How do we manage to sustain our sense of self and purpose while facing adversity, trauma and stress? By drawing on our spiritual resources and applying our set of values, principles and beliefs.
Spiritual is not the same as religious. William James made a distinction in his study of The Varieties of Religious Experience and put it quite well: “On the one side lies institutional religion and on the other personal religion. This personal religion is spirituality, the feelings, acts and experiences of individuals in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine.” In other words, every person has their own experience and understanding of divinity.
Now, my Get Up and Grow community is open to anyone, so it goes without saying that we’ll eventually have just about every religion there is out there, represented here, so let me be clear. My vision for this community is to inspire learning and growth in all areas of life, regardless of whether you are religious or not and regardless of what your particular religion or faith might be. My wish is to serve every member of this community with an open heart and your views and beliefs are the gold that make you the wonderful human being you are. Subsequently, my emphasis for this community will be on personal growth and transformation in a context that stands separate from organised religion and identity politics.
Spirituality is known to have a positive correlation to resilience when someone is going through any kind of hardship. Research has shown spirituality to have a positive influence on hope, optimism, peace, comfort and resilience. It has also shown a connection between spirituality and resilience in terms of the positive impact on coping, healing as well as emotional and mental well-being.
Within our individual concept of divinity, we develop a sense of self and purpose, we find a place or community where we belong, where we get comfort and support, where we make sense of our life experiences and gain a higher sense of control, better self-esteem and confidence. Spirituality is not only good for us, it’s a necessary aspect of life that we have to nurture continuously while we develop our values, principles and beliefs.
My invitation to you is to embrace your journey with this community and bring your gold to the table so that we may enrich ourselves and each other as we learn from our varied life lessons and grow forth. I’d love to hear from you via email to info@getupandgrow.co.za, if you have a personal experience you would like to share.
Also Read Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs