I have said over the years that I’m not a religious person but that I am a spiritual person. I never knew what I really meant by that until recently.

It’s my experience that the word “Spiritual” conjures up ideas of mysticism in peoples’ minds and many equate spiritual with being “Holy.”

I find spiritual to be a lot more straight forward than those definitions.

To me, being spiritual is simply stepping out of the realm of thought. That means when my thinking calms down, I’m more in touch with my spirit. When we identify with the thoughts in our head about who we are and how things ought to be, we are removed from the realm of spirituality.

There is a calmness associated with stepping out of the realm of thought and this calmness of mind gives us access to options that are absent when incessant thinking is present. Our thinking prevents us from noticing options because we are so laser focused on the limited range of our thinking apparatus.

There are so many ways to calm your mind. It’s just a case of finding a method that works for you: mediation, yoga, present moment awareness, self-hypnosis, tai-chi, chi kung, or just putting your feet up and letting the world go away for a few minutes are just a few methods. All will help you step out of the realm of thought and step into your spirituality.

Think of spirituality as your center for finding options, rather than some mystical place. It’s like a visit to the Home Depot to see all the different ways you can redecorate your bathroom – options you wouldn’t see if you didn’t visit.

Find a way to step out of your thinking on a regular basis. It will present you with options you would never find otherwise. Stepping out of your thinking is a very practical and spiritual thing to do.

All the best,

John