11 Things you really, really ought to know about your Spiritual Self.
Daily spiritual practices are important in addiction treatment and recovery. A spiritual practice is simply about getting to know your inner being. Spirituality is a broad concept with room for many perspectives. In general, it includes a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves, and it typically involves a search for meaning in life. As such, it is a universal human experience—something that touches us all. In drug addiction treatment Spiritual practices can mean that the individual is given a boost each day. Even just 10 minutes spent with these techniques will mean that the person is better able to get the most from their day.
Mindfulness or Spirituality is a modern movement, appropriated from ancient Buddhist roots. The practice of mindfulness in addiction recovery involves being aware moment-to-moment, of one’s subjective conscious experience from a first-person perspective.
The spiritual way is to see beyond mere outer appearances and the five senses to an intuitive perception of the causes behind outer conditions. Someone with a spiritual approach may change and uplift their world by first transforming and improving his or her own vision.
One of the main teachings of spirituality is to look within and find what you seek within yourself. The external world is ephemeral, temporary, and ever changing; in fact, your body will die one day, sweeping all those worldly accouterments away like a mere pile of dust. Your inner realm, Your Spiritual Self, on the other hand, is timeless, eternal, and deeply profound.
1. The Spirit Knows no Bounds. This is the essence of Your Spiritual Self
2. Your Spiritual Self spirit remains constant
3. Your Spiritual Self will never die, it remains unmoved at life’s circumstances.
4. God is Your Spiritual Selfs ultimate therapist
If we truly knew we were immortal, perhaps we would live our lives very differently for the most part. Certainly when it comes to ruining our lives with narcotics, obsessions and compulsions that are borne in fear.
5. Your Your Spiritual Self seeks light.
Your Spiritual Self is always trying to keep the whole of body, mind and spirit, on the path towards light. Drugs and alcohol get in the way of this process; stopping it in its tracks! Light is illumination and darkness, the antonym, is confusion. Light is of course truth and reality in its purest form. Our physical selves, who are effected by the circumstances we perceive to be true cannot always truly see what is real. In other words we can be swayed in our understanding of things by our preconceived ideas, our history and various other influences. All these things make us see things in a different way and review why we act the way we do. Addiction recovery sheds this kind of light on people, and begins to take them on a journey looking for a better, new way to live.
So although we will always argue amongst ourselves about what really is the right path, their truly is a right way. If we all agreed on what the ‘light’ or the right way for that matter was, there would be no more war, no more argument and chaos.
I am persuaded, by spirit that the closest we can get to knowing light is through love. As complex as it is simple and as complimentary as it is sought after through effort, all we can do to move closer to light, truth and reality are but two things. The first, to become acquainted with love. The second to be still.
Ode on a Grecian Urn Light is truth and truth beauty that is all ye know and all ye need to know.
6. Know the three faces of the self; mind, body, Your Spiritual Self
Most of the schools of though today agree we have three sides to the self, three faces if you like; mind, body and soul. I prefer to think of these as the physiological, the psychological and the spiritual, as these terms are slightly more comprehensive in their definition. These faces correspond to different aspects of the self as a whole. The physiological is what we see and perceive through our senses. Our sensory and motor functions know the physical self very well. Comprised of trillions of parts, we sum up the physiological as the body that houses all of these tangible components. If we had to look at the body in terms of energy, it would be the slowest moving of the three faces, so slow in fact that we can see and touch it. It has boundaries that you can see.
The second face is the psychological self. This aspect is concerned with thinking, behaviour, attitudes and all the mental and emotional functioning of our whole. This energy moves faster, and cannot easily be seen. Even with specialised equipment we can measure activity and functioning but we still cannot see where thought as such comes from before there is physical movement.
The third face has the fastest energy, faster than light, and cannot be seen in the physical environment. It is the command centre that contains our intention, the same intention we were created from. This spiritual face of Your Spiritual Self has no boundaries, unlike the other two, and knows nothing but intention, purpose and endlessly seeks opportunities for expansion towards its intended purpose. In other words this spiritual face has no doubts, it is aware of what it is and where it came from and where it is going to. Because it knows no doubt, it knows no boundaries and because it knows no boundaries it is capable of manifesting miracles in all three faces. These three faces, in turn housing many others within each of these, together make up the sum of thyself, as we have phrased it here. All three are equally important for your optimal functioning here and any therapy; healing or growth needs all three faces brought to the fore in order to be truly successful. Much of what we can learn from therapy can be applied only through using all three faces. Lasting and positive change, miracles, wonderful possibilities that you can manifest as increase and abundance in your life will come from using this triarchy holistically.
7. If we ‘die’ to the self we know so well, do we receive spirit in return?
If we look at the world from outer space, with dark black surrounding the most colourful, lively planet in the cosmo’s, what do we notice first? That it is different, alive and inviting!
As Saint Francis of Assisi says in his beautiful prayer you need to die to the world of the ego, but rather to Your Spiritual Self. He put it this way, “… for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life”.
The 12 steps of AA presuppose that is exactly what we need to do – get over ourselves, our ego’s and get humble, meek and be quick to admit our wrongs when we realize them. This the 12 steps say is what will need us to true service and sobriety in this world. One thing people in addiction usually have in common is a massive ego, and tons of false pride, grandiosity and arrogance that attempt to cover up inner emotional wounds. Between the ego and the drug addictions, Your Spiritual Self is all but lost.
8. The power of silence to hone Your Spiritual Self.
The best way to get in touch with your spiritual self is to simply to become quiet and still. It is the path of least resistance, and once of little exertion of effort and force. As the fruits of the spirit are free and completely available to everyone, without favour, we must understand that it’s therefore not hard to access this free gift that brings with it peace, joy and wisdom. Our physical gifts and capabilities matter not, we are all equally accessible to the power of Your Spiritual Self.
Ever notice how silent God can appear to be? Interesting is it not that if we want to know Him, he simply says we should ‘be still and know’. We tend to rush around, grasping at things throughout pour day trying very hard to succeed, to survive even. From one issue to the next we move around in haste, creating a perpetual buzz around us as we complete one task, and then another throughout the day.
9. Your Spiritual Self develops an in the now mentality.
It was Theodore Roosevelt who said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are”. Much of the reason as to why we don’t succeed in dealing with both our problems and opportunities of the day effectively is because we are off elsewhere in thought.
We tend to pile yesterdays problems onto tomorrows and can find ourselves barely dealing with our present circumstances.
Looking at this concept through a spiritual perspective, we are able to see that we are well equipped to deal with each day as it comes, yet our resolve and strength will not pay anymore than one days wage at a time. We are given ‘Daily bread’ to deal with all that could possibly come our way. Understandably perhaps, we are striving for weekly, yearly or even a lifelong supply of ‘bread’, a supply which will never come no matter how much we may try and prepare for it.
Did you know that we make such a habit of being everywhere in thought at once that seldom more than 20% of your concentration will be put into any given conversation with another? Learn to be present in all that you do, working with the faculties that you have at that time. In other words play to your strengths, the ones that you have today, and look for ways to be more present in all that you do, forgetting about the woes of tomorrow, over which you have no control. Learn to focus on each moment, enjoying it to the full with all your energy focused on it. Be spiritually conscious of the fact that you would benefit from giving yourself more fully to each conversation, each encounter and each situation that arises as the day progresses.
10. Will power will seldom bring positive change on its own, but it will bring frustration.
The countless frustrations so many of us face, going around the same mountain time and time again just as the Israelites did, turning an eleven day journey into one of forty years can be helped. When we finally makes efforts towards real change and preserver towards the finish line, we are so often discouraged by set backs. The will to change often seems like it just is not enough, as we backslide our way through diets, exercise regimes, religious growth and commitments and even our relationship with God.
Experience in counselling and problem solving techniques has shown me over the years that mere will power is not enough to ensure positive change is implemented in ones life. Will power can only get you so far it seems. As will power comes primarily from a ‘made up mind’ to manifest something in your life, what we know is the mind, although strong and efficient, is permanently going through changes. Bombarded with 60 000 thoughts a day, chemicals like serotonin, and so forth, changing with experiences both good and bad, the mind becomes a melting pot for emotional sabotage. Mere will cannot be expected to control all these ups and downs. There are just too many variables that come our way on a day, week or month to control. So what we need to do, as opposed to getting frustrated with this process is to hand control over to the only one who is really in control. Let go and let God! By doing so you are bringing spiritual truth and faith to the fore and both of these are far more powerful than the will of a determined mind. Faith, which is much more than hope, is the knowing that you are in good hands for change. Faith lets us see past the day’s failures, the negative thoughts and experiences of our circumstances and still stands strong in the face of current adversity.
So, of you are like most other people, and grow weary at your ability to make great things happen for Your Spiritual Self, you need to consider moving towards the notion that you were just not made to be in control of everything that’s thrown your way. That’s what seeking Gods hand is for – through faith that His will power, rather than yours will bring joy, peace and love to your life.
11. Control is a man made notion.
Control is not something that comes from Your Spiritual Self. It is a concept brought about by our fear, our lack of faith in letting God manage our affairs. A sentence that sums up what I usually hear people say about there circumstances is, “I would love to just hand over my problems to God, but how do I know He’s going to be looking my way? Besides, I am far from a model Christian….”
The concept that we control our lives, and have the ability to manage our conditions in any way we choose is just a down right myth. Yes, some seem to have more ‘control’ than others and are quicker to jump back up, when life sends them a curve ball, however we are ultimately open to adversity, non-normative life events, illness and even death. We are mortal beings, with no physical armour to speak of. Our skin is as strapping and smooth as silk, our bones so brittle they can break in a mere fall and our inner bodies are subject to an array of internal and external influences at any given time. Yet, we are called as Gods amongst men to succeed in our life’s purpose. Learning to lean, trust and rely on God as entirely unseen, beyond the plain physical which is clearly seen, is undoubtedly most important as one of life’s major lessons in finding direction and power. Never again be fooled into thinking it is your task to be in a position of true power and control. Even if you had it, you couldn’t manage it.
If you need assistance from alcohol, food or drug addiction for yourself or a loved one, or are looking for your own spiritual centre, or Your Spiritual Self, don’t hesitate to call +2744 533 0330, or email us.