Four Keys to Spirituality and You

What’s most important about the spiritual dimension of your life? The four keys discussed in this video will help you identify and understand the texture of spirituality as it is woven throughout your life.

What’s important about the spiritual dimension of your life?  Is it your spiritual practice?  Or your spiritual experiences?  Or rituals and ceremonies? Or perhaps particular days and seasons?  Perhaps someone told you that a belief or practice should be important, so you made it important because it sounded like the right thing.  But ultimately, what is important to you about the spiritual dimension of your life?  Do you know?  What is really key for spirituality in your life?

As a spiritual director, I meet people who are trying to make sense of the spiritual dimension of their lives.  Often, they attempt to follow what others have told them or what they’ve read – things other people claim should be important to them.  Some people also think that as a spiritual director, I’m going to tell them what should be important to them.  Instead, I invite people to discover and discern what’s right, good, and appropriate for their lives and the ways they experience the spiritual dimension of life.  I do that by asking them to consider certain questions.  These questions make up four keys to understanding spirituality in your life today.

First, think about this:  when you experience a significant difficulty in life, what helps to get you through?  That’s an indicator of what’s important for the spiritual dimension of your life.  One of my friends always lights a candle as a form of prayer.  Some people seek comfort in solitude, prayer, or meditation.  Others gravitate to other people who provide support and encouragement.  When you experience difficult times, what do you hold onto?  A belief, a thought, an experience, or a memory of some sort?

Second, consider where you find hope in your life.  Hope may take the form of comfort, resilience, or a positive outlook.  Hope is grounded in a way of looking at life that says there’s something more, something good that’s possible.  Where do you find hope in your life?  In the sunrise, in music, in a loving embrace, in your faith, or in something else?

Third, are there places you go or people who are part of your life who support the spiritual dimension of your life?  Perhaps that’s something organized, like religion or a 12-step group.  Perhaps it’s a personal network of like-minded individuals.  How does your participation in that group help you?  Are there aspects that aren’t very helpful?  Considering this is also significant for understanding what’s important for the spiritual dimension of your life.

Fourth, while the questions I’ve already raised are important to consider regarding the spiritual dimension of your life, there’s something else that is worth considering If you were receiving treatment for something related to your mental health or having medical treatment, what would be important to you for the provider to know?  What would you want them to respect about your beliefs, practices, or spirituality?  Sometimes it’s something simple.  For example, I was recently undergoing some medical procedures.  The nurses and attendants kept trying to turn the television on while I preferred to just have silence, so that I could be reflective more contemplative.  That’s what is soothing for me. It could be something like that or it could be the way that you fast during the month of Ramadan or during Lent or observe Shabbat each week. Those things are indicators of what’s important for you and the spiritual dimension of your life.

As you reflect on these questions, you’ll come to a greater understanding of what is key to spirituality in your life.  What you discover by exploring these questions is critical for your journey.  One way to build on what you learn is to work with a spiritual director who can support you in exploring spirituality and your life in more focused ways.   But above all, remember:  you hold the keys to understanding spirituality in your life.  That’s what these questions are all about.