A COMPLETE GUIDE TO SPIRITUALITY

Hello again beautiful readers of the internet! Today, I am sharing with you a beginner’s guide to spirituality. So, what is spirituality, what are the different practices, the positive impacts, and my tips to start your journey. This world is actually new to me but, it has truly changed the perspective I have on myself and of the world around me. I definitely have a long way to go and still have a lot to learn but I thought I would share with you what I know so far.

Now, if this is something that interests you, then keep on reading! Don’t forget to check out my previous post: REVIEW // Sunshine Skin Tint Clean Foundation by MILK MAKEUP.

What is spirituality?

Spirituality is a broad concept that encapsulates different approaches. It’s not necessarily linked to religion but is often a part of it. In general, it includes a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves.

According to Christina Puchalski, Director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, “spirituality is the aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek and express meaning and purpose and the way they experience their connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred.”

On another hand, it is also the belief that everything around us releases energy (frequencies or vibrations) and that you can use this energy for your personal growth, practice, or to choose what you want to release to the world in return. Spirituality actually bases itself on the basic premise of the “law of attraction”. This means, whatever energy you put out into the world, you will receive that same energy.

To me, spirituality is about being the best version of yourself, spreading positive energy, and connecting to your inner self, the universe, and others around you.

Different spiritual practices

Manifestation

Spirituality englobes a variety of practices that allows you to express your sense of connection to yourself and to the universe. A very popular one is manifestation. This discipline basically entails expressing what you desire. Generally, manifestation works by thinking, feeling, and acting. So, you think about what you want to achieve, you enact the emotions of how it feels to get it and you act towards this goal. This practice is closely based on the law of attraction, which means that you need to match the energy you want to receive in order to reach your personal goal.

Journaling

Journaling is another popular practice that involves writing down whatever goes on in your mind, what you are grateful for, and sometimes, your manifestations. It’s a therapeutic exercise that allows you to transfer all of your thoughts and emotions from your mind to a piece of paper. It allows you to label emotions and acknowledge traumatic events and hence helps you make sense of everything. This practice is particularly useful to become more intune with yourself and discover your true person.

Connecting to Nature

The next exercise that helps in spiritual growth is spending time in Nature. Spirituality is all about connecting to the universe so, spending time in nature allows you to connect with mother earth and stay grounded. It’s also a wonderful way to disconnect from the world of the internet and quiet down your mind.

Praying

If you closely link spirituality to religion, then praying is another way you can express your spirituality. Notably, you can do that by connecting to a specific god or goddess and create rituals around them. It all depends on you.

Meditation

Another common spiritual exercise is meditation. Meditiation is a practice where you sit or lie down and focus on your mind, body, and soul. It helps you achieve a certain level of self-awareness and facilitates relaxation. It helps you be completely aware of what’s around you without your mind thinking and helps you look things into perspective. Basically, it helps you to look at yourself from an outside and objective point of view.

Yoga and body movement

The sixth exercise to help you express your spirituality is body movement and yoga. Body movement is a wonderful practice that helps you heighten your intuition and deepen the connection with your body. The body can hold on to so many emotions and trauma, and body exercises can help you feel into your body and release you from any tension. On another hand, yoga is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices that originated from India and that aims at controlling and stilling the mind. I am not well-rounded in this area, in fact, I do not practice Yoga but according to a lot of articles I read, the point of this discipline is self-realization and liberating the mind.

Witchcraft

Finally, witchcraft is another way you can convey your spirituality. By definition, witchcraft is a nature-based craft where you use the energy of natural elements to change something specific in your life or to achieve a specific goal. It’s basically the art of change. Even though it’s associated with paganism or any other religion, it can also be a spiritual practice that allows you to connect to the universe and discover yourself. This is particularly what I use it for.

The positive impacts of spirituality

Improves your mental health

First of all, delving into spirituality helps you improve your mental well-being by boosting your self-confidence, reducing stress levels, and helping you make sense of your experiences. It’s a practice that allows you to look deeper into yourself and teach you about forgiveness, acceptance, and hope. Moreover, some studies suggest that spirituality—namely mindfulness meditation, prayer, and yoga—can alleviate the effects of depression and anxiety. Based on my personal experience, it is the case. In fact, I started my spiritual journey as a way to heal myself mentally and emotionally.

Reduces stress

Second of all, practicing spirituality is a productive way to reduce stress levels. It helps you calm your mind and focus your energy on something positive. Spirituality also presents numerous activities that are soothing and that allow you to blow off steam, such as dancing or cleansing breaths.

Improves your physical well-being

One of the positive impacts of spiritiuality is notably the ability to improve your physical health. Like I priorly mentioned, your body is capable of holding a lot of pain, tension, and emotions, affecting your physical health. Exercises such as meditation, yoga, and body movement can alleviate physical pain and release the negative energy that your body holds onto. But also, any act of physical exercice can have a positive impact on your body and health.

Improves your connection to your body and inner self

Finally, spirituality helps you heighten your intuition and hence, helps you become more intune with your higher self, your inner child, and your body. In a way, a spiritual journey is a self-discovery journey, helping you know more about who you truly are and your true purpose. This is why it helps improve the connection you have with yourself.

Beginner’s tips to spirituality

Make it your own

As you may have noticed, spirituality presents a variety of practices and beliefs, some of which I didn’t even tackle in this post. So, it’s always important to make it your own. At the end of the day, it is your journey to self-healing, not anyone else’s. You can do that by choosing the practice that best fits you, and that works well with your lifestyle. Withcraft is one that truly resonated with me but I know, may not be for everyone.

Journal your process

The second tip I have for you to start your journey is to journal your experience. Like I mentioned above, journaling is pretty much part of several spiritual practices. It can help you express yourself, but also can be extremely helpful to track your progress in your journey. To see concretly how you evolved as an individual.

Understand why you want to start

Finally, it is important to understand why you want to start this journey. Again, spirituality is a broad concept that encapsulates different approaches and beliefs. It also presents numerous practices. Hence, knowing why you want to start the journey will help you decide which approach you want to follow and what you want to with it, in terms of discipline.