Spirituality means reaching a peak of self-awareness. But when we think about spirituality, a picture of a monk pops up in our minds. We envision him sitting on the Himalayan range, engrossed in profound meditations, completely cut off from the outside world. His sole purpose is to seek inner peace, and he has nothing to do with worldly desires. Such perception makes us believe that attaining spirituality is only restricted to those monks, who are willing to snub all their worldly desires and move to the farthest place to find eternal peace and solace. Whereas, the truth is that attaining spirituality is not only restricted to monks. Nor does it mean secluding oneself from the world.
Spirituality is simply a process of rising above the ordinary consciousness and establishing a connection between soul and body. It merely unites the energies from both realms; psychic and physical. Once the energies are synchronized, oneness is achieved, and the impact is larger than life because the whole is always more than the sum of its parts.
Attaining spirituality is a process of becoming aware of the soul and God within us. In general, our thought process is attuned to thinking of us having a body with the brain, which does all the thinking. This type of awareness is called “Body Consciousness” or “Physical Consciousness”. But we are more than body and mind. We are actually a soul made of pure energy. Our soul is the divine connection with God, or some may call it our connection to the Universe. Raising our consciousness to recognize the existence of the soul and its powers are called “Spiritual Consciousness.”
When we tap into Spiritual Consciousness, our connection with God or Universe gets strengthened, and we begin salvaging the powers of all consciousness from God or Universe. We experience love, peace, unity, bliss, and freedom from all fears. The journey of attaining spirituality is simply an “Aha” experience.
In general, it is perceived that there are three stages of developing spiritual enlightening.
Stage 1 – In this stage, the individual realizes the need to develop spiritual enlightenment. The individual starts searching for his/her soul and its connection with God/universe and indulges in observing this basic phenomenon in life. He or she practices deep thinking, i.e., meditation or mindfulness.
Stage 2 – At this stage, individuals start making a connection with humans and the environment. The individual finds happiness and peace in everything. The spirit merges with nature, and they swiftly begin to understand the purpose of their life.
Stage 3 – This is the final stage of reaching the highest point of self-awareness, where you realize that whatever you were searching for already resides inside of you. There is no connection required; you are everything.
“We carry inside us the wonders we seek outside.” – Rumi
The journey to develop spirituality is highly unique in nature, and every individual experience it differently from others.
“You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you; none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.”– Swami Vivekananda
Having a strong spiritual outlook, helps us sail smoothly through life. According to the researcher Kristin Neff,
“If we can compassionately remind ourselves in moments of falling down that failure is part of the shared human experience, then that moment becomes one of togetherness rather than isolation. When our troubled, painful experiences are framed by the recognition that countless others have undergone similar hardships, the blow is softened.”