This is a topic of conversation I find myself in when I am meeting people for the first time. If not prompted to ask, I usually ask “Are you religious?” It’s not that I am looking for a particular answer, there is no right answer in my perspective. The question is asked because I believe that it is a very important key indicator of a person’s sense of connection to the world around them. And ultimately how they choose to show up and interact with their world.

I find that most people answer and state their religious practice that they follow or they say “atheist or agnostic”. Then they ask “And what about you?”, my answer is “ I am spiritual but not religious”. This always prompts the conversation of spirituality, of which we are going to have now. Yay!

What is spirituality? I define spirituality as an awareness of ourselves outside of our physical bodies. This encompasses an awareness/ growing awareness of who we are as energetic beings and our connection to all that is. That’s quite a load, isn't it? 

To me being a spiritual person means that I am not only aware of energy but I am in a practice of listening to the energy of my body and the energies around me so that I can make decisions that are best suited for who I am and how I choose to show up. It’s an awareness and conscious cultivation of setting intentions for the tasks at hand. Like when I am creating works of art my intention is always to create works that inspire people to dive into their own stories, dive into who they are and use all those pieces & parts of their own experiences to become a better version of who they have the potential to be.

With our physical bodies we have (I mean hopefully) daily practices in place that help us maintain our physical hygiene, health and vitality. Likewise, as a spiritual person there are intentional daily practices that are involved for maintaining our energetic fields for health, vitality and hygiene. The ways in which to do so are numerous and beyond the scope of this post. But if you would like me to go over some of my favorite practices leave a comment below! These practices can range from meditation to baths.

Ok, so why do I personally care if a person is spiritual or not? Care is the wrong word, but why do I ask? I ask because I believe that a person with an awareness that lies outside of themselves ultimately makes decisions with an awareness of that connection. And as a result, most likely makes the best decision they could have made at that particular moment. (Note that I am assuming that the individual is geared towards making positive forward moving actions, love based actions). 

Now we are all human and make decisions for selfish reasons, at times others many more times. But ultimately it’s that awareness that over time I believe leads to positive changes in behavior.

On a personal level cultivating your own personal relationship with your spiritual beliefs strengthens your intuition, makes you less reactive, allows you to tap into your center of inner peace, be compassionate, be empathetic, be loving, and move in an awareness of your own personal power.

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Please share with me how do you define spirituality? How does it affect your life?

I’d love to hear what you think & feel about the subject.

Sincerely,

Chloe’