Essence Of Spirituality: Exploring Its Core & Impact On Life

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We’ve all heard about spirituality and its popularity resulting from the benefits it provides. However, regarding the essence of spirituality, not all of us are sure what it’s about.

In today’s world, more people are exploring concepts related to spirituality and meditation. Regardless of the platform you use, you are likely to encounter encouraging messages about these. From execution to benefits, social media has gradually been bombarded with related information.

This prevalence wires the brain to be positively receptive to these, perceiving them as something the body will benefit from practicing.

But does it?

First, Let’s Explore Its Basics: Spirituality Vs Religion

You may think they’re interchangeable. After all, the spirit is also a significant religious concept, i.e., the Holy Spirit or the spirit as in the soul. However, while they aren’t polar opposites, they also aren’t identical. This means you might have been using these terms lightly and wrongly.

The only connection between the essence of spirituality and religion is that both are the foundations of finding life’s purpose. In seeking the perennial knowledge that shapes our experiences and existence, utilizing both concepts as compasses is unavoidable to achieve the truth.

Spirituality and religion are only connected through the wisdom they provide. But while it’s consequential to know about this interrelation, it’s also essential to comprehend their differences.

Their primary divider revolves around the concepts incorporated in their practices. Spirituality centers around our quest for life’s meaning. This makes it an individualistic expression of existence, highlighting how we perceive and receive connectedness to what’s around us. On the other hand, religion may also assist us toward this aspiration, but it does so through rituals that involve God or any higher power. This makes religion a community-based experience.

Beyond Religion, What Is The Essence Of Spirituality?

Now that we’ve solidified the line between spirituality and religion, it’s time to dive deep into the essence of spirituality.

At its heart, this concept is defined by how we understand and express our meaning and purpose. It’s a personal belief system that defines us and how we experience life, away from a community identity. 

Hence, the essence of spirituality defines how self-aware we are of our souls.

Beyond the world’s hustle and bustle, we dig deeper into ourselves to solidify an identity that separates us from others—the full comprehension of our inner mechanisms. Spirituality explicates the question of who we are and what we’re truly doing in the world, influencing our connectedness with each other and with what’s around us.

To further understand the essence of spirituality, we dive into its three aspects:

Relationships

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To truly understand who we are and what we’re made to do, we must first observe and understand our relationships. This includes how we interact with each other, how we engage with ourselves, and how we react to the world. By keeping an eye on how we behave in relation to our surroundings, we grasp an image of who we are.

Who we are—this is our identity, bar the labels we receive from our careers, hobbies, and families.

By looking into our relationships, we understand who we are beneath all these, defining our existence’s core. Uncovering our core requires considering how we engage with ourselves. How we experience life isn’t only drawn from our interpersonal relationships but more so from our relationships with ourselves.

How do you relate to those around you and yourself?

Values

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Our values also shape the essence of spirituality. What beliefs govern our decisions and behaviors? These provide the framework within which we operate and assess the world we live and interact in.

Why is this important to establish?

When we examine our values, we learn to understand our motivations and intentions, thus helping us set clearer needs and boundaries. Establishing a belief system also shapes our purpose. By identifying what is important to you, you’re creating a personal objective you’d wish to achieve—a calling that’s significant to your existence.

How are you in service to others and yourself?

Life Purpose

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What is the meaning of life?

At one point, we’ve all asked this question – seeking a more profound sense of what we’re all doing here. Helping you find the answer is, at the very core, the ultimate essence of spirituality.

Understand that in defining life, we seek the purpose our souls are here to set out for. What are we here to experience and learn? This isn’t answered by what we finished in school or what we’re working on building in this lifetime. Instead, it’s what we’re building within.

What kind of people are we becoming?

Answer this not through labels or job positions. Instead, we can answer this by tapping into our spirituality and understanding what disposition we’ve set out to become. In trying to label what we’re becoming, we answer by the experiences that helped shape who we are. How we give and receive love, the help we provide, the wisdom we share – these define the person we’re truly becoming.

At its core, spirituality is about the unique path we’ve carved for ourselves in the world. It’s how we’ve transformed through the experiences and relationships we’ve built. Spirituality is far from religion; it doesn’t have to rely on divinity to shape life. Instead, it gives us the autonomy to mold who we are.