Health and wellness are popular topics, as they should be. We all need to care for ourselves to be our best for ourselves and for others and to enhance the quality of our lives as well as the lives of those whom we care about.
The first aspect of holistic health and wellness that comes to most people’s minds is probably physical health. Fitness and nutrition are huge industries globally, not to mention medicine and healthcare. Our very lives can depend on how well we take care of our bodies. Mental health also gets a lot of attention, especially with younger generations, as they have grown up in a culture that has destigmatized discussions of mental health to a great degree. Social health is another aspect that deserves all the attention it gets. We all live in community with others, and the value of healthy social networks and societies is indisputable.
However, an aspect of holistic health that doesn’t get much airtime is spiritual health. It’s almost as if people are afraid to discuss their spirituality. I believe this is due in large part to our human tendency to judge others whose beliefs and opinions differ from our own, especially when ours represent the status quo. In the United States, that would be traditional forms of Christianity, such as Catholicism, mainline Protestantism, and evangelicalism. How ironic that we who follow a teacher who taught “Do not judge” are some of the most judgmental people!
Personally, I believe strong spiritual health is the foundation for other aspects of health. We can look at human history to see how spiritually unhealthy societies and their leaders resulted in great suffering for many: empires ruled by cruel despots; genocidal dictatorships; fascist regimes; and billionaire autocrats with only their own self interests in mind. In all these cases, it is the poor and the oppressed, or “the least of these,” as Jesus called them, who suffer the most. On an individual level, we see spiritually unhealthy people pursuing pathways of greed, exploitation, hoarding, and selfishness, using fear, intimidation, and manipulation to get what they want, regardless of who gets hurt in the process.
It’s important at this point to define spirituality and distinguish it from religiosity. Spirituality can be defined in many ways, and very often people will resort to a religious context in defining it because that is the context in which billions of people experience spirituality. However, spirituality need not be confined to a religious context. In its broader sense, spirituality can be defined as that aspect of a person’s sense of self which is concerned with purpose, meaning, and connection to that which is beyond the self. For most, that which is beyond the self is God—or a deity or deities of some sort—but might also be the universe, nature, the collective consciousness, or whatever one thinks of the great Mystery that cannot be easily explained. In fact, I would assert that those who can easily explain that Mystery are not, in fact, well acquainted with it. Certitudes are rarely characteristic of healthy spirituality. Certitudes are actually characteristic of religiosity, which focuses on dogma and doctrine, both of which usually get in the way of developing a healthy spirituality. Religiosity is concerned with proving that one’s doctrine and dogma are correct, and all other doctrines and dogmas are not. Many strongly religious people are not very spiritual, and many strongly spiritual people claim no religious affiliation.
Healthy spirituality grows beyond doctrine and dogma. Spiritually healthy people are able to keep that from their religious tradition which is good and healthy for them while rejecting that which is not without experiencing a crisis of faith. In fact, some might claim that their faith increased once they let go of religiosity. They find freedom in letting go of certitudes such as those found in doctrine and dogma and embracing ambiguity, mystery, and questions. Doubt is seen not as a sin, but rather as an opportunity for growth. For some this means leaving religion altogether, but for many it means finding other spiritual seekers within their faith traditions and nurturing one another’s growth in community.
So then, what are the hallmarks of a spiritually healthy individual? We might look at what various faith traditions have in common when it comes to the traits displayed by a spiritually healthy person. In the Christian tradition, many of us would cite the fruits of the Holy Spirit as such hallmarks: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We’ve all seen people, Christian and otherwise, who consistently display these traits in their lives and think of them as enlightened or self-actualized people. We hold them up as examples to follow. No doubt Buddhists, Sikhs, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and other faith traditions hold similar traits in high value. One need not be an adherent of the Christian religion to embody these traits, and Christians should not judge those from other faith traditions who embody these traits, for the Christian Bible states, “Against such things there is no law.” In other words, these are good things to embody! In a secular, humanistic context, we might find very similar traits held in high esteem. After all, who can deny that love, above all, is to be valued and nurtured? No one, even though some in the media today call empathy a sin. That right there is an indication of that individual’s poor state of spiritual health. Empathy, i.e. compassion, a.k.a. mercy, is never a bad trait to embody. Greater love results in greater empathy, and empathy feeds spiritual health.
How does one practice good spiritual health? Opinions vary, but here are my suggestions:
• Spend time in solitude regularly. Dedicate time and space where you can sit with yourself and listen for what Christians call the “still, small voice” within you. Block out the noise of daily life as much as you can. For me, such time is when I journal. Journaling can be done in many ways: free writing, doodling, mind mapping, bulleting…whatever works for you. And for some, simply sitting in silence and focusing on breathwork does the trick. Find what works for you, and commit to doing it as regularly as you can.
• Connect with nature. Some Christians say creation is the first incarnation of God. Jesus Himself went into the wilderness to pray and replenish Himself, and in His most troubling hour, where did he go? Not the temple, not a palace, but a garden. Other faith traditions, especially Buddhism, stress the role of nature in experiencing that mystery beyond oneself. If spirituality is the effort to connect with the divine, then surely the divine can be found in nature.
• Find your community of fellow spiritual seekers. Surrounding yourself with like-minded people who are on their own paths of spiritual discovery and growth cannot be over-emphasized. Just be sure it is a healthy community that welcomes questions and doubts and doesn’t force doctrine and dogma upon you. In such a community you can find confidantes, mentors, and supporters, as well as inspiration and fellowship.
• Be flexible. Keep an open mind. Don’t be afraid of change. Growth is change, after all, and growth is the goal, is it not? Release unhelpful beliefs and attitudes. Just because something is familiar and comfortable doesn’t mean it’s good for you.
• Cultivate empathy. Be compassionate not only to others, but also to yourself, to the environment, and even to God (or whatever you call the Mystery). Empathy is grace in action. You can show grace in acts of service to your community and by supporting organizations that help relieve human and environmental suffering.
• Get comfortable with ambiguity. This may be difficult for some personalities who desire data, facts, evidence, and answers. Spirituality is more about the questions than the answers, more about the mystery than the resolution, more about the gray areas than the black-and-white ones. Settling into ambiguity can be freeing.
• Detach from doctrine, dogma, bad habits, certitudes, and your fears and insecurities. I’m not saying to reject everything you’ve been taught. Quite the contrary, it’s sometimes good to revisit what you were taught as a child and hold it up to the lens of your own life experience and identify that which still has value for you and lay aside that which doesn’t. That will be very uncomfortable for most of us, but it’s a valuable exercise in spiritual growth.
• Dedicate yourself to spiritual growth. It will take time and energy. It requires an insatiable curiosity to learn and grow. And as with all learning experiences, there will be dissonance between what you think you know and what you uncover in your spiritual growth pursuits. Persevere. Don’t give up. And don’t fall back into the confines of certitudes and religiosity. That will stunt your spiritual growth.
• Exercise creativity. Cast aside your inhibitions. Use your imagination. Be playful, even childlike. Didn’t Jesus Himself say, “Unless you become like one of these [little children], you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven”? Have fun in your spiritual pursuits. Fun creates joy, which, in the Christian tradition, is one of the traits of a spiritually healthy person.
Spirituality is something not easily measured and defined by the social and natural sciences, so much of what you’ve read here are my own thoughts based on my readings and life experiences. Whatever your faith tradition, or lack thereof, and however you think of spirituality, we can all agree that good traits are good traits, no matter the religious or cultural context. Nurture those traits. Encourage others to find and nurture their own set of traits that indicate good spiritual health. I strongly believe if we do so, our mental, physical, and social health will improve, as well. And if we as individuals become more spiritually healthy, then our societies will benefit, as well.
