Spiritual Wellness is a component of Holistic Wellness that has helped many individuals find meaning and purpose in their lives. When we first think about or try to contemplate the word “Spiritual Wellness”, we often end up having thoughts based on religion, temples, or living a life based on a set of rules. While these factors are commonly seen as spiritual practices, spiritual wellness has more to it. Spiritual Wellness is simply having a relationship with yourself, your heart, and your soul. Each individual’s journey to finding meaning and purpose is unique, and is based on individual experiences, thus building Spiritual Wellness begins within the individual.

Before understanding more about what Spiritual Wellness is, let’s take a look into the commonly held misconceptions about it. Spiritual Wellness is NOT about:

• being a religious person;
• going to a temple regularly;
• having or forcing a strict set of belief systems;
• living life based on rigid cultural norms;
• believing so strongly that what you do is the right way of living & not caring about others’ beliefs/opinions

Spiritual Wellness is based on the foundation of connecting with your true self. It is about defining ourselves based on our inner experiences. It simply means having a sense of meaning and purpose in life through a deeper relationship with yourself, with people around you and relating to your environment and culture, and to a Higher power. It is about building your own personal values and beliefs that guide what you say or do.

How can Spiritual Wellness help you?

• Will help you to live a life based on your own values, and beliefs;
• Will enhance your productivity as your actions will be in line with what you strongly believe in;
• Will help you build compassion with those around you;
• Will help you build your own set of coping skills to manage daily stressors in all areas of your life;
• Will increase your ability to bounce back easily;
• Will increase job satisfaction;
• Will strengthen your workplace relationships;
• Will increase your motivation and commitment.

How can you build Spiritual Wellness?

1.  Journaling: Journaling is one way to practice self-reflection by connecting to the world inside you. Writing down one’s thoughts acts as a guide toward discovering your purpose, values, and connecting with your heart and soul.

• Simple ways to start: Start by describing your day/week. Eg: “what did you do, what thoughts were coming to you, what was happening around you, what feelings were present throughout the day/week.”

2.  Spending time in Nature: Nature allows us to reset, refresh, and connect back to our true self.

• Simple ways to start: Going barefoot for a walk for as little as 5 mins a day in a garden nearby, going by the sea and watching the sun go down, going for treks once a week/month.

3.  Practice Mindfulness: Mindfulness helps you clear your thoughts, reawaken yourself to the present moment, and help you open the door to the Higher Power.

• Simple ways to start: In a world where multitasking is considered a norm, try and shift your focus and awareness from all the things you NEED to complete to bringing back your awareness and focus on one task at a time, and concentrate on what you are doing in the present moment.

4.  Volunteering: Supporting your community or getting involved in a project that’s involved in the betterment of humanity in general helps build values like compassion and humility. By increasing your sense of purpose and meaning in life, volunteering also helps you reconnect with your values, and beliefs.

• Simple ways to start: Volunteer at an old-age home/orphanage, help pack food for the hungry, NGOs working for climate change, animal rescue and care, etc.

Building spiritual wellness will encourage you to treasure your life objectives and live a life that aligns best with your personal values. Through spiritual wellness, you will integrate meaning and purpose in life that will provide you the right encouragement and motivation for work as well as help you make better decisions, and find personal fulfilment. We hope this article helps you to build spiritual wellness in your lives!