More than more than one-third of the American population is chronically ill and helping people through a spiritual sense of self is really one of the oldest forms of healing in our history. It has been practiced in every culture of our world throughout history. Shaman, medicine man, spiritual advisors, healers, the names can vary, but the outcome is the same; healing through spirituality.
What is Spirituality
Everyone seems to have their own meanings and interpretations for spirituality and religion. Is there a difference? Well, there is a great difference between spirituality and religion. Religion is as state of mind, while spirituality is a state of being. There can be a wide variety of definitions to this question, and in fact, no one definition can explain spirituality. Spirituality can identified with experiencing a deep-seated sense of meaning and purpose in life. It is an inner sense of something greater than oneself. Spirituality can include faith, prayer, meditation, a sense of meaning to life, a sense of closeness with a higher power, and interactions with others that reflect upon spiritual awareness.
Research in Healing with Spirituality
Research has confirmed over and over that people who have a sense of spirituality recover more quickly from disease, surgeries and mental health issues. In fact, people with a strong spiritual base have better health and live longer lives. Studies suggest that spirituality affects the immune system and its effects on emotional well being.
Illness requires healing whether it is physical, mental or spiritually. Illness is no more than an opportunity to grow spirituality. Healing from the spiritual perspective can be the difference between feeling better or being cured. Life is a continuous journey of discovery and development and requires experiences to learn and grow. Depression, anxiety, fear, low self-esteem and physical illness provide us with the opportunity to learn and grow. Without these experiences in life, we have no great experiences to learn from.
Cultivating Your Spirituality
Spirituality begins with your relationship with yourself. It is nurtured by your relationships with others, and culminates in a sense of purpose in life. Realizing this, two of the best ways to cultivate your spirituality are to improve your self-esteem, and to foster relationships with those who are important to you. This can lead to a deepened sense of your place in life and in the greater good. Other ways to cultivate your spirituality is to try prayer, meditation and relaxation techniques to access your inner wisdom and help focus your thoughts. Some people find spiritual help by seeking out a trusted adviser or friend who has had similar life experiences or who walks a path that you would like to walk. Reading inspirational stories or essays to help evaluate different philosophies of life helping you be more opened to new experiences.
Using spirituality to help heal can bring a person a new sense of meaning, resulting in reawakening of hope and peace of mind, enabling people to accept and live with problems not yet resolved. It provides opportunities and encouragement to make sense of and obtain meaning.
