Spiritual Well Being And It Benefits. 

Spirituality and faith bring clarity to life. Spiritual well being goes beyond just religion, it involves finding purpose and meaning in life and understanding the values, beliefs, and morals that guide your actions. According to BetterUp 

•  Spiritual wellness is not Being a deeply religious person. It’s having a relationship with yourself, your heart, and your soul (essence of your being and life purpose)

• Spiritual wellness is not going to a worship place on a regular basis. It’s having a relationship with The Divine (God).

• Spiritual wellness is not forcing a set belief system on self and expecting others to follow. It’s having a relationship with people around you and, and relating to your environment and culture.

• Spiritual Wellness is not living life according to rigid rules and cultural norms. It’s experiencing life according to your life purpose and values.

• Spiritual wellness is not doing what you want to do, and not caring for what others think because your way and belief system is the right way to live. It’s Committing to your life purpose, values, and faith. Surrendering to “what is” (anything that is here in the present moment)

Your spiritual health has a strong connection with your whole health hence anything that affects your spiritual health affects your health. Spiritual practices help find a deeper meaning of life which helps us become a better person.

Spirituality can improve the quality of life of people suffering chronic illness.

Dr. Dunn’s research, presented at the conference, showed that just three 45-minute sessions with a chaplain were helpful for people with serious illness. But the benefits aren’t limited to those who are ill.

“At a given time during a health crisis or time of acute stress, core spiritual needs will emerge, and the chaplain identifies what that core spiritual need is,” Dunn says. It may be the need for meaning and direction, renewed self-worth, or reconciliation. “I was stunned at the numbers and intensity of some of the psycho-spiritual progress these patients made,” she says.

Five benefits of looking after your mental health

• Spirituality can reduce the risk of depression and isolation. It has a positive effect on health and well being. According to research, it  enhances subjective well being and improves the quality of life of those suffering chronic illness.  

• It can restore a lost sense of purpose and help people find meaning in life. 

• Spirituality provides a sense of hope and reason of living which counters the hopelessness linked with depression. “There is this common human tendency to be stuck in the moment, but reminiscing about a time in life that was happier or in which they were stronger can take [people] out of the moment,” says the Rev. Kevin Massey, the vice president for mission and spiritual care at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois.

“Even though they are still in the storm, the anchor is connected to something else,” he says.

• Spirituality improves your immune system. According to  Kelly Turner, PhD, a New York City–based cancer researcher and the author of Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds. “It’s not what people believe in but whether they had a daily practice that made the difference,” she says. “When you are in deep prayer or meditation, your fight-or-flight response goes off and your rest-and-repair turns on. This allows your immune system to supercharge your whole body and is incredibly healing, whether you are under stress or have an actual illness or are trying to prevent illness or stress.”

• Spirituality enhances your cognitive ability like the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience  “When you give up to God or a higher power,” says Gail Gross, PhD, a family psychologist in Houston, “you gain a sense of control.” And that has a positive effect on health and wellness, including cognitive abilities.

“You can relax and are not distracted by negative thoughts,” she explains. “Your blood pressure levels go down and blood flow to the brain increases, so your memory gets better and your thinking becomes clearer.”

According to Rocket Wellness, The University of Toledo, here are the five tips on improving your spiritual wellness.

• Find your purpose. Spiritual wellness is not solely defined by the religion you follow. It’s described as discovering a sense of purpose and meaning in your life. Once you determine what drives you in life and what you are passionate about, focus energy into those respective activities.

• Explore your spiritual core. If someone asked you to describe yourself in 3 words, what would you say? Many individuals would struggle with this activity. Finding who you are as a person or striving toward becoming the person you want to be are exercises which spiritually well persons partake in.

•  Meditate and be mindful. Meditation and mindfulness are two practices which can help to build your spiritual wellness, as well as emotional wellness. Meditation can aid in relaxation and distressing, which can help you to keep a clear and level head. Mindfulness teaches multiple beneficial skills, specifically geared toward living your life with less judgement.

•  Look for patterns in your life. Assessing different occurrences which happen in your life frequently can help you to gain control over them. Do you and your significant other fight over the same thing every week? Do you find yourself over-indulging in various aspects of your life, such as with food or shopping? Recognizing these patterns and looking deeper into why they are happening can help you to achieve greater spiritual wellness. 

• Take time to travel. Whether it’s a day-trip or the trip of a lifetime, traveling can help you to become more in-sync with yourself and who you are as a person. Traveling often allows for time for relaxation and self-reflection, which can help to improve your spiritual wellness.