Spirituality

What is spirituality?

 Spirituality is a vast concept with room for many perspectives. In general, it means a connection to something higher than ourselves. As human beings, we spend most of our time in a state of lower consciousness. What we are principally concerned with is our own selves, our survival, and our success. Many of us access higher consciousness at some moments, like late night or early morning. It is the state of imagination, empathy, and impartial judgment where we lose hold of our egos.

Finding spirituality

 Spirituality can be found in almost anything. Finding spirituality in something can make us feel enlightened and can give rise to strong emotions and feelings. In some cases, people would be willing to sacrifice nearly anything to maintain their spiritual experience integrity.

 In today’s fleeting times, it is difficult to learn how to enjoy solitude, thus starting meditation can seem daunting to many people. Meditation is all about the art of doing nothing. When you sit down to meditate, all the worries seem to fade away. It’s a therapeutic exercise that helps us achieve a state of higher consciousness.

 Another perspective through which we can see spirituality is breath awareness. All the breathing exercises focus on the inhaling and exhaling aspects of the breath. According to Lord Buddha, breath is the gateway to the present. Breath awareness helps in increasing the awareness of our mind, body, and emotions. Many studies have proved that focusing on our breath every day for a few minutes changes our brain’s formal structure. It increases the production of neural cells, improves focus and willpower, and contributes to our overall mental well-being.

The true meaning of spirituality

 Spirituality can have various meanings, but mostly, it refers to tapping into one’s subconscious mind. The most common methods to do so are breathing exercises such as box breathing and yogic breathing. These exercises increase emotional intelligence and make a person more inclined towards spirituality. Religions may have different customs and practices, but when it comes to spirituality, they more or less converge at the same point that is a higher consciousness of the self.

Spirituality and Buddhism

Buddhism is about us, our mind, and our suffering. There isn’t any God, although people still ponder upon numerous views as to who Buddha was. Although, it was certain that he was neither a deity nor a divine being. Anyone can follow his path and attain enlightenment. It is not about salvation, rather about travelling on the path of goodness. Finding the true meaning of suffering and embarking upon the spiritual path becomes the purpose of life. This can be achieved by taming the mind. Thus, meditation becomes the most important remedy. According to the teachings of Buddhism, there is no saviour other than self. Buddhism identifies reality based on spirituality, refraining from material wealth. Buddhism asserts spirituality not as God but as the mind. One does not need to adopt any faith. What’s needed is merely introspection on direct life experiences rather than opinions.

Spirituality and mental health

It is known that numerous practices suggested fostering spirituality are akin to those suggested for improving mental welfare. This is due to the link between mental and spiritual welfare, which tethers both into affecting one another. Comparing both:

●      Spirituality is searching for a purposeful relationship with an entity bigger than oneself, resulting in acceptance, contentment, gratitude, positivity, and peace.

●      Mental health fosters a positive state of mind, broadening one’s perspective in accepting and harbouring a link to an entity bigger than oneself.

Thus, mental health and spirituality go hand-in-hand yet differ greatly, forming an amalgamation that results in mental welfare.

Written by Kaustubh and Adnan