What Does Spiritual Growth Mean?
Spiritual growth and development is usually associated with God and religion, however this is only partially correct. This spiritual growth journey is formulated of three inseparable components, the mind, body and spirit.
Knowing how to utilize each aspect is crucial to living a meaningful and fulfilling life. Moreover, spiritual growth and development is an essential step towards reaching your potential in life and achieving personal growth and happiness.
This post is all about What Is Spiritual Growth.
What is Spiritual Growth
Spiritual growth is the process of creating a deep and meaningful connection between the mind, body, soul and the world in which we exist in. Spiritual growth and development makes your perception of everyday life more meaningful and purposeful.
The idea of growing and maturing spiritually is to accept and cultivate your physical (body) and non physical self (soul).
Moreover, spiritual growth is an integral part of your personal growth and development journey as it expands your knowledge and understanding of the physical and spiritual aspects of life.
Spiritual Growth Activities
There are a couple of activities that have proven to be beneficial and effective for spiritual development specifically and personal growth generally.
- Yoga
- Mindfulness
- Spending time in nature
- Self Journaling
- Deep breathing
- Meditation
- Planting
- Self care
- Pray
- Fasting
- Practice Silence
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The importance of Spiritual Growth
Spiritual growth and development is important as it helps you understand your Inner self, differentiate between physical and non physical wants and needs while also providing a sense of purpose in the world around you.
This means that your system (body) exists within a more complicated and complex system (universe). Moreover, each system has a specific duty and task to accomplish, this is also known as your “why” or purpose in life.
Furthermore, spiritual growth is used to cleanse, clean and heal the mind, body and soul of false perceptions you had of yourself and/or the world. While the cleansing process is ongoing, an individual determined to experience spiritual growth will achieve numerous stages of inner calm and peace.
5 Principles of Spiritual Growth
Taming, understanding and controlling your spiritual being is not an easy task. Moreover, the path to achieving enlightenment through spirituality is not a linear one. Spiritual growth is made up of 5 fundamentally distinct principles.
Being Conscious – The moment you begin to experience consciousness in the world around you.
Expanding beyond the physical mind – The ability of being aware and centered, controlling your thoughts and emotions while blocking out unnecessary distractions.
Knowing your inner self – The ability to accept your weaknesses and acknowledge your strengths while being at peace with yourself. Moreover, being clear on your vision, values and overall beliefs.
How your Values affect spirituality – Your daily values and decisions will make or break your spiritual growth and development journey.
Enlightenment and intentional living – Living a crystal clear lifestyle that will position you in the most beneficial way possible. Furthermore, utilizing your energy and resources in hopes of achieving your goals.
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Benefits of spiritual growth
Reduces stress
Stress is one of the leading factors of early death worldwide. It is extremely hard to deal and control stress on a daily basis as it pretty much affects all aspects of life from social, physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
Spiritual growth and development is a proven way to maintain inner peace and immensely reduce stress levels. Moreover, habits such as yoga, deep breathing and mindfulness are extremely effective in reducing stress levels.
Improve cognitive functioning
Spirituality is known as the link between the mind, body and soul. Taking care of each one will undoubtedly improve cognitive abilities.
Since spiritual growth and development greatly impact our perception of the universe, individuals will begin to experience new thought patterns and increased creativity levels.
Moreover, according to The Journal of religion and health “ Part of personal transformation was spiritual transformation — rooted in the changed condition of the mind, heart and behavior”. This confirms that achieving spiritual growth and development positively impacts cognitive and behavioral aspects of everyday life.
Positive mental health effects
One of the greatest benefits of personal growth and development is its long lasting positive impact on overall mental health. As we explained earlier, spirituality provides people with a sense of purpose, peace and hope in life.
Furthermore, it is proven to increase self confidence and self control, which is an important characteristic to have.
Spiritual development is becoming more and more accepted in the world today, thus it has been used in a psychotherapeutic method called Spiritually Augmented Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (SACBT).
More inner peace
Spiritual practices such as practicing silence and meditation help individuals experience a sense of calmness and inner peace.
By stepping away from the hustle and bustle of the modern world, we begin to understand our true inner selves while gaining a deep understanding of the environment and the universe we exist in.
Moreover, as we begin to connect with a higher power (God), feelings of anxiety and stress begin to slowly deteriorate resulting in inner peace.
Increased Focus
As you begin to block out the negative noises of the world, your ability to focus on the positives skyrockets.
Performing spiritual development activities such as focusing on your mind and/or breathing will not only help you control your emotions but also control how and where you spend your time and energy. You will instantly be able to recognize activities that drain energy levels with little return value.
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5 ways to achieve spiritual growth
Daily Meditation
Formulating a habit of daily meditation sessions throughout the day will prove beneficial in the long run. Not only does it serve as a form of mental exercise but it’s a spiritual one too. Having a strong link between mind, body and soul is a fundamental principle of achieving spiritual and personal development.
Protect your energy
Energy is never created nor destroyed according to Sir Isaac Newton’s 2nd law of motion. It is our responsibility to observe and identify where and how we are spending our energy levels. Avoiding mentally draining activities such as social media ensures that we use our energies efficiently. This type of self awareness and point of view undoubtedly leads to spiritual growth and development down the line.
Spend time outside
Spending extended amounts of time outside is a proven way to boost morale, increase vitamin D intake and helps achieve spiritual growth and development.
We are not meant to sit behind desks for 7 hours, life is much more than that. Having a stroll in the park, walking your dog and/or reading your favorite novel while enjoying fresh air are all small ways to achieve spirituality.
Practicing gratitude
Being grateful and thankful for the blessings you have is a great way to grow and develop as a human being. Moreover, appreciating the life you have goes well beyond an act of prayer, it in fact shows the benefits of spirituality.
Becoming aware of what you have instead of what you dont shows a level of maturity, self awareness and personal development.
Take time to reflect
It has become very easy to feel overwhelmed in the ever changing modern world we live in. It seems as though everything is happening at the same time whether personal and/or professional matters.
Moreover, 24 hours a day began to feel inadequate for all our responsibilities. It is crucial to take a step back from all the things happening around you and focus on the things happening inside of you.
Reflecting on yourself is very important to maintain productivity levels, avoid procrastination and help you achieve personal growth and development.
Conclusion
All in all, spiritual growth and development is an integral element of personal development. To grow spiritually means to control and maintain the mind, body and spirit. This of course id no easy task, but it will definitely be worthwhile for the short and long run. Moreover, you will reap the endless benefits of reaching spirituality.
This post was all about What Is Spiritual growth.
