While many experts tout the benefits of tapping in to your spiritual side, evidence shows that the Western adaptations of the various spirituality practices are being distorted and becoming a way for people to essentially brag about their lifestyle and how well-rounded and perfect it happens to be.
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This can detract from the benefits that your spiritual practice has to offer. Here’s what you need to know to keep things balanced so that spirituality doesn’t take over your life or turn you into a person that you don’t want to be.
Types Of Spirituality
Spirituality comes in many forms and is engaged by different people in different ways. Most of the time, it gives people a sense of meaning and purpose in life and usually involves a higher being. Some people also believe in ideas like reincarnation or life after death.
Certain practices are typically carried out as part of a person’s spiritual identity. This includes things like going to church, meditating or chanting. Most types of spirituality fall into a more general category, including mystical, intellectual, service or social. Research indicates that people tend to gravitate toward certain types of spirituality based on their personality and life experiences.
Spirituality And Ego
So how does spirituality affect your ego? According to research, most people who become actively spiritual are doing so to better themselves as a person. As you begin to engage in spiritual practices and ideas, you begin to identify with your chosen form of spirituality, which often results in using it as a way to describe yourself, adding it to your list of personality traits and as a way to tell people who you are.
Additionally, some people begin to tap into their spiritual side and as they begin to experience the benefits, it drives their ego. This can result in feelings of superiority over others who aren’t part of your practicing spirituality. In terms of ego, this can cause you to feel that you are better than those around you who aren’t part of your practice. This might mean trying to press your spirituality on other people as you try to convince them that they need this to be a stronger and better person.
What The Experts Say
Experts in spirituality caution against getting too caught up in the practice and allowing it to turn into your entire identity. According to the higher authorities in spiritual practices across the globe, the purpose of tapping in to your spiritual side is to learn to serve others.
You’ve probably experienced the high you get from giving back and doing something for other people. This is the bottom line in many spiritual practices. As you learn to be more spiritual, you should use that to help others, whether it’s serving the homeless or caring for a foster child.
By doing these acts of service, you increase your own spirituality while also introducing it to others in a wholesome and beneficial way that they will likely be more receptive to.
How To Become More Spiritual
Becoming spiritual shouldn’t be something that is excessively hard or inconvenient. If that were the case, people would give up and skip it altogether. Dr. Wayne Dyer suggests several easy ways to become more spiritual. He encourages people to take the time to get quiet each day, spending time on the same spiritual path that you are on, spend time in nature, try yoga and try mindfulness.
These things are simple to incorporate into your life because they don’t take a ton of time. With time and practice, you can learn to be spiritual in a way that is beneficial to both you and the people around you.
