Spirituality
is often used interchangeably with the word religion. For the
purposes of this discussion, I would like to make clear from
the start that the use of spirituality in this context has
nothing to do with religion. Religion may serve as a vehicle
toward greater spirituality for some, and for others not.
Spirituality in the context of one of our five life
dimensions is about that which is at the center of our life.
Spirituality is that which everything else revolves around.
Our center, or our spirituality, provides us with a
foundation, a context, a central place for which everything we
seek to incorporate into who we are, and who we are becoming,
can attach it's self. The essence of who we are and what we
are about can be found in this deepest, most defining part of
our self. This is what I mean when I refer to spirituality, or
our center.
From our center - the hub of our values, our wants and our
needs - we gather information about each next step we take in
life. When our center is made of solid guiding principals,
values and beliefs, we have a rich resource from which to draw
when we are faced with difficult decisions and situations in
our life.
There are many misguided centers on which we can live our
lives. As Covey describes in his popular book, "7 Habits
of Highly Successful People." To read about 8 examples of
centers that can lead to destructive outcomes, click
here.
By centering our life on meaningful principles, or core
beliefs that guide our actions, we become grounded in who we
are, what we believe, and on what foundation we will build our
life. Upon your death, how do you want others to remember you?
In his book, 7 Habits, Covey encourages the reader to think of
three people who will speak at your funeral and what you would
like them to say about you. What is said about a person after
they die reflects the meaning conveyed about their life - the
meaning of their character.
Pause for a minute. Think about how you want to be
described - the characteristics (adjectives) that you would
like others to see in you - the "kind of person you would
like to be" whether or not you are that person today. For
example, I might want others to say: "she is honest,
respectful, curious, joyful, compassionate, and
responsible."
In the example above, the principles of honesty,
respectfulness, confidence, compassion, curiosity, joyfulness
and responsibility are solid, unchanging principles. These
principles don't react to anything. They are deep, fundamental
truths, classic truths, and generic common denominators. By
centering our lives on timeless, unchanging principles, we
create a fundamental shift in how we live. A principle-
centered life puts everything else into perspective.
Around these principles you can build solid relationships with
an intimate partner, family, friends, churches, work, and any
other area of interest in your life. All of the relationships
you have can then be guided by you and the fundamental truths
of who you are.
These principles, whatever principles you incorporate into
the center of your life, can repeatedly be validated through
your own experiences. As you explore various principles,
testing them out, living from them - you can begin to
understand your own development - you can see the changes that
stem from this shift in focus. With each success you
experience from living a principle-centered life, you can
begin to increase your knowledge and understanding of
yourself.
Your center can serve as a source of security and provide
you with an immoveable, unchanging, and unfailing core that
will enable you to see change as a concrete possibility.
Discovering what is at your center and defining your
spirituality offers you a destination for your life. Our
spirituality serves as a map for our life, with our principles
defining the way.
Finding
our center, discovering our truths, and identifying our principles is actually
relatively easy. The real challenge is to behave according to our beliefs, to
live intentionally from our principles and to constantly evaluate the
effectiveness of our values. Our beliefs guide us to our destination. Are you
using a map? Are you headed in the direction you want to be going? Have you
picked up the wrong map, or forgotten the usefulness of a map all together?
Having a map is not useful if you do not use it.