Would you jump into your car for a cross-country trip without first checking the tires or giving it an oil change? Would you expect yourself to complete a marathon in the absence of any prior conditioning or training? Or expect your teeth to last a lifetime without regular trips to the dentist? Of course not. You understand there are certain steps you must take to maintain the wellbeing of your body. Your car, and the other valuable assets in your life. But how much attention do you give to maintaining your spiritual wellbeing?
To understand spiritual wellbeing, start by demystifying the word “spirit.”
Being connected to spirit does not require any particular religious affiliation. Nor is it a reference to the supernatural. When we’re connected to spirit, it means we have broken free – if only for a moment. Of the common, lack-based thinking that occupies most people’s waking consciousness. It means we are freely communing with the source of energy that created us and all manifested things.
Lack-based thinking feeds the perception that there is not enough time, money, love, creativity, opportunity, or other precious resources to go around. It lures us into the idea that success is born from struggle and the illusion that we’ll be happy once we cross the last item off our to-do list.
But when we’re in a state of spiritual wellbeing, we understand that the resources of the universe are truly limitless. All of the attributes and experiences we seek – that of abundance, contentment, freedom, love – are accessible to all of us at any moment of time and in as great a quantity as we have the capacity to love.
When we’re connected to spirit and actively tending to our spiritual wellbeing, we’re able to see possibilities where others see only limitations.
Because we are centered and internally focused, we’re able to make correlations and connections that easily lead us to the right place at the right time. Our connection with the divine guides us in inexplicable ways toward the perfect next steps in our becoming. But like with all other aspects of our lives, our spiritual wellbeing requires maintenance.
There is no area of life where we expect things to thrive without an investment of attention and energy on our part. Yet how often do we expect ourselves to respond resourcefully, generously, and lovingly – or to feel and look our very best – when we’ve done nothing to tend to our spiritual wellbeing?
Being in a state of alignment – of spiritual wellbeing – is the key not only to feeling good, but also to easily attracting to yourself the things you desire. Here are 3 regular practices that will support you in sourcing yourself from the inside out:
Practice #1: Withdraw your energy from people and projects that drain or depress you.
You’ve probably heard the saying, “Stop throwing good money after bad.” The essence of this advice is that once you realize an investment is not paying the dividends you’d hoped for, it’s unwise to keep putting new money into it.
The same principle applies to your energetic investments. If you’re involved with something that no longer nourishes you; does it bring you down rather than lift you up? If you feel more drained than inspired after engaging with a particular person or activity, give yourself permission to let it go. The liberated energy you spend will be available to invest in connecting with your divine self and enhancing your spiritual wellbeing.
Practice #2: Use meditation and conscious breathing to connect with your spiritual essence.
Connecting with your spiritual essence might sound like it requires some special skill or metaphysical awareness. It doesn’t. You can increase your spiritual wellbeing simply by becoming still and centered enough to receive the faint whispers that are always guiding you in the direction of that which you desire.
By placing yourself in the receptive state that meditation provides, you allow universal energy to flow through you. In a fuller and less restricted way. From this state of spiritual wellbeing, you feel more centered, inspired, and divinely guided. Meditation soothes the nervous system. It lifts us out of our normal waking state in which our focus is scattered and hyper-reactive to the stressors that surround us. The practice of meditation puts us back in the driver’s seat of our lives, rather than at the mercy of other people’s behavior.
Most of us go through each day in a state of reactivity rather than creativity. Rather than investing our precious resources toward generating our desired reality, we react to the circumstances that have already manifested around us.
The traffic… the inconsiderate boss… the delay at work… if we haven’t prepared our mood in advance, all of these can drain our energy, depress our mood, and cause our thoughts to spiral in a negative direction. Meditation reverses this unwanted momentum and draws you back to the center of your being where spiritual renewal can take place.
Through meditation, you prepare yourself, energetically and emotionally, for making the best of whatever is about to unfold in your experience. It increases what meditation researchers in the 1960s termed “the space between stimulus and response.” So, instead of being easily triggered and “on edge,” you stay in control of your own experience.
Meditation provides a wonderful respite from continually reacting to the outer world.
It is a deliberate withdrawal of the senses from the realm of form and phenomenon, and into the formless space of pure potentiality. And in this space, you find personal equilibrium and spiritual wellbeing.
To make meditation a part of your daily routine, simply take a few minutes before your day begins to sit quietly with your eyes closed. Let go of any pressing thoughts or concerns, and allow yourself to settle into the present moment, exactly as it is.
Place your attention on your breath, and notice that it’s actually a vehicle that connects your physical body with your energy body. By placing your gentle awareness on your breath, it will take you to the more subtle dimensions of your being.
Allow your awareness to simply follow your breath as it moves in and out, and notice that with each respiration you feel lighter and more ethereal. You are moving from a state of feeling physically tethered to problems and concern into a state of spiritual wellbeing.
Meditation not only feels good, but it also resets and clarifies your personal vibration. After meditation, you’ll find you’re more centered and better able to handle whatever life brings your way.
Practice #3: Flow your energy in the direction of appreciation.
The simple fact is, no matter what the current condition of our lives, there is so much that we could appreciate.
We were born into a universe of absolute abundance, where all the elements necessary for us to thrive have already been provided. That we have air to breathe, water to drink, and the sun to keep us warm are gifts of staggering proportion! And yet they are gifts that are hugely overlooked and underappreciated.
Begin flowing your energy in the direction of appreciation. In your relationships, at work, and with family and friends, go out of your way to notice the things you like; that feels easy, and that is going well.
The energy of appreciation is one of the most magnetic and attractive forces in the universe. It brings new possibilities and opportunities to light and draws them into your life. In appreciation, all things that we nourish with the powerful energy of our attention expand, appreciate, and become more. Gradually, as we give more focus to what is working and what is wanted, rather than to what isn’t working or isn’t wanted, the fulcrum tips from spiritual impoverishment into spiritual wellbeing, and our desires come more quickly to fruition.
Christy Whitman is an energy healer, Master Certified Law of Attraction Coach, and the New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Having It All: A Woman’s Guide to Unlimited Abundance. Her latest book, The Desire Factor: How to Embrace Your Materialistic Nature to Reclaim Your Full Spiritual Power is on sale now at www.thedesirefactor.com. Christy communicates with, and for, The Quantum Council, a collection of non-physical ascended masters who desire to help humanity understand that we are divinely designed for well-being, abundance, success, and loving relationships. You can take the first step in alignment and creating your desires by a free 30-day program called Watch Your Words by going here: www.watchyourwords.com.
