If you’re like most people, you rarely have enough minutes in the day to get everything done, let alone relax and reflect. Sooner or later, the stress will catch up with you and you’ll feel scattered, uncomfortable, and tense. You end up feeling spiritually stuck. Spirituality isn’t just about going to a place of worship, mediation, or praying. It’s also about your energy and connection with God, the “source,” or whatever you want to call the higher power and, or if you prefer, your Higher Self. Below we offer tips to help you get into the flow again, which will also help to enhance your intuition and sense of purpose.
1) Alter your diet. In order to feel centered spiritually, you need to treat your body well. When you eat for fuel what works best for your particular body type) most of the time rather than taste or comfort, you’ll feel and look your best. It’s easy to choose unhealthy options when you’re rushed, but it’s worth the extra time needed to plan ahead and make the most of your nutritional intake.
2) Avoid sugar. This is a big one. Sugar may give you a quick energy fix, but it also depletes your body of optimum health and will lead to an energy crash and unstable emotions. In turn, it makes it that much more difficult to maintain your spiritual equilibrium. If you feel the occasional urge to indulge, there are many options besides white, processed sugar and fructose corn syrup, such as raw honey, stevia, and agave. It’s common knowledge among the most respected health experts today that fruit sugar, although perfectly natural, isn’t healthy in excess, so keep the fruit intake at a judicious level too. Purified water or vegetable juice instead of fruit juice is often a better choice.
3) Cut back or avoid booze. Beyond the infrequent cocktail or two, excess drinking will only lead to spiritual cobwebs or worse. Our spiritual detox work (see Spiritual Detox audio on our site) has led us to conclude that some regular and most heavy drinkers have spiritual hitchhikers and sometimes dark energy on board. Call it toxic energy if you want–whatever it is, it’s a significant block to spiritual awareness. Excess alcohol is essentially an invitation to spiritual parasites and toxic energy.
4) Remain drug-free. Some people claim drugs make them feel more spiritual, but what goes up must come down. Most drugs cloud perception and intuition for weeks or even longer. In our opinion, there is zero room for drugs in your life if you want to be your best on all levels.
5) Cut back or avoid caffeine, or at least switch to green tea. Caffeine can help you sail through a busy day, but it can also cause more stress, and wreck havoc on your body from long-term over-indulgence.
6) Get those endorphins firing with exercise. A good workout will get your heart rate up and help you feel more at peace afterward. Interval workouts, which include 90 seconds at a moderate pace, 30 seconds at a very rapid pace, and then repeated up to 9 times for a total of about 20 minutes, is even more beneficial. We could feel a big difference afterward with energy levels and sense of well-being the first time we tried it. Yoga and going for a walk in nature will also bring you back to your center.
7) Sex. Not just routine sex, but good sex. Get creative. Try something new. Since ancient times, sex has been used not just as a release or way to bond with a love interest, but as a way of connecting with a higher source. This is much easier to do once you let go of any guilt or shame you consciously or subconsciously associate with sex.
Remember, even though history is replete with puritanical cultures that encouraged a negative attitude toward sex and caused sexual shame to flourish, safe, honest sex between consenting adults is not only a one of the most fabulous human experiences but can be profoundly spiritual as well.
Copyright © 2011 Scott Petullo, Stephen Petullo