3 Benefits Of Having A Spiritual Practice

Hey, folks, how are you today? I'm gonna let people trickle in. m. Central time. Where I'm at. Hope you're doing well. Where you're at. My name is Nick the poet, and there was a time in my life where I was very broken and struggling a lot with sobriety, with mental health issues. And really, if I had to pick one thing above all things that have helped me to recover, it is spirituality. And I want to ask you, do you have a spiritual practice? Do you need one? Can it help you? And I think that spirituality is a loaded topic, like religion.

And we all come from different backgrounds, different religions, different ethnicities, and so we're all influenced by this. And so I just wanted to think a little bit more holistically about spirituality and share some things that have helped me. And I really want to encourage you to take what helps you. And if it doesn't, just leave it, because this is really a conversation, and I am learning with you just as much as hopefully I am going to teach you something about spirituality. And so, with that note, I wanted to start with the first benefit.

And by the way, I am Nick the poet, and I'm a creative coach here at Cadre. I am a filmmaker and a poet, and I also work for a marketing agency. And I'm just really interested in helping people to realize their potential. And once again, spirituality has certainly helped me to do that. com that kind of explains, really, the scientific benefits of spirituality and might get you thinking about it in a different way. So the relationship between spirituality and science is not, you know, necessarily always totally, you know, gone together.

And scientifically, tracking emotions can be like searching for meaning in the shapes we see in the clouds. And while the experience of emotion varies from person to person, the experience of transcendent emotions can be seen as more universal and is connected to spirituality and to pro social behavior. So these are really emotions that we can all relate to. Gratitude, compassion, ah. These are self transcendent emotions that are really, if we look at it a certain way, spiritual in nature, and they have a way to bond us together.

And so I think what was happening, in large part, when I was struggling with my sobriety and mental health crisis was that I was, you know, separated from others. I was off on what I would maybe call Nick Island. I was by myself, and I was not connecting, even if I was with other people. My behavior was so self centered that I wasn't able to see the forest through the trees. And so one of the first things that, you know, they'll have people do that I did when I started my recovery was just write down every morning five things that we're grateful for, or do three things today where you help someone else anonymously, you know, open the door, you know, for an old woman who's, who's coming in the grocery store or, you know, pick up some trash in the bathroom, you know, whatever it may be, these are the beginning of these transcendent emotions that get us outside of ourselves.

And so, you know, I was really introduced to these concepts at an early age, but I was reintroduced to them through a twelve step program, which really helped me. But that's not the only way to be helped. There's so many different ways. And I think it's more about just reaching out and connecting. For me, the higher power and being of service has, has really helped. And these are really tied to ancient, ancient traditions about getting outside, you know, of ourselves. So I encourage you just to, you know, explore what that might be for you.

And especially, you know, if you're struggling or hitting that rock bottom, you desperately need help. But if you're not, you know, hitting that bottom or you're not, you know, things aren't so bad. It's also might be a time where you can practice spirituality because it's going to widen your life. And I find that the more that I'm courageously seeking spiritually, the more that I bring that into my work life, the more that I bring that into my relationships with loved ones. And it just kind of positively impacts everything.

You know, there's a famous book about doing the one thing. What is the one thing if all other things being equal is gonna help me more than anything? And for me, that really has been spirituality. And interestingly enough, it's helped me also to accomplish goals, get outside of myself, and to make progress. You know, I think one of the biggest things is when I was struggling, I was so obsessed with my own goals, my own ambitions. This self centeredness was really the root cause of a lot of my troubles.

And when I was able to get outside of myself and begin helping other people and living with this service mindset and asking, you know, when I walk in a room, what can I give here instead of what can I take? And this is really a progress thing. You know, I'm not perfect. I'm guessing you're not perfect, but just to inch forward in this direction is really exciting. And the cool thing is it might take a while for habits to change, but right now, you can change your whole mindset. What can I give here instead of what can I take?

And being connected to my higher power through spirituality, you know, really helps. And it may look different for you. You know, your, your spiritual practice may be much more. You know, maybe it's, it's, it's just meditation or it's yoga or it's walking or it's your church group or, or it's just having a conversation with a friend. Maybe you find it in nature, you know, walking around. But I think the COVID pandemic really helped us all see when we had to take a little pause there, that there's more to this life than what we see.

There's more than just the dollars and the cents. There is this force behind it. And when I'm connected to that, the rest of my life is a lot more successful. And I think it's important to talk about these things. So, you know, I would love to hear how spirituality has affected your life. I would love to hear about how, you know, you've tried some of these spiritual practices. I'd love to have, you know, any, listen to any questions that you have. And so please email me if you, if you have any questions or thoughts.

I'm Nhanson. N h a n s e nadre IO, and thank you. And please keep spreading the peace and positivity wherever you are.