What Is Spiritual
Empowerment?
A sense of freedom is
something that we all want to achieve. Being independent in whatever aspect it
may be definitely boosts our confidence and makes us do better in life. We must
all be equipped with this certain type of positive energy within us in order to
have a major shift in the way we live.
Spiritual Empowerment
Spirituality may be
associated with religious things and ceremonies but in this case, it does not
necessarily mean that we should be hooked to a religion. Experiencing this
state would mean that one’s consciousness is awakened. This enables the person
to see the person one really is and become aware of the capabilities and limitations
attached to it. This makes the person become happy and contented with the
person that he is. Thus, he is able to take care of and understand himself more
than he used to. Being spiritually empowered makes a person aware of what makes
him happy and makes him more sensitive to what would make other people happy.
Why Is It Important
Our society today has
embedded in us stereotypes and perfect models as to how a person should be.
This makes most of us disgruntled and embarrassed about our own selves. Some people
have even gone to worse conditions, sulked, get into depression, and later on,
even get suicidal tendencies.
However, when a person
becomes spiritually empowered, he sees himself for who he is and who is not. He
becomes aware of his capabilities and thus he knows what actions are to be
done. Empowered people know their roles in society and they know what they can
do to bring about change in their selves, in others, and in the environment.
If we were just able to
empower ourselves spiritually, then freedom, in whatever aspect of life, would
just be within our reach.
Enriching
the Spirit – 5 Tips
How does one make
sure that he gets in the right path in becoming spiritually empowered? Here are
some ways:-
1)
Knowing Oneself
The first step to being able to empower one’s self and, later on,
achieve freedom and independence is to
know one’ self. It is very important that a person know his capabilities and
limitations so that he knows what his role is in the community.
2)
Understanding the World
Around
Once the person has some idea on the things he may be able to do to
the things around him, he would start understanding what is truly surrounding
him. It is important that a person knows how the things he could do to his
surroundings could also affect them.
3)
Prioritizing Things
When a person is able to determine these things in his life early
on, it is easier to be able to put priorities in life. For example, self is the
foremost thing that needs to be taken care of, without it a person is not able
to reach out to his surroundings and could not reach the freedom and
independence he would want to achieve.
4)
Sharing with Others
A person may be able to gain independence and freedom of his own but
if he does not share what he knows to other people, this effort is deemed
useless and it would not really make such a big impact. If a person shares what
he learns, he is able to get a step closer in making the world better.
5)
Continuing to Learn
A person who wants to enrich his spirit is one that does not give up
easily, no matter the circumstances and no matter the aspect of life is
involved. An empowered person would seek to learn more to make the world an
even better place for his self and his surroundings.
Spiritual
Empowerment through Alternate Therapies
One can reach
spiritual empowerment in many ways. The most common of these methods are
through alternative therapies. Below are a few examples:-
Yoga
Yoga uses the
mental as well as physical disciplines that originated in India. Most Yoga practitioners
today use yoga as a form of exercise. However, this form of meditation may also
be used to gain Moksha.
Moksha is the state
where a person attains liberation and freedom from all worldly sufferings. It
comes from a Sanskrit word that literally means release or to let go. At the
end, the person is able to find his own identity called the Supreme Brahman.
Doing yoga may also help a person have a stable relationship with himself while
experiencing calm and peace.
Reiki
This method
originated in Japan
and means spiritual power from a Chinese loanword. Reiki originated with Mikao
Usui after a 21-day retreat in Mount
Kurama. Practitioners of
Reiki aim to abide to its principles that include (in a translation):-
® Do not be angry
® Do not worry
® Be grateful
® Work with integrity
® Be kind to others
Reiki also makes
use of a universal spiritual energy that could actually have a healing effect.
Anyone can also gain of this energy but has to go through a process of
attunement done by a Reiki master.
Er Mei
Qi Gong
This type of
practice believes that a unique form of matter called the Qi can be transmitted
to others to provide healing and promote good health as well as help in
spiritual empowerment. Some people even believe that they are able to develop
their skills in clairvoyance and telepathy.
The choice of
alternative therapy, if at all, would really depend upon you and in which
practices you are most comfortable of doing.
In addition, there are many other therapies that you could undergo aside
from the ones listed here.
Being Your
Own Spiritual Coach
It is not only enough to seek help from other people by using
meditative and alternative therapies on your way to spiritual empowerment. It
would help much if you were able to become the personal coach to your own self
so that you can criticize easily if you make any mistakes.
Having an enriched and empowered spiritual life would mean that a
person is able to accept one’s self, no matter the limitations he has. When you
fail to accept that and tend to blame yourself for things because you are a
weak person who has too little capabilities, then you should start to tutor
yourself into forgetting that part. Keep in mind that you are in the road to
spiritual empowerment, if you do not help yourself improve and accept things as
they are, nobody else can help you in that aspect.
It is also important that you always remember the mistakes you have
done in the past and take action from it instead of regressing and going back
the other way. Do not forget that mistakes are what shapes a person and
sometimes, they can be inevitable. One can always learn something from a
mistake and when he does, he commits never to make the same action again.
However, you must also remember that a person learns and improves.
You cannot always say that it is unavoidable to make a mistake because it can
be – when it happens repeatedly. Making the same mistakes over again is a sign
that you are not doing anything to help yourself improve and move a notch
higher in terms of spiritual empowerment.
Become your own coach – you are the only person who can always
accompany yourself and check for any mistakes that you might commit. You are
also the only person who can bring yourself not ever to commit the same mistake
again.
Learning
from Life and Moving On
When you go through
the process of spiritual development, it is not always a guaranteed success at
the start. There are many times that a person will fail but it is in getting
back up that he gets courage and determination to withstand whatever situation
he has to face in the future.
If you are on this
journey, it is very important to have the will to achieve your goal – of being
independent, free, and empowered as well. It takes a little hard work to
achieve this as well as some patience. Even though the path you will be taking
will have some bumps ahead, you must bear in mind that everything will end soon
enough and if you focus your mind to it, you should not notice that you have
already reached your goal.
It is then
important that each time you fail and make a mistake; you learn to accept that
you also have some limitations in you. You cannot be perfect but you are trying
to be the best that you can be. When you make mistakes, which are often
inevitable at the start, it is normal to feel sad and a little depressed.
However, this failure should not be a reason for you to sulk and even regress
and go back to your old ways. Instead, you should use it as a stepping-stone so
that you can move on further to your spiritual goal.
When you become successful in this journey, it should feel very
pleasant and light. You have reached your goal because of all your hard work
and your determination. Courage is also important so that you can bravely face
your shortcomings and learn to accept it. Flaws are a part of who a person is
and it cannot be avoided that he has one however, it should not be a hindrance
as to why he could not move on to his goal.
Spirituality
and Money – Understanding the Equation
When we try to achieve spiritual empowerment, it can be hard to go
against all the temptations in the world. It can be hard to avoid indulging
ourselves with what money has to offer. As they say, money makes the world go
round and many times, we would forget that there are other forms of happiness
in the world that no amount of money can buy. However, this is not the case for
spiritual people.
When One is Spiritual
A spiritual person is more aware of himself or herself. The person
is more aware of his surroundings and to the sufferings of the people. This is
the reason why many of them are not after material richness. These types of
people find more happiness and fulfillment in the little joys of life that
money is not able to bring. Thus, they are able to have a different view and
concept about money, what it can do to our lives and to the people surrounding
us as well.
Their Views on Money
The use of money, of course, cannot be avoided. However, a person
who has gained spiritual enlightenment only sees money as a means to an end and
not as anything else. Those who want to do something to society work hard not
for themselves but so that they could provide the needs of the people around
them. They give out to charities and help other people in need without
expecting to gain anything out of it.
Enlightened people do not chase after money. Instead, they accept it
as it comes. Money is still needed to buy essentials but not for the things
that could bring happiness. These people believe that they could get what they
want out of money but it does not mean that all their happiness relies in it.
Understanding
the Secret of the Law of Attraction
Did you ever know that spiritual empowerment had something to do with
Quantum Physics? You may not believe it but it does. Here is why:-
A Quantum Physics Law
According to experts, the Law of Attraction traces its roots to Quantum
Physics. However, many of those in the scientific community believe that this
law already belongs to pseudoscience.
The Law of Attraction states that one can use his energy to his own
advantage when he follows four principles:-
1)
You must have
specifics of what you want to achieve.
2)
You must ask the
world to give it to you.
3)
You must think and
feel that you have already gotten what you really want to have.
4)
You must be prepared
for its coming and let go of whatever connections that comes with it.
Thus, the law states that when you think of something as already
happening to you, there is a big probability that it will truly happen to you.
How It Is Connected to Spiritual Empowerment
You already know that spiritual empowerment and enrichment is what you
want to achieve. When you start to think of it as something that is already in
you, you also start to act as if you already have that empowerment. Thus, your
actions will help you work out what you need to do as things follow. Later on,
you will never notice, that you have already reached what you want to achieve
and you let go of the other things that is stopping you from achieving it.
When you are in your journey for spiritual enlightenment, it is
important that if you feel and start to act the way an enlightened person
should, you would also keep out any negative vibes. Because what you think
would attract the energy around you, it is best to keep out negative thoughts from
your mind to keep out negative energy as well.
Thinking and
Growing Rich
The Law of
Attraction has been found with many uses, including in the aspect of becoming
rich. According to this law, your thoughts have an energy that can attract
other circumstances in life. Although this has been dismissed as a part of
pseudoscience, there are still many instances in our lives where we believe
that the Law of Attraction takes place.
On Becoming
Rich
The Law of
Attraction says that if a person thinks of a specific goal in mind, feels, and
knows as if it is already a truth, then things will start to follow and the
universe will seem to conspire to make it a reality.
Many people believe
that when they start to do the same in their want to become rich, they also
become one. Of course, this event does not happen instantly. When you start to
think that you are already rich, or are becoming one, your actions start to
modify as well. You unconsciously do things that could actually make you rich
and succeed in it which is why so many of us think that the whole world willed
for it to become true when the truth is, it was actually more because of our
own doings.
On Succeeding
in the Endeavor
If you want to succeed, this should also be something you want to
keep in mind. A person who believes in success would have self-confidence that
could take him places. When a business associate or a client meets up with
someone who possesses this quality, they also become confident in making a deal
with the person because they can trust that person and they would believe that
they could also bring them success.
In its simplest terms, the Law of Attraction works this way. A
person who has positive energy is sure to attract positive energy as well and
block out the negatives, guaranteeing success.
Striking the
Balance between the Inner and Outer Aspects of Your Body
Being spiritually
empowered brings us not only to awareness of ourselves but also of others and
our surroundings as well. However, there are times when these concepts could
clash, which is a reason why balance must be maintained between the two.
The Inner Aspects of the Body
An enlightened person becomes more fully aware of his own self, his
body, his capabilities as well as the limitations and flaws. However, a person
who is spiritually empowered is able to accept whatever weaknesses they have,
work on it and make it a stepping stone for improvement and not as a hindrance.
The Outer Aspects of the Body
While there are needs in the body that has to be fulfilled, we must
also remember the others that we have to think of as well. You may have
experienced freedom and independence for yourself but this is useless when you
see around you that the people are not having the same experience. This is a
time when the principles that you wish to live by begin to clash
Striking a Balance between the Two
Usually, people who have experienced this freedom would also want to
impart in others what they too have experienced. It is not enough to be able to
feel happiness within one’s self but in the interaction with other people as
well. This would ensure that person that he is not only working things for
himself but also to his surroundings, thus creating a balance.
In addition, happiness felt within oneself is incomplete if the
person finds that his surroundings could not give him the happiness and
enlightenment that he had worked so hard to achieve. It is for this reason that
these people also try to spread and teach what they know so that a balance
between the happiness of the outside and inside aspects of the body is achieved.
Moving
Closer toward Spiritual Nirvana
Every journey has an end and each undertaking you get yourself into
has a goal to be achieved at the end. As you go through the process of
spiritual empowerment, you do not only get yourself to experience freedom and
independence but you move close to nirvana as well.
What is Nirvana?
Nirvana is said to come from a Pali word meaning, “blowing out”.
Thus, this means that a person experiencing nirvana has blown out greed and
hatred and is free from suffering. In Buddhism, Nirvana is said to be a state
where a person achieves and experiences perfect peace of his own mind and frees
himself from cravings, anger, and other afflictions. He also becomes at peace
with the world, gives kindness and consideration to other people, and does not
obsess with physical things anymore.
How Is It Achieved?
According to the Pali Canon, nirvana can be achieved in many ways.
First, it can be achieved from insight and self-awareness alone or it can be
achieved through understanding. Nirvana may also be achieved through the deeds
and righteousness that a person has as well as the virtues, understanding, and
consciousness. It can also be achieved with some effort and concentration or
through the four foundations of mindfulness, which include the body,
sensations, mind, and mental contents.
If you summarize all of these things, the path to spiritual
empowerment, which ultimately leads to nirvana, is the same as the Threefold
Training of Buddha, which included wisdom, mental development, and virtue. A
person who is able to lead a life with the right speech, action, livelihood,
effort, mindfulness, concentration, understanding, and intention is sure to be
able to reach the right path to enlightenment. When this happens, the person is
not anymore attached to the material world and has found a different kind of
happiness and contentment in their lives.
Conclusion
Empowering the spirit is a very tall order. It
requires high discipline, a particular frame of mind and much sacrifice. But
when you attain the state, there’s not much you would wish for.
All the
best to you!!!
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