When we hear people talking about spirituality and their spiritual side, we tend to think that what they’re referring to is their religion. And that is what many of them actually are talking about but it’s not exclusively what the word means anymore.
Your spiritual side doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with religion. These days, spirituality is more about connecting with yourself on a deeper, less physical level so that you can try and find peace amidst the craziness of daily life.
Spirituality is not about searching for something supernatural to believe in or trying to seek guidance from a higher power so much as it is about trying to teach yourself to acknowledge that there is more to your existence than what you can see and hear and feel.
Even if you’re a skeptic, which I also undisputedly am, give this a little bit of consideration before you dismiss it. Your thoughts are not physical, your emotions are not physical. Your memories, your aspirations and your interests are not physical.
These things may be generated for you by physical means, it all comes from your brain at the end of the day but your consciousness is not something that is rooted in the physical world, it’s a manifestation of everything that makes up you.
Accessing your spiritual side allows you to become one with this part of you, the ethereal aspect of yourself that can allow you to alter your perception of the physical world so that it can no longer hurt you.
Still with me? I know it probably still sounds like nonsense but it’s worth trying. And it’s still important to note that this is not an attempt to push any religion on you, there is nothing specific about this and it’s not related to any institutions or organizations.
It’s all about you. It’s a personal journey of self-discovery so that you can better understand yourself, how you truly feel about the world, what you truly want from the world and how you can use your spiritual self to maximise your enjoyment of the universe.
Let’s think about a few ways you can do that:
Seek Knowledge of Spirituality
As I’ve already said, this is a personal journey but that doesn’t mean that how others have undergone their journey can’t inform the decisions you make and can’t help to guide you on your own path.
So many people who are in touch with their spiritual side are willing to share their stories and you should seek out as many of these stories as you can because they could open your eyes to things you’ve never thought of before.
And yes, this also means that you should do your research on different religions. In all likelihood if you’re not religious now and you don’t believe in a higher power per se, your mind is unlikely to be changed but those who have found religion have gone on a similar journey.
So find stories, they’re everywhere. You can find them online, you can read books about spirituality, you can talk to friends, and always approach the stories with an open mind. This will help you to be more accepting of thoughts about your own spiritual side.
Things might happen for you in an unexpected way, which you might question the validity of in the moment, but if you know that others have gone through the same things and come out the other side with a renewed spiritual presence, you’ll be more open to it.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is not an exclusively spiritual practice, it’s something that a lot of people do to help them better deal with things like depression, anxiety and concentration issues that might be plaguing them.
And it’s very effective in that regard, but what it also helps you to do is to be more present and be more aware of your thoughts and your feelings and how your own mental state is affecting your perception of the world.
This is why it is such a beneficial thing when you are going on a journey of spiritual discovery because you need to feel that deep sense of presence. You need to be capable of avoiding distractions from the physical world to be one with the spiritual world.
Mindfulness is not easy. Many people think that all you have to do is sit quietly for 20 minutes at a time and then you’re being mindful but that’s not the case. It’s a process that involves concentration and it takes time and practice to master it.
Analyze Your Personal Values
This is the really important thing and the real key to tapping into your spiritual side. You can find peace in your understanding of joy and love. Think about where joy comes from for you and what the source of your love is.
What gives you joy? What makes you feel your most fulfilled and your most satisfied? Maybe it’s through other people, through a conversation in which you connect with someone and understand their interests and their passions.
Maybe you get joy through being productive. Through doing something, making something and feeling a sense of accomplishment because you’ve completed a task or you’ve improved upon a skill.
Think about your future and what you would like to achieve in the future. Are these desires based on family? Are they based on how you can make a difference in the world or just in the lives of the people around you?
If you can figure out these things for yourself and how you can alter your behaviour and your thinking so that you can always have access to joy and love, then you have found your spiritual side. You have transcended your physical limitations and allowed your spirit to guide your happiness.
Don’t be Afraid to Have Fun
I know up to this point I’ve made this whole thing sound like a very serious process, but you should remember that at the end of the day the goal of all of this is to overcome all of the things that are impeding you from joy and fulfillment.
You want to get the most out of life as you can while you’re here and you should always be trying to find ways to have fun. And this journey can have a lighthearted element to it too. Read your horoscope.
You don’t have to take it seriously, but it’s usually a fun thing to do and maybe it can give you some interesting insights. Find out what your spirit animal is, research the history of superstition and read folklore.
Spirituality has been around for a long time and it has a history of interesting, introspective ideas but also silly and tongue-in-cheek outlooks. See it all, learn about it all and get a wider, more enjoyable picture.
I’ll reiterate this because I think it’s important. Don’t take anything supernatural from this and don’t take it as a push towards organized religion. It’s about working through your own mental barriers to being happy, and that’s worth exploring no matter what you believe.