If we are not pursuing a spiritual path, we might just be missing out on some truly great benefits of having spirituality in our lives. Good spiritual practices allow us to discover our essential nature and our real self. Spirituality can help us improve our lives in various ways.

Generally, people have a misunderstanding about spirituality. Most people think that to pursue spirituality, we need to renounce worldly life and be in isolation or in a secluded place. That is not true. In fact, spirituality can’t be separated from our
worldly life.

When we entertain good, positive thoughts in our intellect, we are practicing spirituality. Similarly, when we have good, positive feelings towards everything around us, it is again spirituality. When we speak words that produce positive effects and help others, that is also spirituality. When we act for the collective good of all, that is spirituality in action.

Far from being something completely intangible, spirituality can be reached through good practices and making a commitment to reach the essence of who we really are, while continuing with our worldly life and fulfilling our responsibilities and discharging our duties to the best of our abilities. There are many great saints, sages and masters who led a worldly life and discharged their duties towards their family, spouse and children and yet attained the highest in the spiritual field.

Some ways spirituality can improve our lives:

1) Concentration and Focus

Spiritual practices help us focus on realizing our real self, our essential nature. This requires intense concentration on observing our mind. We also need to contemplate the real nature of our essential self.

While pursuing these practices, we practice our ability to focus and concentrate, which leads us to be more productive.

2) Awareness and Insight

While spiritual practices are a journey within, to realize our essential nature, we will also get into the habit of studying situations and people better. We will be more observant of those around us and be more aware of situations that present themselves to us.

3) More Creativity and Ideas

Focusing on our mind and soul will make us burst into creativity and innovative ideas. Artists are inspired to create magnificent art.

Entrepreneurs are inspired to launch new ventures and design new products. Others are inspired to solve old problems in new ways or add value to the world.

4) Synchronicity: Being in tune with our environment

When we feel in tune with the world around us, problems and situations in our lives become “in sync” with us.

We will start noticing coincidences, serendipity and favorable events in our lives. Being spiritually centered feels like the world around us is suddenly working for us and in our favor.

5) Contentment, Peace of mind and Happiness

Spirituality helps us to discriminate between real and unreal, eternal and ephemeral, self and not-self, etc. Then we realize that there is no permanent joy, pleasure or happiness anywhere in the external world. In fact, there is not an iota of joy, pleasure or happiness in the external world. It is only in our imagination!

We come across so many well-off people, who lack nothing and yet are not content, have no peace of mind and are unhappy. What could be the reason? The reason could be that they are seeking happiness in the wrong place.

Instead of seeking happiness in place, time, objects, people, relationships, situations, circumstances, environment, etc., we should be seeking it within. What should matter to us most, above everything else, is contentment, peace of mind and happiness. Spirituality helps us realize that peace of mind is an internal, not external journey. True peace of mind is within us. Our real self is the source of infinite bliss!

When we realize our real self we will always be happy, irrespective of whether the external situations, circumstances,  or environment are conducive or non-conducive. Real happiness is independent of all the external as well as internal factors like health.

We need to discover who we really are, otherwise we will have to depend on other people’s opinions who don’t know their own self!!

Remember, you are too blessed to be stressed.

There is not a shred of evidence to prove that life is serious.

When the Self-knowledge matures and having realized the illusory nature of existence, we will never take anything seriously. Then the entire creation is nothing but an encyclopedia of jokes!!

Live, Love and Laugh a lot.

Life is a Gift, unwrap it.