Spiritual development is all about travelling—but the distance here is not measured in miles but rather how far you manage to go beyond your ego and negative habits.
And this is a solo journey, and to stay on the track and progress, you need strong commitment. Of course, spiritual classes and gurus can help you unlock the door to happiness, but they will be able to help only if your commitment is hundred percent.
The following 5 tips will also help you on your personal journey. Before we take a look at them, let’s understand what spiritual growth actually means.
What is Spiritual Growth?
In truth, the term ‘spiritual growth’ is incorrect. It is also misleading.
The spirit is embodiment of perfection. It cannot be made any better than what it is, that is, it doesn’t need to be grown. However, it needs to be awaken, so that it is allowed to manifest itself completely in everything we do.
Spiritual growth is the name given to the process of dropping habits that hold back our growth, of getting rid of erroneous beliefs, and of increasing awareness of our real essence. It is the process of letting the inner self inside you shine out.
5 Tips for Spiritual Growth
1. Start small
Spiritual growth is not a sprint—it’s a lifelong walk. Your success in this endeavor doesn’t depend on how fast you get off the blocks, but rather in which direction you are moving and how persistent you are.
Instead of trying out everything that has ‘spiritual’ before it, start small by picking a technique or course you like or are more open to explore. Spend some time developing and honing the new skill before adding a new element.
For example, enroll into a meditation course if you had always wanted to try it out or join a yoga class in your gym. Once you’ve spend sufficient hours doing the selected activity, you may expand your horizon further by learning new things.
2. New adventures
Life becomes stagnant if you stop learning new skills, not to mention boring. So be open to new adventures.
You should take small steps when starting your spiritual awareness journey, but even then you can add several new activities to your life. For instance, you can begin by learning meditation or yoga and also invest some time in creative pursuits, like writing, painting, or even reading.
Three very important things happen when you embrace new activities and people: your fear of unknown diminishes, you acquire new skills and you open yourself to new ideas, all of which helps sprout spiritual awareness.
3. Give time for a new activity to work for you
Do not jump from one activity to other every two months. Once you’ve picked an activity and have spent some time doing it, the first question you should ask yourself is am I enjoying my new activity.
If yes, stick with the same activity for some more time, and then ask yourself another question: Is my new activity helping me?
If it’s again yes, well… just continue with what you are doing.
On the other hand, if you don’t think that the new activity is really working for you, ask another question: Is it working for others?
Some people sometimes learn a skill slower than others, and it would be a real pity if you gave up something great that you enjoyed just because you needed some more time to make it work for you.
For instance, let’s say you had enrolled yourself in a bi-weekly yoga class. It’s been a year since you joined, but you are yet to taste a small slice of inner peace. Somehow, this is not working for you, although you practice regularly. However, some others in the class who are as old to yoga as you are happy with the improvements in their physical and mental health since joining.
You are thinking of quitting, but it would be much better if you were to first talk to your yoga teacher. Maybe he / she might help you fine tune your technique or get over some mental block that might be preventing your progress.
The crux of the matter is if you’ve found a good thing and you enjoy doing it, stick with it. Sooner or later, it will help bring about positive changes in you, allowing you to go deeper into your journey of spiritual awareness.
4. Let go off the past
The past events are a good teacher; they give us an opportunity to identify our mistakes, learn from them, and change ourselves.
But they can also, and often does, become a source of a lot of unhealthy emotional baggage. This emotional baggage is a hindrance to spiritual progress.
Accept the lessons that past event teach—but reject the negative emotions they evoke.
5. Live in present
The present is a gift. That’s why it is called the ‘present’. Release the past and don’t worry too much about the future. Learn to live each moment to the full.
It is easy to fall into the trap of wants, needs, and desires—and stay in it. Pursuing possessions, however, results in you taking off eyes from what you already have. It also leads to a lot of dissatisfaction.
Instead of going after material things, go further into your spiritual development and develop what you already have. It will help bring stability and harmony into your life.
Spiritual growth needs time and persistence. Start small and pick an activity you like. Stick with it and in time positive changes will sprout in you, paving way for a more fulfilling and peaceful life.