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The Power of Presence: A Spiritual Awakening

Let’s get Spiritual!!

Spiritual is defined as “concerning deep thoughts, feelings or emotions rather than the body or physical things“, as per our friendly Oxford English Dictionary. Being Spiritual makes us grow as a person – making us more content and capable of living life, with all the plus-es and minus-es associated with it. It is a personal milestone that each of us can achieve with time and patience. We can think, feel and emote with more clarity.

We become more adept at facing any situation with a broader outlook. In the words of Thomas Merton- “You do not need to know precisely what is happening or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment and to embrace them”.

Benefits of Spirituality:

There are both psychological and physical benefits associated with being Spiritual. However, the benefits of spirituality can vary from person to person, and spirituality is a deeply personal experience. Some individuals may find profound psychological and physical benefits from their spiritual practices, while others may not experience the same effects.

You accept yourself with all your flaws and work towards improving yourselves – “I am not an early morning person, but I am trying to overcome it by setting the alarm and not snoozing it to catch 15 more minutes of sleep. It will take time but I will get there.

You connect better with others – Your happiness and kindness will make you more approachable and you will find that people will approach you more and enjoy spending time with you.

You do your best to help others – You hold the elevator door for the other person approaching from a distance, you vacate your seat on the bus to a senior citizen and many such small deeds make a lot of difference. Whenever I do any such thing, I have a smile on my lips and a feeling of satisfaction.

You do not judge others – To cite an example given by a very close friend, you are in your car and a bike overtakes you all of a sudden, from the wrong side. You brake just in time to avoid a collision. What you need to do is not swear at that biker, for all you know, he may be going home as his parents are unwell. If possible, stop for a moment and pray that he reaches his destination on time and all is well.

You are kind to humans, animals and flora-fauna – Be kind to all including animals you see on the road. Grow plants, water them, talk to them and when they bear the flowers, feel the happiness by seeing their beautiful colours, tend to them and feel this immense sense of satisfaction.

You are satisfied with what you have and give back to Society, however you can – You have an MBA degree and are employed in a very prestigious firm. You are quick to point out to the canteen manager how to increase his sales by providing better service and creating a homely atmosphere to attract more patrons. What a good way to put your knowledge to use and give back to Society.

You are happy and make others happy – “ When you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands, when you’re happy and you know it, stomp your feet “and so the song goes. You don’t have to clap and stomp like a bull in a china shop! However, you can make your friend happy by remembering to wish her on her birthday by sending a thank you card to your colleague who completed your work in your absence, or saying please and thank you to the driver (this reminds me of the TV ad of a tea brand where the employer and his driver stop at a roadside stall to drink tea together)

You are more confident and responsible towards your duties – It is the cook’s day off and you are confident that you can help your spouse in the kitchen and feed the children. Believe me, you will manage both beautifully.

You can easily forgive and forget – You are more forgiving and you do not hold grudges. For example, your neighbour’s dogs keep entering your garden and chewing the plants. Instead of expressing your anger to your neighbour, you can keep water bowls for the pets.

You are fearless – You cannot be undue influenced and you have overcome all your fears be it fear of speaking on a public platform, fear of living alone, fear of death as now you know it is inevitable. Overcoming all your insecurities makes you stronger. You can stand up for yourself and others as you are unafraid to speak your mind and you firmly believe in truth and justice for all.

Psychological Benefits:

Some of the Psychological benefits include Reduced Stress, Improved Mental Health, Enhanced Emotional Well-being, Self-awareness, and Coping Mechanisms.

You are aware of your flaws and don’t shy from them – You are not a good artist and you know you can’t draw a curved line to save yourself. This does not stop you from appreciating the wonderful art of others. In fact, you will congratulate them on it and maybe buy a painting for your home.

You are humble and don’t have an ego – You are a great musician but you are humble to the core. If an amateur shares his music and you like it, you will collaborate and give him a platform to showcase his talent as well. You will appreciate his talent and teach him how to improve for the better.

You cultivate your talents – You can spare time to pursue your talents be it singing, dancing, oration, drama, writing, or whatever it may be.

You have better decision-making skills – It is the farewell party of a colleague and you know exactly how the party should be arranged according to the colleague’s tastes and bang on! The party was a blast and you were lauded with its efforts. Cut to – a year ago, when you were entrusted to organize the New Year party, which was a disaster, due to poor decisions and management, making you the laughingstock of the office.

You have clarity – There is an important presentation to be prepared and you know exactly how you want the PPT to look and have accordingly advised your creatives. After a couple of re-dos, the result is exactly as you had envisioned. This shows your ability to think clearly and focus.

You are thankful for all that you have. You spend a few moments each morning thanking God/supreme power for all that you possess. Good health, good family, good job, good pay, good perks, good house, good friends, etc.

You have peace of mind – You are so content and at peace with yourself. Your mind is calm and you are more capable of retrospect thinking good thoughts and motivating yourself.

You are less attached to material things – In the beginning, you run after money/power/success. But over a span of time, material things do not excite you any more. It is at this point that you give them less importance as you have achieved it all. Now you are seeking higher things like mental peace, kindness, goodness and such qualities that were ignored in the race. A new iPhone may not make you happy as much as some quality time spent with family will.

You have better mental health – You have achieved a level of peace, contentment, calmness, and all other traits that boost your mental health. You are much more relaxed and in a very good state of mind.

Physical Benefits:

Improved Immune Function

Better Pain Management: Spiritual practices like meditation have been linked to better pain management and decreased perception of pain.

Better Cardiovascular Health: Engaging in regular spiritual activities may contribute to lower blood pressure, reduced risk of heart disease, and improved cardiovascular health.

Longevity: Some research indicates that individuals who engage in spiritual practices tend to live longer and have an increased overall life expectancy.

Healthier Lifestyle Choices: People who are spiritually inclined often make healthier lifestyle choices, such as avoiding excessive alcohol or tobacco use, which can lead to improved physical well-being.

You have improved physical wellness – A calm and relaxed state of mind washes all physical ailments and you push yourself to maintain good physical health. You are exercising well, eating well-balanced food, drinking more liquids, abstaining from vices, and caring for yourself. This helps in lowering blood pressure, lowering depression, lowering anxiety and stress, improving body functions, improving stress levels, improving the digestive system, relaxing the nervous system, reducing sleeplessness, relaxing muscle tension, reducing aches and pains, reducing headaches /migraines, increasing immunity and adding years to your life.

You are thinking rationally – You are on your way to a meeting and you get a flat tyre. The first reaction will be frustration as you will get delayed. A rational approach will be you call the garage to collect it, change and send it over to your office. Meanwhile, you will take a cab for your meeting. As my Maths Sir says “QED – Quite Easily Done.”

You are tension-free and without stress/anxiety: Your rational approach makes you free from tension, stress, and anxiety and your quality of life improves. Everything is as smooth as silk and things couldn’t be better.

You laud your efforts: You appreciate how far you have come and how you have improved yourself be it at work or home. You have made a lot of efforts to reach this state and you are so proud, but in a good sense. Awakening all your goodness took time but you never let it out of sight and achieved it, which is commendable.

You are more patient and tolerant – There is a document that needs to be read and discussed. You are a fast reader but your colleague is not. You are jotting down notes after reading it, while your colleague is yet to complete it. You patiently wait instead of repeatedly interrupting your colleague as to whether it is done or not. In addition, you also teach your colleague about the parts that were missed. This shows the patience and tolerance levels achieved.

You believe in equality – You are more tolerant towards other people/religions and believe that every individual should have an equal chance in life. There is no one superior or inferior and you abhor racism.

You are more aware and receptive of your surroundings – You are sitting on a park bench, and attentive to each and everything that you can see, hear, sense, smell and touch – the beauty of nature, the green grass, the bell of the ice-cream van, the feeling of joy of the children playing, the aroma of popcorn from the nearby stall, the smooth texture of the flowers, making you aware of the surroundings, more so, than it would have normally done, if you were just passing by the park in your car.

You have a clutter-free mind – You are aware of yourself and therefore you know what thoughts are best avoided to maintain this level of a peaceful mind. You focus more on your senses and feelings instead of thinking about why you didn’t get the raise that your colleague did why your neighbour said what he did and so on.

You are more organized – You become more organized with your belongings i.e. keep a neat cupboard, discard old unwanted clothes/items, maintain a tidy desk, be orderly at work, home and all that you do. This is because you can feel at peace when you see the neat and uncluttered surroundings. This negates the negativity associated with harmful emotions /feelings, and you feel rejuvenated and all charged up.

You are more imaginative and creative – A stress-free mind makes you more imaginative and creative. You can visualise the scene and paint it exactly so by adding more creative touches to it, thereby enhancing its beauty.

You are better able to cope with stress – It is Sunday and your son’s school project is incomplete and has to be submitted the next day. Normally you would be stressed and upset and irritable and frustrated. On the other hand, you will stop this negative feeling, focus and think of how best to complete it. You have the rest of the entire Sunday to do so. You will immediately get to work by arranging all the craftwork and asking your husband to join in. All three of you will work together and complete it and still have time to go out for dinner !! Whatsay >>

You sleep better: Normally, you are unable to sleep as you have tens of thousands of thoughts running through your head. But now, with this enhanced level of peace and contentment, you can sleep better and bid goodbye to Insomnia.

And the list is endless…… These are but a few examples and the tip of the iceberg.

Conclusion:

To sum it up, when we attain a state of mind with inner peace, without any fear of pain/loss, by overcoming worldly passions and emotions, we attain a true sense of spirituality.

We, ourselves can attune our life in the best possible way. Once we attain this sense of spirituality, we can reflect on our inner self and begin to truly discover ourselves, as we have conquered our emotions and feelings associated with worldly/materialistic possessions. We now have time to think of what we were, what we are and what we can become. We meditate, we are mindful, positive, stronger and without any sense of losing out. All materialistic possessions seem trivial in the larger picture of life. Now that I look back, I can see how much time I wasted in the rat race to earn money for a better existence. I lost out on relationships and health and though I had money in the physical sense, I was poor in the emotional sense. It took a long time to get out of the rut and I am gradually learning to accept life, as it is today, peaceful and content. We all have some good qualities in us all we need to do is bring them into focus and let them shine. Let your goodness be the shining star showing you the way to a large life.

To conclude with this gem of advice from Lord Buddha, “No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one will. We ourselves must walk the path.”