Spirituality
Are you ready for this weeks challenge? When you start talking about spirituality it can make people stand back a bit. What do they say- dont bring up religion or politics. But Im not really talking specifics. So this weeks challenge might not be for everyone which is okay. Its not meant to exclude anyone but to challenge those who would like to think about their spirituality. No debates on what religion or faith is best. Some people practice a dogma, others have a general spirituality and others have no beliefs. All of this is okay. But if you are spiritual lets think this week how it can be a self care tool. Can you use it to bring you comfort in times of struggles? Can you go to people with similar faiths to guide you or support you? Can you use your faith in something bigger than you are to help make you stronger? If so please share what helps you. Prayer? Meditation? Reflection? Communion with others?
So the challenge this week: Use your spirituality this week to give you strength and support. Are you up for the challenge?
i am in to spiritul things
Thanks for taking the challenge. I hope you have a peaceful week.
@AnnaKateMillerLCSW
i am up for the challenge, my spirtal self care tols are prayr, music, coloring while doing both, lisen to servce onlin
@Autismaunt14 Thanks for sharing! And thanks for taking the challenge. I'm glad you've found things that are helpful
I believe that spirtuality adds a great perspective when dealing with depression. From personal experience, I can say that it has given me hope, and motivation to fight everyday to still chase my goals and dreams.
@sunnyForest31 Thanks for sharing your experience. I know it helps so many people on their journey. I'm glad you've found a place for it in yours.
@AnnaKateMillerLCSW
I am not sure if what i think is right or not,but i personally think that spirituality is a path to know our soul and connect our souls with something beyond us (an unknown super power or a "supramental" being). i also think being spiritual is a great tool in self care because a spiritual path always gives us inner peace and thats what we all strive for at the end of the day. To me,meditation and self reflection works the best.
P.S: feel free to correct me if i am wrong.:)
@RenaMinerva No correction needed- because spirtuality is truly a personal thing. Some see it as a tool and some don't. In my practice I go with what my client feels and I don't think we need to tell anyone what their beliefs are about God or the universe. But I do think using it when you belive is very powerful. Thanks for sharing!!
Wow amazing challange
@dreamSmiles53 Glad you liked it. Me too :)
doing spiritul work it chalinging and very powerful i am up to the chalinge
Thanks for taking the challenge!
Right now I am struggling with my faith. Really examining what I believe and hat I do because it is supposed to be right. A lot of my damage has come through the Church. I once saw the Church as a safe place with Godly people. However, sex in the Church, lying, and backbiting has made me doubt my faith and I feel I lack trust that God is for me. I know he is real, maybe just not for me. I can not seem to reach Him.
An act of self-care for me is adhering to my values, and I value truth. I want to believe as many true things as possible, and I also want to not believe as many false things as possible. I find faith to be an unreliable path to believing true things. If I use faith alone, I can arrive at many religious beliefs, all claiming absolute knowledge and truth, exclusive of other beliefs. I can also believe that water which doesn't contain even a molecule of active ingredient to be more effective than a standard dose of active ingredient. I can also believe in any number of mythological creatures for which there is no evidence. I can believe in any number of supernatural claims, even if they contradict with one another, all because of faith.
How can faith be a reliable pathway to truth if the conclusion it brings people to varies from person to person to person? I don't believe it is reliable. I think there are other methods that are reliable and effective at helping us believe true things and disbelieve false things. I choose to rely on those methods for ensuring my beliefs are as close to being in line with reality and truth as possible. Reason and evidence are the best ways I know to do this. As a result of adopting these methods for believing things, when I have doubts, I can confirm through reason and evidence that I was either correct or mistaken in my belief. Thus, there is a self-correcting measure; an objective outside reality for which I can compare my beliefs and determine whether or not what I was believing was true or not. Faith does not have this self-correcting measure.
Choosing reason and evidence has given me more confidence and reassurance when I need to confirm something about the world. In a way, it is comforting, as I am often full of self-doubt from years of abusive gas lighting on the part of my parent. Being able to confirm my beliefs are in alignment with reality helps me know I'm on the right path in my quest to believe true things.
Since learning about epistemology, my mental health and critical thinking skills have improved substantially. Being able to confirm I'm understanding the outside world and believing true things has been helpful to my confidence and has improved my emotional comfort when confronted with the idea I might be believing something that isn't true. It has increased the value I place on belief revision, as a result.
This has become incredibly useful when looking inward and questioning beliefs I've formed as a result of trauma. If I discover I could be holding a false belief, it's not as scary, because my desire to believe true things helps me reframe belief revision as a good thing. As a result, I judge myself less and feel more self-acceptance. Anyone can believe something and discover the belief wasn't true. There's no need for harsh judgement. Getting rid of a false belief that takes me away from reality is a good thing.
Having a better understanding of the world helps me feel connected to it. Emotionally, I feel connection to others through volunteering to help others (vulnerable humans and animals), through active listening and motivational interviewing, through putting time and effort into my relationships with my loved ones. All of these things give me a reason to practice and improve my interpersonal effectiveness skills, so that I may foster close and trusting emotional relationships, and that I may be of service to others and (hopefully) contribute postively to the lives of everyone I come across.
Cogintively and emotionally, the more I engage with the outside world on its terms and embrace truth using reliable methods of determining truth, the more fulfilled I feel intellectually and the better I feel emotionally.
Hi, I just get these "goosebumps" whenever I see these: any pattern that is mathematical, placement, color and arrangement of buildings, Nature, beautiful sceneries, astronomical objects, the night sky, bright sunny days, music, and finally the ambience.
I used to get these "goosebumps" right from childhood, I don't feel they're bad, I feel they're helping me with my social anxiety.
I may sound like a wacko, but this is me being brutally honest, I have had quite a few mystical experiences, one of them was so beautiful that I wish to share: One day I was just wondering why Nature is really beautiful, they told me that, God, wants us to look into our minds to heal ourselves and not blame the outside, because the outside is already beautiful, then they told me that I have to keep my mind silent and calm, and that a calm mind knows what to do to heal itself.
I would really like an explanation for the goosebumps thing, if not for an explantation, would like to know if I'm not alone.
On a serious note, I don't take drugs, smoke, or alcohol, or drink any liquid other than milk, tea, fruit juice and water.
I also happen to have above average IQ if that helps
@AnnaKateMillerLCSW
Never understood why people can't be open about this issue either. I hate when people shove it in my place but if it's aproached like this I find it lovely!
Either way, to me my spirituality is really weird quite honestly. I'm still searching, learning.. so. I've been raised in a catholic family, yet my spirituality is more towards buddhism. I believe alot of the things they say and I find alot of peace with it too. Yet I also believe in spirits? I guess I have beliefs from multiple things which makes it a bit hard to define. But I'm happy with it :)