Spirituality - how being in touch with spirituality creates healing

[Pumpkinella]

Fellow peers,

After a brief conversation with a peer on the forums I was inspired to start a thread on spirituality.

For some, spirituality is a very important aspect of the human being and can be a source of great healing, comfort and peace.

I am interested to hear about peoples spiritual experiences and to share with each other on how spirituality has helped us grow and learn more about ourselves. For example you can discuss spiritual leaders that have helped you, quotes, experiences, philosophies etc.

I want to also welcome any form of spirituality and belief that has generated a sense of space and peace. Don't be shy!

I will start with a quote by Alan Watts (Buddhist/zen philosopher). This helped me challenge my beliefs on being not good enough, not better enough, not as I should be:

"What I am really saying is that you don't need to do anything, because if you see yourself in the correct way, you are all as much extraordinary phenomenon of nature as trees, clouds, the patterns in running water, the flickering of fire, the arrangement of the stars, and the form of the galaxy. You are all just like that, and there is nothing wrong with you at all."

Looking forward to hearing from you.

[jaz28]

Hey there!

Love this post! Keeping in touch with my spirituality helps me stay sane.

personally, I love to mediate and practice tarot. And journal. And of course, express gratitude! This helps to ground me.

jaz

[Petal22]

Hi Pumpkinella,

What a great thread!

Im practicing reiki I have done level 1 and am aiming for level 2 next year…… this practice is amazing.

I also enjoy meditation, I found that meditation was one of the things that got me over line with mastering my OCD…… it taught me that I’m not my thoughts but the watcher of my thoughts… ❤️🙏🦋

[Anna1991]

Great thread!

I have found buddhism and meditation very helpful during my recovery. One of the best books I read was "Buddhism plain and simple" by Steve Hagen which introduced me to the concepts of mindfulness and meditation. I have also attended guided meditation classes and regular yoga classes for 10 years, which have a huge impact on my mental wellbeing. I also read the tao te ching, and keep a copy in the house.

Everyone would benefit from a little more mindfulness in their lives; particularly at the current time.

[The_Bro]

Hi there Pumpkinella

What a great post. I totally agree with the philosophy of self respect, self love and acts of kindness towards others. The latter is quite contagious!

If I can add one other description of mindfulness - it can be described as 'simply paying attention'.

By thinking carefully about what we are actually doing, even if its nothing at all, our mind is far less likely to wander, especially into negative thoughts. I try to do this a lot.

It is great to see others making their contribution to this thread.

All the very best, The Bro

[smallwolf]

Hi. I think this could be an interesting thread. I will just tag this thread for the moment... And offer my thoughts a bit later.

[Pumpkinella]

So lovely to hear from everyone.

I find it so interested that spirituality as a form of healing for mental health is often linked to mindfulness and meditation. Staying present, seeing our thoughts as only thoughts. I loved The Bros description of mindfulness - simply paying attention. It is just that simple.

We are not taught to naturally give in to such simplicity in living - things for us must always be treated with scepticism, doubt, endless analysis. I like a practice that says that this is not necessary. It is simply - pay attention and don't follow ANY idea/concept.

I have been listening to a lot of Alan Watts - he is a bit hard to follow at times but can come up with some wonderful little statements. One of my favourites yesterday was: "living through your thoughts is like going to dinner and eating the menu instead of the meal"

Another humorous one was "You don't TRY to remain in the present moment, you must realise there is no escaping it!" That's all there ever is!

I would love to hear more about the experiences people have had as well and any particular words that struck/changed them.

Anna I am a huge fan of the Tao Te Ching and have a copy as well. What is one of your favourite passages?

[therising]

Hi Pumpkinella

What a truly beautiful invitation you've put out here. So incredibly thought provoking 🙂

I've found spirituality to be a bit of a rabbit hole experience; the more channels or angles you explore, the more you find. When you hit on a particular channel of interest or learning, it can be so fascinating until all of a sudden another appears and it's like off you go again, in a whole new direction.

Being a mind/body/spirit sort of gal, I find all 3 angles are so intertwined. How things impact us mentally, physically (biologically/chemically) and naturally can offer an holistic view of how we tick. Without one of those 3 factors being taken into account, it's like you can be getting only part or parts of the over all picture. May sound a bit weird but an example that comes to mind is when someone hears (for the 1st time) what sounds like a voice in their head saying to them, during a time of overwhelming stress or depression, 'Everything will be okay. You need to learn to let go and trust'. Report such an incident to a psychologist and they may consider the onset of schizophrenia, report it to a spiritual coach and they may consider a mind opening to clairaudience. Wondering about what this person heard, while considering all angles, and it may become clearer as to exactly what's going on. Trigger an open minded person to believe they're going crazy and they'll most likely come to believe it. Lead them to to wonder what life would be like if they learned and practiced letting go and this may bring about a different result. Perhaps they may even begin to trust what naturally comes to mind (as long as it's positive/productive).

I think this is what I love most about spirituality, it invites a person to open their mind to all possibilities 🙂

[Pumpkinella]

Hi therising,

Thanks for the great insight. The voice in the head is such an interesting thing to observe. I totally agree that it can be seen as some enemy to be "treated" or conversely, understood not as a madness but as a normal part of the human condition. Just because that voice can turn negative does not make one "crazy" - just human.

What you said about interpreting this as schizophrenia reminded me of something Eckhart Tolle pointed out. He was describing a person in the street talking out loud to themselves, normally in an agitated kind of way (we have all seen a scene like this) and mostly our reaction is to think that they have lost touch with reality in some way. Eckhart points out that the person doing this is simply saying his internal dialogue out loud. A dialogue not really different to the one we all have, constantly running in our minds.

I think it is all in the art of letting go as you say, letting our minds be without attaching ourselves to it. Understanding it is one part - one phenomenon in the mind/body/spirit rather than forming our complete reality. I believe part of human evolution is to realise this.

[Lillylane]

A great thread. Thank you for starting it.

I’ve been feeling moved to connect more with the natural environment. While that seems like an outward, physical thing, it feels to me like a spiritual thing.

It’s great reading everyone’s thoughts and insight.

Lillylane