Stress And Spiritually

Taking the path less traveled and exploring the connection of stress and spirituality can lead to a clearer life purpose, better personal relationships and enhanced stress management skills.

Certain tools to reduce stress are very tangible: Exercising more, eating better, talking it out with friends. But there is another tool for helping you manage difficult times that can be just as beneficial...embracing your spirituality.

What Is Spirituality?

Spirituality has many definitions, but at its core spirituality helps to give our lives purpose. Spirituality arises from your connection with yourself, others and a higher power.

It's the development of your personal value system and your search for meaning in life.

For many, this takes the form of religious observance, prayer, meditation or a belief in a higher power.

For others, it can be found in nature, music, art or a secular community. Stress and spirituality is different for everyone.

There Are Many Benefits Of Spirituality. It Can Help You:

• Focus on personal goals. Cultivating your spirituality may help uncover what's most meaningful in your life.

  By clarifying what's important to you, you can eliminate stress by focusing less on the unimportant things that can sometimes seem to consume you.

• Connect to the world. The more you feel you have a purpose in the world, the less solitary you feel — even when you're alone. This can lead to an inner peace during difficult times.

• Release control. When you feel part of a greater whole, you realize that you aren't responsible for everything that happens in life. You can share the burden of tough times as well as the joys of life's blessings with those around you.

• Expand your support network. Whether you find spirituality in a church, mosque or synagogue, in your family, or in walks with a friend through nature, this sharing of spiritual expression can help build relationships.

• Lead a healthier life. Some research seems to indicate that people who consider themselves spiritual are often better able to cope with stress and heal from an illness or substance abuse addiction.

The best way to uncover your spirituality is to engage in self-discovery.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to discover what experiences and values define you:

• What are your important relationships?
• Where have you found comfort?
• What gives you hope?
• What brings you joy?
• What are your three most memorable experiences?
• If you have survived losses in your life, how have you done so?
• What do you believe will happen to you when your physical life ends, and how do you feel about that?
• Describe a time when you felt comfortable and all was right with the world.
• Describe a time when your life was filled with a sense of meaning or you were filled with a sense of awe.

Armed with this information, you can focus your search for spirituality on the relationships and activities in life that have helped define you as a person and those that continue to inspire your personal growth.

Cultivating Your Spirituality - Stress And Spirituality

Spirituality begins with your relationship with yourself, 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.

Looking Inward - Stress And Spirituality

• Try prayer, meditation and relaxation techniques to access your inner wisdom and help focus your thoughts.

• Keep a journal to help you express your feelings and record your progress.

• Seek out a trusted adviser or friend — preferably someone who has had similar life experiences — who can help you discover what's important to you in life. Sometimes others may have insights that you haven't been able to discover on your own.

• Read inspirational stories or essays to help you evaluate different philosophies of life.

• Talk to others whose spiritual lives you admire. Ask questions to find out how they found their way to a fulfilling spiritual life.

The RECOVERY NETWORK has TWO ebooks that are powerful resources if you are wanting to draw closer to God in stressful times.

They are:

 

 

You'll discover how your future is created in the present when you SEE
"how to" release God's power in your NEW recovery plan.

Keep Coming Back!

Robert and Shelley
Founders/Recovery Network