Spiritual Solutions

Spiritual growth can be a Herculean task in a world defined by power, money, and influence. Modern conveniences, electronic equipment, gadgets and tools, and entertainment through television, magazines, and internet have predisposed us to confine our attention mostly to physical needs and wants. This has resulted in our concepts of self-worth and self-meaning being muddled, so we find it difficult to strike a balance between the material and spiritual aspects of our lives.

To grow spiritually is to look inward

It’s important to look closely and reflect on your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and motivations. Periodically, examine your experiences, the decisions you make, the relationships you have, and the things you engage in.

This will provide useful insights on your life goals, on your good traits which you must sustain and the bad traits you have to discard. It will also give you clues on how to act, react, and conduct yourself in the midst of any situation.

Learn the art of introspection; all it takes is the courage and the willingness to seek the truths that are within you. Here are some guidelines when you undertake introspection: be objective, be forgiving of yourself and others, and focus on your areas for improvement.

To grow spiritually is to develop your potential

It has been said that you are a spiritual being going through a human experience. A recurring theme in both Eastern and Western teachings is mastery of the self, where the needs of the body are recognized but placed under the needs of the spirit. Values, morality, spiritual laws, experiences and good works or service provide the blueprint to ensure the growth of the spiritual being.

In psychology, realizing one’s full potential is to self-actualize. Abraham Maslow identified several human needs: physiological, security, belongingness, estemm, cognitive, aesthetic, self-actualization, and self-transcendence.

William James earlier categorized these needs into three: Material, emotional, and spiritual. When you have satisfied the basic physiological and emotional needs, spiritual or existential needs come next. Achieving each need leads to the total development of the individual.

Perhaps the difference between the approaches of the Eastern and Western religions and psychology is the end of self-development. Both Western and Eastern teachings see that self-development is a means toward serving God, while the psychological view is that self-development is an end in itself.

To grow spiritually is to search for meaning

Religions such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam that believe in the existence of God suppose that the ultimate purpose of the human life in to serve the Creator of all life. Several theories in psychology proose that we ultimately give meaning to our own lives.

Whether we believe that life’s meaning is pre-determined or self-directed, to grow in spirit is to realize that we do not merely exist. We may not consciously know the meaning of our lives at birth, but we gain knowledge and wisdom from our interactions with people and from our actions and reactions to the situations we are in.

As we discover this meaning, there are certain beliefs nad values that we affirm or reject. Our lives have purpose. This purpose puts all our physical, emotional, and intellectual potentials into use, sustains us during trying times, and gives us something to look forward to – a goal to achieve, a destination to reach. A person without purpose or meaning is like a drifting ship at sea.

To grow spiritually is to recognize interconnections

The concept of our relatedness to all creation, live and inanimate, is stressed by all religions. Moreover, deity-centered religions speak of the relatonship between humans and a “higher being.” On the other hand, science focuses on our link to other living things through evolution. This relatednes is clearly seen in the concept of ecology, the interaction between living and non-living things. In psychology, connectedness is a characteristic of self-transcendence, the highest human need according to Maslow.

Recognizing your connection to all things makes you more humble and respectful of people, animals, plants, and things in nature. It makes you appreciate everything around you. It moves you to go beyond your comfort zone and reach out to other people, and to become a steward of all other things around you.

To grow spiritually is a process

Spiritual growth is a process; thus to grow in spirit is a day-to-day encounter. We win some, we lose some, but the important thing is that we learn, and from this knowledge, further spiritual growth is made possible.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at Spiritual Solutions.

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