There are many ways people look at spirituality. To explain in simple terms, spirituality is your sense of purpose, meaning, and belief. And contrary to popular opinion, religion and spirituality are not the same things. However, both do share a link. And you can always be spiritual without having an affinity to any particular religion.
We are living amidst challenging times. The pandemic phase has made existence tough as we aren’t being able to move around as freely as before. Staying at home, for the most part, results in stress and anxiety, which can aggravate mental health. And with a few spiritual practices, you can bring down your stress and can also enhance your mental health.
The impact of spirituality on the mental health – Views by William D King
Spirituality can impact several decisions that people make. It also motivates people to experience better connections with others, themselves, and also with strangers. And spiritual practices can help you to manage stress and fill you with a sense of purpose, forgiveness, and peace. And during minor or major ailments spiritual practices can be the biggest support.
There are many positive impacts of spiritual practices. Some of the important ones are:
- You tend to feel a higher sense of hope, meaning, peace and purpose.
- You can understand the meaning of life better.
- You can witness better self-esteem, confidence and self-control.
- You can recover faster and gain inner strength if you are unwell.
- You can get support from a spiritual community.
- You can have better relationship with others and yourself.
The pandemic is affecting people’s mental health with its prolonged uncertainty. Spiritual practices and talk can bring meaning and hope to live during a time like this.
Easy and helpful spiritual practices
Are you feeling more stressed and sadder in recent times? Do you want to find a meaning to all this? If yes, you can opt-in for few spiritual practices that help you feel better and find meaning during such testing times.
- Mindfulness meditation – You don’t have to be an expert to practice this. You can take out sometime from your busy schedule and practice mindfulness meditation for about 20 minutes a day. Focus on your breathing and be aware of the sounds around. It will help you to relax, unwind and understand your mind better. With gradual practice you will gain your inner calm and have profound realization.
- Burn sage –You can get sage online and can burn once a day to cleanse the ambiance of your room. According to Native Americans, sage helps to cleanse the negative energy of a space. Excess stress and tension create unwanted negativity. You can use sage to cleanse your space.
- Create an altar – Here you can bring your imagination to enhance your religious and spiritual beliefs. You can create an altar based on your religious faith and can use various elements to enhance it. It will help you to divert your mind from the external chaos to your creativity.
According to William D King, from time to time, spirituality has always given hope and peace to people during challenging times. The pointers mentioned above can help you to boost your mental health during such testing times.