While I’ve been told in the past it’s what holds me back, my spirituality has always been a staple to my life. Not to discredit my parents’ teaching, my spirituality has long been very individualized to the point of dragging my parents to the church house during some seasons. With its significance, it is assumed that my faith would ground my wellness. While I understand my journey is not the norm, everyone’s biases are rooted in their fundamental beliefs. Whether instilled by our parents or experienced for ourselves, there comes a time at which we must define our spiritual foundations and use them as the guidance for our life decisions. In the context of wellness, all facets of wellness are interconnected, so what you believe will determine what you consider to be well. Ultimately the spiritual foundation is what marks the standard.

Starting A Spiritual Journey

To start your spiritual journey you need to determine, with full clarity, what it is exactly that you believe. As is the theme in wellness, it takes some soul searching to do this. I am a Christian, for which I believe in God coming in human form by way of a man named Jesus (Emmanuel). This man then was willingly murdered for the atonement of my sins and rose from the dead three days later, only to later ascend back to His position in heaven leaving the Holy Spirit, the unseen ever present help, behind until Jesus’ return to take me to heaven. For you, this may not be what you believe, for which is acceptable, so long as you are clear and definitive on what and why you believe. The most important things to note when understanding and establishing faith basics are 1) on a basic level what do you believe (ex. The sky is blue) 2) how does that affect who you are and your decision making (ex. The sky will always be blue, so I don’t have to worry about it being green) 3) for where do you garner hope (ex. As long as the sky is blue, I can have hope for future blue skies).

Once you’ve determined what it is you believe, what are the most important aspects of what you believe with relation to your part in your faith? For me, believing in Jesus’ death and resurrection, I find it important that He has all power; all knowledge; and is personally invested in who I am. These principles allow me to focus on the relationship aspect of my faith, and my part in the relationship.

Secondly, you can choose to incorporate this mindset into who you are and your decision making. Since I believe in Jesus’ power, knowledge, and investment in me, I can go without worry daily and make decisions knowing that if He told me to do it, I’m going to succeed.

Lastly, even if not a definitive answer, knowing explicitly for why you live and for what you can have hope for in trying times. I live knowing that God has destined my life for a specific purpose, as a part of his master plan. In hard times, I remember that the same person who forged the stars and animals knows me by name for which He wrote my plan— good, bad, and ugly— for his ultimate glory.

So, in starting your spiritual journey and applying such principles to your wellness, you just have to make a daily effort for your belief principles to be important. From the view of my relationship with God, I just chose to start. I said a prayer, declaring that God was Jesus and vice versa, that I believe He died and resurrected, and that He did so for the forgiveness of my instinctive wrongful nature. The day after, I started my journey, and everyday I do the same. I make my spiritual principles important that day.

In my relationship, such is the same in any relationship, communication (to include talking and listening) is key. I cannot expect to know someone I never talk to, so I pray in an effort to speak to Him. In the same way, I hear from Him best when reading and studying my Bible, so I make significant time for that as well. Similarly, on any spiritual journey, as you grow and change it’s important to keep reevaluating your beliefs and making yourself knowledgeable. For me, that comes in the form of challenging my principles, reading my Bible, and researching anything I don’t understand. This brings about clarity and establishes self thought. While there is no single cut and dry way to a spiritual journey, ultimately making it a priority is what allows you to build goals and systems around it. As you walk your spiritual journey, there should be some maturity that takes place within yourself. This maturity will be what helps to propel your wellness maturity. Come back to hear what I have to share about wellness maturity during my blog post on Saturday.

If you would like to know more about Christianity and salvation please see the attached link: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2010:8-10&version=NIV