Spirit Sunday

Happy Easter and a Happy {belated} Vernal Equinox to all!

Spring is the season in which life emerges from death - renewed, refreshed, and beautiful. For us too, the journey through life is punctuated with little deaths along the way; and if we choose to accept it and move forward through our own suffering and struggles, we too will emerge renewed, refreshed, beautiful - and transformed.

Depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses thwart this transformation, keeping the individual trapped in a perpetual cycle of suffering. If one can accept and move through her/his disorder, however, she/he too can eventually emerge renewed and transformed.

Of the many tools which can help break the cycle and catalyze transformation, is spirituality. According to Lolak, Minor, Jafari, & Puchalski (2016), spirituality is defined as the "...ways in which individuals seek and express meaning and purpose...and connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred." 

Though spirituality is not the equivalent of religion, most true [i.e., non-wacky packy] religions nurture the spirit and provide individuals with the guidance and opportunity to live a spiritual life. There are myriad other non-religious ways to nurture the Spirit as well: nature, art, good literature, love, contemplation, meditation, etc. All people can experience spirituality.

While current scientific data on the mental health benefits is mixed, there is a growing acceptance among practitioners and patients that prayer, meditation, and spiritual contemplation are a critical component of whole-person treatment, and can be beneficial in improving health and quality of life. (Lolak, Minor, Jafari, & Puchalski, 2016)*

Okay, that said...

Starting next week, each Sunday, I'm going to share some spiritual fuel for mental health. The sole purpose is to offer you more resources for your mental health tool kit. I won't be preaching, and I have no intention of turning this blog into a platform for theological debate. I'm going to do my damnedest to not let my own beliefs skew my posts either, and I'll be posting a variety of faiths and philosophies.

This is one aspect of my own recovery that has been seriously neglected, and I look forward exploring it with you.

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REFERENCES


Andrade, C., & Radhakrishnan, R. (2009). Prayer and healing: A medical and scientific perspective on randomized controlled trials. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 51(4), 247–253. 

Lolak, S., Minor, D. K., Jafari, N., & Puchalski, C. (2016). Complementary and integrative therapies for mental health and aging (C. F. Reynolds, Ed.). Oxford University Press. 

NAMI - the National Alliance on Mental Illness - Faith and Spirituality

Renew and Refresh!

Happy Easter!

Easter and Springtime in general is a time of renewal and rebirth. It's the blooming of new life from what was once dormant and dead. 

A refresh and rebirth is exactly what I need. I tend to get so very stuck mentally - obsessing over and replaying negative thoughts, past events, and anxieties about the future. I obsess too about getting everything "right" and being perfect. One mistake, and my confidence is knocked down yet one more level. (Quite frankly, perfectionism and fear of mistakes are the real reasons I haven't been blogging for the past several months.)

What can I do today to renew and refresh my spirit? 

Today, as I reflect on Easter and the renewal of spirit, I'm trying to let go of these negative mental exercises and let go of the need to control outcomes. Alcoholics Anonymous speaks of "letting go" and taking life "one day at a time", and that's exactly where I'll start. 

I'm sure you've heard all of this before, but it's true. Life is made up of millions of small moments. Moments that contain beauty, joy, pain, sorrow, and laughter. Moments to be savored and experienced just as they are. Moments that will change our hearts and help us grow if we let them. Unfortunately, these little experiences that make up the mosaics of our lives can pass us by unnoticed like ghosts. If we spend our time and energy focused on the past or future, we are left feeling lonely, empty, disillusioned, and scared.

Renewal and rebirth starts only in the Now. LIFE itself is the Now. Log off right NOW and go experience Life!

Happy Easter / Happy Spring!

Remember Who You Are

When I awoke this morning, my head was swirling with thoughts: It's 8:00. I only have 10 hours to get my paper done;I feel guilty about missing work yesterday; I have so much to do at work...and at home...

Then, as I was making coffee in the kitchen, I looked out the window, and heard that still, quiet voice within: Remember Who You Are. Remember that you are special and unique to this world and a part of a much larger reality than that of the worrisome little microcosm in your head now.

Struggles will always be there; it's the price of entry to this world. But life is also filled with beauty, joy, and adventure - if you turn your attention there. How you respond to both the good and the bad will determine the trajectory and the quality of your journey. 

Dear reader: Please remember that you are unique and precious - a droplet sparkling like a diamond in the sun's light. There is no other like you in the entire universe, and there never will be! It is your right and your duty to live fully and to reflect the Light!

The Small Voice

Somewhere deep down inside I've always known that I was meant to be more than a depressed, anxious, alcoholic. Call it an inner sense of knowing, perhaps - a wordless tugging toward my true self. It may have been buried by years of emotional debris and drowned out by negative thinking set on "repeat", but that voice was there all the while.

What is that small voice - that inner knowing - trying to tell you?