choose it. when you state that you don’t have freedom of choice you are actually saying that you aren’t the creator of your reality and that someone else must be the creator. When you declare it you deny your power.

When you judge others it means that you believe that they can influence your reality somehow, it means that you need to invest energy and resist the things that you believe can hurt you or influence you. Everything you aren’t allowing in others you are not allowing yourself, and it’s related to a belief that limits you in some way. every judgment is related to your lack of love towards yourself, and it’s not related at all to the person or event your judging.

There is an exercise the demonstrates it and it can help you stop judging. Write on piece of paper things you don’t like about others or generally, like for instance greed, dishonesty, violence etc. Be completely honest with yourself.

Choose the reservations that seem the most important, and ask yourself why you don’t like it. After your answer keep asking why until you reach the source of your judgment. The source will be limiting believes like: I’m not loved, I’m helpless, I’m not allowed, there isn’t enough, I’m not good enough, I don’t deserve it, etc.

Once you know your limiting beliefs you can change them, simply understand they are not the truth, they are an incorrect part of your map.

Here is another great way to change limiting beliefs.