Spirituality

Spiritual Tourism is a real crowd-puller to India!

India and other culturally rich countries are fast finding out the importance of their spiritual traditions and beliefs in context of tourism; though, India has always been looked upon as the universal truth-finder’s path and a land of inherent spirituality. This view has been reinforced by the many overseas tourists to the country who return with memories of individual sanctification and weary souls rejuvenated after having stepped on the many legendary Indian worship sites and pilgrimage centers.How the Celeb-factor has turned around the fate of Spiritual tourism: word of mouth and great publicity!

The global gypsy feet owner with a penchant for finding again the reassurance of religious feelings and those on spirituality scouting for inner peace find India the ideal Yog-bhoomi (land of yogic science). Many celebrities have found the ancient wisdom of Indian spirituality personally rejuvenating and have made it world-famous by giving it publicity and international exposure in action, dressing-style, using Indian meditation and other forms of spiritual peace that is predominantly Indian; some of these youth icons include Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Sting and Meg Ryan.

Indian counterparts like Shiv Khera, Swami Ramdev, Deepak Chopra and other motivating speakers and preachers of spirituality helped in building a brand image of India as a delight for spiritual tourism seekers with their inspirational discourses, seminars, public appearances and other related promotional and educational efforts for reviving interest in Indian spiritual tourisms. A tryst with spiritual tourism in India proves to be a balm to the global traveler’s soul.

India’s innumerable saints and seers, success at peaceful attainment at enlightenment and strong emphasis on cultural diversity in various religious monuments such as Temples, Mosques, Monasteries etc having all received benevolent patronage has resulted in many places of worship being present for curious visitors from the tourism sector. Now, thanks to proper management and eco-tourism factors, this sector of spiritual tourism has gained more recognition.

Spirituality can be an important part in your plan for living. Taking positive action in this area helps keep you centered and focused. Please be aware we will not be taking on the issue of religion vs. spirituality. The former being more didactic and the latter concentrating more on your own personal relationship with your own recognition and connection and acknowledgement of whatever Higher Power is most relevant to you.

Not so strangely, you may call your Higher Power whatever you want to, Natural Force, Jesus, Force of the Universe. More relevant than the name or label you attach is your acceptance and connection of such an energy permeating in your life.

The following are basic tips to help you improve your spiritual self as well as help you develop a more solid connection with your own life and your part in the spiritual world. Please know that spirituality, just like Rome, was not built in a day. Work on spiritual aspects of your life in a consistent and gradual way. Doing so keeps you from being overwhelmed.

Engage in the practice of meditation

In a consistent fashion, try to establish a place and time where you could spend a quiet moment in the morning or during the evening. Just a few minutes is all it takes. This is also a good time to assess goals or to simply focus and quiet the mind. Your mind has to have some relaxation to be sharp.

Praying is a form of meditation. Having a short meditation phrase helps you focus on your breathing instead of any random thoughts that may come and go in your mind.

Get involved in group worship

The point of the matter is getting to be involved in a group form of worship. There are those people who prefer to spend time alone and focus on their spirituality and those who prefer to spend time with people while working on developing their spirituality. Give both a try.

Don’t isolate, be with people.

You could try singing in a church choir or joining a hobby club. For some of us, having positive relationships and interaction with different people can take away hat feeling of being alone.

Never too late to learn

It is always never too late to improve your mind. The mind is like a sponge. Make sure you continually feed it. You could do so by attending some classes at your nearest community college. How about engaging in a study book group or just by reading books and watching DVD’s related to psychology, other spiritual ideas or self-improvement books.

Eat right and be healthy

Being physically fit and eating in a healthy fashion simply feels good. Being fit and engaging in an appropriate diet helps keep the body toned and privdes a clearer and more receptive mind.

Have fun

This is the part I like. Believe it or not, being spiritual does not only mean being serious all the time. In a paradoxical way, being spiritual allows you the freedom to not take yourself all that seriously all the time.

You may also indulge in some hobby or activity for the simple fun of it. You could start by exploring sports, hobbies or whatever it is that catches your fancy.

Help other people out

For some people, doing some volunteer activities or doing some acts of random kindness works best to help them become more spiritual. Giving for the sake of giving not for some personal gain makes people feel good inside. This is a situation where everyone is a winner.

Practice non-judgment

This is difficult because everyone makes judgements all the time. When you judge someone or something you really are comparing them to your own standards. If they are do not meet your standards you can look down on them and feel better than them. If they exceed your ideas you could be jealous. This is a lose-lose situation.

Express appreciation

There is actually a lot to be thankful for . When you discover the many wonderful things that life has to offer, and appreciate what you already have in life, the world opens up itself to {positive possibilities.

Again, try to practice each day appreciating an aspect in your life you know you are grateful for. Thank the universe for another day to spend and another day to make yourself, your life, or others lives better.

Become objective

Paradoxically, seeing things objectively helps in developing your spirituality. There may be times when we live seeing life with the isead that there is only one opinion, ours. We then become frustrated when the world does not all agree with us.

The world is at it is, we cannot control it beyond ourselves. The world is what you are, and how you perceive it. All in all, developing your spirituality takes time and effort. The rewards however, for the time invested are limitless

You go to church every Sunday and you say your prayers every day. Does this mean you are a spiritual person?
No.
You practice yoga and meditate every day. Does this mean you are a spiritual person?
No.
You belong to spiritual group and are devoted to following the teachings of the group. Does this mean you are a spiritual person?
No.
What, then, does it mean to be a spiritual person?
Being a spiritual person is synonymous with being a person whose highest priority is to be loving to oneself and others. A spiritual person cares about people, animals, and the planet. A spiritual person knows that we are all one, and consciously attempts to honor this oneness. A spiritual person is a kind person.
So, you can go to church every Sunday and say your prayers every day, without caring about loving yourself, others and the planet. You can practice yoga and meditate every day without being conscious of what is loving and what is not loving in your thoughts and actions. You can belong to a spiritual group and devotedly follow the teachings, yet still be judgmental toward yourself and others in your daily life.
There are many people who do not practice a religion, who do not meditate, pray or belong to any group, who are very spiritual people. These people naturally do caring things for others. They think about how they can help. Their thoughts are kind rather than judgmental toward themselves and toward others. When you look at them, you see their kindness in their eyes.
There are many religious people who are anything but kind. We all know of religious people who are extremely judgmental, righteous, and outright mean. Can you be both religious and spiritual? Of course! But only when you are operating in your religion from your heart rather than from the learned dogma of your mind.
Years ago I very briefly attended a “spiritual” group. People would meet in an auditorium to hear the leader of the group speak. The second time I attended I heard a number of parents yelling at their children and judging them to try to control them. These parents were being anything but kind with their children. That was the last time I attended the spiritual group. The focus of the group was surrender to God, but love was rarely in the picture! They obviously had a very different experience of God than I did.
My experience of God is that God is the energy of Love that created us and sustains us. In my experience, “God is Spirit” (John 4:24) and “God is love” (1 John 4:16). Anything that is not of love, peace, joy, truth and kindness is not of God. Praying to God does not mean that you are allowing the spirit that is God – the love, peace, joy, truth and kindness that is God – to guide your thoughts and actions. Practicing yoga or meditating does not mean that you have invited the love that is God into your heart, or that you are turning to that ever-present love to learn about what is in your highest good, and the highest good of others and the planet.
If you want to be a spiritual person, then let kindness be your guiding light – kindness toward yourself, toward others, toward animals, and toward this beautiful planet that is our home. Recognize that we all have the spark of love that is God within us, and learn to honor that love so that you can know and experience the Oneness of all that is.

If you ask 100 people who practice Goddess Spirituality what it is, you will likely get 101 answers. However, for many people, Goddess Spirituality means experiencing the female aspect of Divinity in whatever way is meaningful to them. That could be learning about how people in the past or currently around the globe have worshipped deities that have the form of women. It can be thinking about Divinity as being female or as having traits that are considered in some cultures to be female, like compassion, motherliness, creativity, closeness to the Earth, among many, many others. It can be finding the Divine within yourself and associating it with those aspects of yourself that you think of as being especially female. It can be many other things, too. It is as individual as you are.

Can you belong to another religion and practice Goddess Spirituality?

Those who consider that they practice Goddess Spirituality come from all different paths, including major religions. Some people find that Goddess Spirituality is their main way of relating to the Divine, while others think of themselves as primarily following a particular religion, but in a way that includes Goddess Spirituality. Many people who practice Goddess Spirituality and do not consider themselves to be part of major religions refer to themselves as Pagans and witches.

What is the relationship of Goddess Spirituality to nature?

Many people who practice Goddess Spirituality feel a special relationship to nature. They may also believe that the female essence of Divinity focuses on nature through an emphasis on creating life and relating in an ethical and caring way to all living beings, among other aspects.

Is Goddess Spirituality related to activism?

Not everyone who practices Goddess Spirituality participates in social, political or ecological causes. However, many people do find that elements of Goddess Spirituality, such as having a close relationship to the Earth, motivate them to be involved in efforts to bring about a more peaceful and ecologically-sustainable world.

How can I find out more?

The Beltane Papers is a magazine that comes out three times a year and contains articles, reviews, fiction, and poetry centered around the diversity of Goddess spirituality practices. You can find out more, and subscribe, by going to www.thebeltanepapers.net. The all-volunteer group that produces The Beltane Papers also has a blog at www.thebeltanepapers.net/blog.

Most people that seek out spiritual life coaching are those who are already traveling the path of spirituality and who need some way to further improve the development of their spirituality. In some cases, people that are not sure about how to proceed further on the true path of spirituality can use the helping hand of a life coach.
In any case, the main reason why someone would want to get spiritual life coaching is because they cannot properly comprehend their own inner being, their path of spirituality and the purpose of their being.
Know More About Life’s Lessons
Thus, people that are not too sure about their lives, and who need to find out more about life’s lessons and how to overcome obstacles in order to learn what destiny has in store for them, will be looking to life coaching to show them how life’s imprint can be known, understood and improved.
In order to gain from spiritual life coaching, a person may need to learn about life’s three major lessons, one’s own personality and its weaknesses and also strengths, and how to face obstacles in life and overcome them.
Life coaching also means understanding your own psychological stress that can often hinder proper personal and spiritual growth, and to know what destiny ultimately has in store for you and also the patterns of your karma and any stresses associated with it.
All these things can also be learned without life coaching through what is known as soul life blueprint that can powerfully act on your life and change it for the better, though it can also be used to improve spiritual life coaching, and in fact, is quite an important aspect that must be learnt along with spiritual life coaching.
Through life coaching and working on people’s spirituality, you can work in order to clear and also release any deep rooted negative energy from you past and this can best is achieved through being prepared for soul life blueprint so that it becomes possible to transform your life for the better. There is nothing quite as effective in deriving benefits from spiritual life coaching as being able to get rid of negativity in your being which would otherwise impede your ability to communicate with a higher being.
Thus, you would be bound to the earth instead of being a free soul. It is therefore necessary that you derive benefits from spiritual life coaching if you wish to tread the path of spiritual freedom and are to remain clear of any negative emotions or feelings.