Connecting to More than Self
Exploring Your Spirituality
Clarifying Your Values
Finding Your Purpose
Connecting to More than Self
“Spiritual beliefs and practices” and “having a sense of meaning and purpose” involve being connected with something that is more than “me.” For many people, spirituality, meaning, and purpose cannot be separated. You may find that spirituality is the road to meaning and purpose in your life, or you may find meaning and purpose in other.
For some people, spirituality and spiritual beliefs may be very clear and concrete, and spiritual practices may center around specific religious traditions, rites, rituals and ceremonies. Growing up, you may have participated in a particular religion or been exposed to religious traditions and spiritual practices.
For other people, spirituality is not connected to a particular religion or a religious institution. It may include a belief in a power that created and controls all of life. It may include a belief in the interrelatedness of all living creatures. It may be a feeling of unity or connection with nature.
Some people understand spirituality and spiritual beliefs in less defined and more experiential ways, such as “the moment I realized that I was not alone.”
Spirituality may also be understood as a process or journey of discovery, rather than as an adherence to a certain set of beliefs. Discovering your sense of meaning and purpose in life is like a journey too. It is something that unfolds as you come to know yourself as the precious and unique being that you are.
Adapted from Whole Health Action Management Peer Support Training Participant Guide, published by SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions, April 2012
Varied Traditions and Pathways
This interactive wheel shows the greatly varied ways in which different people and cultures have been known to find meaning and spiritual fulfillment in life.
SOURCE: jesusjazzbuddism.org - now openhorizons.org
Resources for Spiritual Journeys
The website SpiritualandPractice.com is devoted to providing multifaith and interspiritual resources for spiritual journeys. While respecting the differences among traditions, the site celebrates what they share in common. You may want to check out these areas of the site in particular:
- KidSpirit: Youth Voices
This blog features 11- to 17-year-olds in deep and often surprising explorations of spiritual life. Their original writing and artwork was first published in KidSpirit, the sole spiritual magazine by and for global youth. Their words call us to approach eternal questions with wonder.
- The Reverence Project
Reverence, as defined here, is “the spiritual path of radical respect, courtesy, civility, manners, awe, and amazement. A way of seeing and being in life, it is best learned through example.” In that spirit, the Reverence Project publishes regular articles on books, art, film, spiritual practices, teaching stories, and topical articles that illustrate how reverence is expressed and acted upon throughout the world.
- Exploring Spiritual Traditions
Follow this link to see this website’s best resources in different spiritual traditions, including Buddhist Traditions, Christian Traditions, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Native American Traditions, Sufism, and Taoism as well as Multifaith Traditions, 12 Step Spirituality, and Independent Spirituality.