Is Growing Up Spiritually Possible In Modern Times Lost Paradise?
Growing up spiritually in a world, which is modeled around a material lifestyle including the latest equipment on electronics and gadgets, as well joining the entertainment and media world, is a real challenge. Even the Internet is full of distractions towards physical needs and wants. As a result, our perspectives and concepts of self-realization are buried under the soil of material desires and illusions. So the question arises on how can we balance the material and spiritual aspects of our lives?
Growing up spiritually means to look inward
Observing or reflecting things during a day, week or month is not sufficient. We need a more closer look to our entire perception. This includes our thoughts, beliefs, feelings and motivations. So, the challenge is to periodically examine our experience, our decisions, and relationships. What we experience in the outer world is a mirror of our inner world. So the things you engage in provide useful insights on your life goals, on the good traits you must sustain and the bad traits you have to discard. Moreover, it gives you clues on how to act, react, and conduct yourself in the midst of any situation. Like any skill, introspection can be learned; all it takes is the courage and willingness to seek the truths that lie within you. I give you some pointers for your introspection: be objective, be forgiving of yourself, and focus on your areas for improvement.
Growing up spiritually is build up your potentials
As a matter of fact, religion and science have differing views on the human spirit. Traditionally, religion views people as spiritual beings temporarily living on Earth, while science views the spirit as just one dimension of an individual being. Mastery of the self is a always recurring theme in both Christian (Western) and Islamic (Eastern) teachings. Clearly, the needs of the body are recognized but placed under the needs of the spirit. Values, morality, beliefs, rules, experiences, and good works provide the blueprint to ensure the growth of the spiritual being. Psychology sees self-actualization as realizing ones full potential. There are several human needs which we should be aware of: physiological, security, belongingness, esteem, cognitive, aesthetic, self-actualization, and self-transcendence. The main categories are: material, emotional, and spiritual. Survival dictates that you have to satisfy the basic physiological and emotional needs first, spiritual needs come next. Fulfilling all needs lead to the total development of the individual. Most probably the main difference between these two religions and psychology is the end of self-development: In religion self-development is a means toward serving God, while psychology view that self-development is the ultimate goal.
Growing up spiritually is to search for meaning
Religions that believe in the existence of God assume that the purpose of the human life is to serve the Creator of all things. On the other hand there are theories in psychology that propose that we ultimately give meaning to our lives by ourselves. Whether we believe that life meaning is pre-determined or self-directed, in order to grow in spirit is to realize that we do not merely exist. As we do not know the meaning of our lives at birth, we progressively gain knowledge and wisdom from our interactions with people. Also from our actions and reactions to the situations we are in. Over the period of development, as we discover this meaning, there are certain beliefs and values that we reject and affirm. Pattern are build and our lives finds a purpose. This purpose directs all our physical, emotional, and intellectual potentials and sustains us during trying times. This purpose gives us something to look forward to achieve, a destination to reach in life. If a person has no purpose or meaning he’s like a drifting ship at sea.
Growing up spiritually is to realize interconnections
Religions stress the concept of our relatedness to all creation, live and inanimate. Thus we call other people brothers and sisters even if there are no direct blood relations. Moreover, deity-centered religions such as Christianity and Islam speak of the relationship between humans and a higher being. On the other hand, science expounds on our link to other living things through the evolution theory. This relatedness is clearly seen in the concept of ecology, the interaction between living and non-living things. In psychology, connectedness is a characteristic of self-transcendence, the highest human need according to expert Maslow. Recognizing your connection to all things makes you more humble and respectful of people, animals, plants, and things in nature. It makes you appreciate everything around you. It moves you to go beyond your comfort zone and reach out to other people, and become stewards of all other things around you.
Personal development and growing up spiritually is a process of expanding spiritual consciousness on a day-to-day basis. We are here in this world to learn from experiences, bad and good, and to build it in our Being as a whole. Only through this inner awareness, spiritual growth will occur and more important, further growth will be possible.
