When we maintain our spiritual health it benefits our emotional health.

Across many religions and cultures people seek out enlightenment and transcendent experiences, for some people, these experiences are related to healing ceremonies. The concept of using spirituality as a means for healing is nothing new.

Healing Rituals

Rituals are an act which is performed on a regular basis with specific customs and expectations. Many spiritual rituals (religious or unspecific) have a healing aspect to them, using spirituality to heal them emotionally.  Some rituals are not specifically aimed at healing, but part of their benefit would be to ensure a more positive emotional health.

Examples of Healing Rituals

• Prayer. This act of worship and supplication is used not only to serve one’s faith, but to ask for healing and recharge one’s faith/spirituality.
• Meditation. These are largely similar to prayers and have similar effects. Many people report using meditation to start their days with positive feelings and thoughts while others use meditation to handle trauma and grief.
• Smudging. This is commonly associated with Native American rituals, burning sage/incense to drive away negative energies/unseen in an effort to heal negative emotions.
• Fasting. From giving up peanut butter to full-on fasting from water and food, this form of worship and purification is meant not only to purify the body and rid it of toxins, it purifies the soul and cleanses it. We can see elements of fasting across many religions and spiritual practices.

Going off Grid to Boost Spirituality

In this age of technology, things are very loud. Constant stimulus and notifications surround us, people check their phones constantly. An emerging trend is people that take 24 hours or multiple days off the grid. They disconnect in order to reconnect. Vowing to put phones away or avoid the internet for an extended amount of time allows someone to explore their thoughts. Shutting off all external distractions and allowing ourselves to be vulnerable to that inner voice and feeling.

Many spiritual retreats have a time of no talking and certainly no electronics. Quiet time in order to listen to one’s thoughts, reflect, pray/meditate and interact more with one’s own spirituality.

This can be a peaceful experience as well as one that brings up unresolved emotions and conflicting thoughts. This is a time to process those negative memories and change the emotions associated with them. Engaging in nature without all of today’s modern distractions is often a beautiful experience which can uplift someone spiritually and emotionally.

Final Thoughts

Taking an effort to maintain our spirituality/faith helps to maintain our emotional health and provides healing. In times of hardship and great distress we often see people falling upon their faith/spirituality to uplift them and provide strength. Spiritual rejuvenation and rituals often serve as holistic means to improve one’s overall psyche. Positive psychology advocates for optimism and gratefulness which are key elements of many spiritual perspectives.

If you have any healing rituals you want to discuss, let me know in the comments. There are a variety of rituals around the world that emphasize healing and light.

Source: blogs.psychcentral.com
“Maintain Your Spiritual Health to Benefit Your Emotional Health” by:Monique Hassan