One of the misconceptions about the term ‘spiritual growth’ is that it is something to do with taking up some kind of religious doctrine in the way in which you conduct your life and others confuse it with a person becoming ‘born again’ and following God’s path from that point on their life but nothing could be further from the truth.
Whilst some people will indeed point to their own spiritual growth as being tied in to some kind of religious pursuit, ‘spiritual growth’ as a term in itself simply means the process of becoming aware of your inner consciousness or being, which transcends the usual boundaries of your mind and inner ‘ego’ to realise the person inside who you actually are.
A Journey Of Self-Discovery
Spiritual growth is about reaching out to and connecting with your inner soul and is a method of becoming more harmonious with life around us, develops our own feelings of inner power and strength and leads us to live happier lives and to take more responsibility for our own actions. Whilst most people need to find some time for solitude as they go about this important journey, it does not mean that all of a sudden we feel the urge to go off to some secluded place miles away from anybody in order to ‘find ourselves’ nor does it mean that we start acting or behaving strangely or neglect any of our existing responsibilities. It’s just about discovering more about ourselves as a person in order to grow and to lead a balanced life which not only works in harmony with our feelings, our physical being and our mind but with our soul (or spirit) also.
How Can I Practice Spiritual Growth?
There are many different ways in which you can go on a voyage of discovery into your own inner being. You could try reading spiritually uplifting books by other people who have been on similar journeys and you should think deeply about the things you read and see if there is any information that you could use to improve your own journey. Our minds are so bombarded with information from all sides these days that it’s important to learn techniques as to how to make your mind quiet for at least some part of each day, even if it’s just for 15 minutes or so. Meditation can often help you achieve this and there are plenty of resources out there which can help to teach you how to meditate.
Think about things that captivate your mind and your imagination and try to discover what it is that makes you feel a heightened sense of consciousness and the feeling of being truly ‘alive’. Many people have suggested that considering yourself as a spirit who happens to have a physical body as opposed to a body with a spirit can have dramatically powerful and positive effects on the way you view both yourself and the world around you.
It’s also important to conduct your life positively. Yes it’s true that you’re not always going to have a life that runs completely smoothly but you should train yourself so that as soon as any negative thoughts or feelings enter into your mind, you consciously take the decision to replace them with positive ones. This will instil a feeling of calm and happiness within you. It makes perfect sense when you analyse the fact that it’s not outer circumstances that dictate your mood and feelings. Your mood and feelings can only be dictated to you by you, yourself. In accepting that other people are different and that they’ll have different views and values to you, you’ll also be developing tolerance, tact, patience and consideration for those around you that will also instil a feeling of inner calm within you.
It doesn’t matter what kind of life you’ve led up until now. Perhaps, you have run your life in a very selfish manner thus far or perhaps your whole life career has been motivated by financial gains? It really doesn’t matter what your past has been. Each and every one has a spirit or soul, call it what you will, that can be tapped into at any time. It doesn’t take a lot of effort either or any semblance of deep intelligence. It’s there lying just beneath the surface of each and every person on the planet and once you begin to explore this aspect of your being in more depth, maybe you will find so many things about yourself, things that had remained concealed by old thought patterns, outdated beliefs and negative habits.