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An often overlooked piece of our health is spirituality. Spirituality is so important to our health. We all crave purpose and meaning. Spirituality is a tool to help us access the values we want to manifest in our lives. It is a way to live into the values we hold dear.

Although religion can fit within spirituality, religion itself is not spirituality. Spirituality is broader, where religion often has sets of rules or rituals related to the particular dogma/denomination one adheres to.

According to a quick google search spirituality is “the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things”.

One is not necessarily better than the other, especially if it gets us to our goal of being more connected to something larger than ourselves.

When we access the great power of looking beyond ourselves we come into service of each other. This connection lifts us. From a human development point of view it helps us build our brains. We have these things called mirror neurons in our brains. When I see you do something I to go through a process of “doing” that thing. So when you smile at me, you get a hit of dopamine and so do I. By sharing these moments we connect to the larger system outside of ourselves and get a better understanding of the huge circle of life we all live within.

Many people like to use prayer or mantras to help them access the deeper connection we all share. Finding a statement, habit, ritual, or perception that gives us a spiritual focus can be a way to help us live into our desire for purpose and meaning.

Today, try this prayer, it is one of my favorites and often reminds me to consider my role in relationships to others, myself, and the world at large.

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

“May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.”