Spirituality: What Is It, How Can You Develop It?

What Is Spirituality?

There are many meanings of spirituality to be found. It is generally written that it concerns everything with the spirit (soul).

In simpler terms, it’s the way you approach life. Really an essential aspect of conscious living!

So it is mainly an inner experience. In my opinion, spirituality is about awareness.

Especially on a personal level, but ultimately it also influences the social and societal level.

Spirituality, for me, is ‘simply’ part of personal development. Some call it a religion or religion, but it doesn’t have to be.

You do not have to believe in a god to do it. Looking at the definition above: everyone has a mind.

It is often said, ‘I am not spiritual’ or ‘I do not believe in spirituality ‘. But according to many, that does not exist because everyone is spiritual.

We all believe certain things about life and death. Whether you consciously want to do something with spirituality is, of course, another matter 😉 If you do want to, then read on!

Why Spirituality? About the Spiritual Awakening

You may be wondering: why spirituality? Not surprising, because more and more people are becoming more aware of it.

This is because there is a lot of pressure these days: high expectations of ourselves & others. The ‘ spiritual awakening ‘ can be a start to do more with spirituality.

This can happen suddenly, such as due to illness, an accident, the death of a loved one, depression or burnout. But it can also go little by little.

Perhaps you have trouble with a job search that suits you and find a reason to work for your purpose, or you’ll be an at friends interesting book against.

The bottom line is that we have lost touch with ourselves. As children, we are in contact with ourselves, but we lose that as we grow up. Experiences, habits, beliefs…

Spirituality and personal development is all about peeling off all the layers created while growing up. Seeing patterns to get closer to yourself again.

Call it waking up, from off to on, living instead of being lived, off autopilot, out of the head (ego) and into the heart or whatever. In other words: look further than your nose is long 😉

Why would you do that? Because it’s exhausting and even unhealthy trying to be someone you’re actually not.

It gives more energy, more satisfaction, more happiness and a better world.

My Experience with The Spiritual ‘Lifestyle’

A few years ago, I was still ‘ off ‘. I lived a lot from my head and was mainly concerned with ‘doing it right ‘.

I have always been interested in my health, loved animals and cared about the planet.

I was also eager to learn; I asked myself a lot of why questions. Did everyone have as many thoughts as I did? Was I weird?

The death of my grandfather was a moment of realization that life can really just be over.

I read more and more about positivity & happiness and started to do more with mindfulness, which turned out good for me.

After a wrong choice of study and not knowing what I wanted with my future, I decided to go to Sri Lanka.

I learned more about meditation and yoga there, and I have faithfully continued to do so ever since.

I went from materialism to minimalism, stopped eating meat and worked on good relationships (depth).

The Law of Attraction also came my way. I started experimenting with applying it and started rereading books in 2018 (thanks for my library abbo mama!).

Though I already thought I was living consciously, it turned out that I was allowed to go a lot more layers deeper.

Once I lived on my own, I could really come to myself. That hurt a lot (read: depression) but was super valuable.

Today I am still working on personal development (and therefore spirituality) every day, and I inspire thousands of people daily with love to live more consciously!

Spirituality Doesn’t Have to Be Floaty

I admit: when I started living more consciously, I also found many things too vague. After all, the ego wants to see first, then believe and not the other way around.

Still, I took steps towards a happier life. It was only when I looked up the meaning of spirituality that I worked on it for a long time.

I was always afraid that people would think I’m vague, but I regularly hear people who don’t believe that.

I don’t have a crystal ball, don’t watch Astro TV, sing mantras, still listen to the same music, don’t go to a retreat every year, don’t do ecstatic dance and haven’t used ayahuasca.

Don’t get me wrong: if you do want that, you should discover it nicely.

But know that you don’t have to do all that to engage in spirituality. Let’s talk about that floaty thing. Spirituality assumes that everything is energy, and that has been scientifically proven (Einstein).

It is about balancing feelings and reason, and that sometimes feels like hard work.

Spiritual Development, How Do You Do That?  

Hard work!? Yes, I mean that. We have built up so many layers that it is hard work and not always pleasant to peel them off.

Then there is also a lot of distraction, which makes it challenging to keep to yourself.

Anyway, how can you discover spirituality & develop spiritually?

Try out things that come your way and that you find interesting. Stay curious and continue with what you like.

Some tips that have helped me in recent years to live more consciously and that I still apply daily: 

• Read self-help books; in another article, I will list 100+ self-help books for you
• To minimize, that has had such a significant influence on my personal process
• Choose plant-based food more often that does more with your view of the world than you think
• Try meditation, it gives peace of mind, and therefore you can gain more insight
• Go for a walk in nature, this also gives you peace of mind and then you get out of the rut
• Try yoga, maybe it’s not for you, but it’s a great way to relax
• Learn more about intentions; that is really a way to live consciously during the day
• Use affirmations to see a change in different aspects of your life
• Immerse yourself in the moon; you will be surprised how much influence it has & what you can do with it
• Discover the effect of gemstones because they can support you in all kinds of areas
• Do more with mindfulness, which is broader than just positive thinking and offers many benefits
• Observe your thoughts, discover your limiting beliefs and learn to transform them
• Do something about your phone addiction; your mobile & social media have more influence than you think
• Take a break; getting out of the rut is the way to get closer to yourself
• Drink pure ceremonial cocoa to connect with your heart and open it (more self-love)