Manypeople think that spirituality and meditation will heal their issues.Unfortunately, that isn't the case, and many people then usespirituality as a way of avoiding their problems. Learn the true roleof spirituality and meditation in your life.
I had a friend who learned Transcendental Meditation andpracticed almost every day. She felt happier, more relaxed, even blissful aslong as she meditated. If she missed a few days, she found that she didn't feelmuch different than before she began to meditate. Although she felt better whenshe meditated, it wasn't solving her underlying problems.
I've known many people who've used spirituality andmeditation as a way of avoiding dealing with their issues. Since they feel goodwhen they're pursuing a spiritual path, guru, or new technique, they think thatwill make all the uncomfortable stuff dissolve and go away. Unfortunately, itdoesn't work that way. Spirituality is no more a magic bullet than anythingelse.
According to Lawrence LeShan, a psychotherapist, meditationteacher and author of "How To Meditate," meditation can helpstrengthen the structure of our personality, making us better able to deal withour challenges. And it may give us more insight into our issues, but meditationdoesn't do away with them. It may reduce overall anxiety, make us feel safe,therefore better able to face ourselves, but we still need to do the internalwork needed to bring about change.
Anything that allows us to feel bliss and euphoria, whetherit's drugs, lust, romatic love, alcohol, achievement, spirituality ormeditation, can become addicting. We become enthralled to the feeling and wantto repeat it as often as possible. It makes the bad feelings fade away.Spirituality is a healthier escape than any of the others, but it still can bean escape. We need to ask ourselves, "What am I trying to escape from oravoid?"
There needs to be a balance and a grounding at the sametime. Getting carried away with bliss can mean not attending to day to day affairs,such as paying the bills, eating right, and having healthy relationships. Iknew a woman like this. She was so wrapped up in her pursuit of peace that whenshe received a chunk of money in a settlement, she didn't want to be botheredby trying to invest it. Instead, she gave the money to a friend to invest itfor her. Unfortunately, the friend put it in a high risk investment, whichfailed, and she lost all of her money. The euphoria from spirituality andmeditation doesn't erase our personal responsiblities.
We seek to recognize our wholeness through spirituality andmeditation. Instead of feeling like we have a "hole in our soul,"spirituality helps us to understand that we are truly whole and complete as weare. It allows us to be more fully present in our world and expand ourawareness of who we are. But as long as it's being used to avoid our feelingsand deep issues, we can't move forward. We're either resisting discomfort ormoving toward wholeness. We can't do both.
We have to be able to balance our spiritual practices withour everyday and emotional lives. Spirituality and meditation gives us a senseof connection that we can then take into the rest of our experience. When weare able to acknowledge our issues, work through them, and accept all ofourselves, we're honoring our spiritual essence.
Copyright 2007 Linda Ann Stewart