God has entrusted me with myself.”- Epictetus

The three pillars of Being have always been “mind, body, and soul.” Our minds and bodies are the topic of every self-improvement influencer and coach, and it’s rare to come across content about our souls, or spirits. Which, in my self-development crusade, is the most important aspect of myself that needs to be mended. Spiritual self-development can help a person who is lost come out of the shadows or rekindle one’s will to live. Who we are is a direct result of who we are spiritually, who we are deep within. Past the traumas of our lives, past the conditioning that’s been beaten into our brains, and past the experiences that shaped our psyche, our spirit lies beyond our senses. Our spirit is who we are in this lifetime and all lifetimes henceforth.

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Spiritual Self-Development**
So what exactly is spiritual self-development? And how can it help someone, like me, who wants to live a more fulfilling life? I’ve given a lot of thought to this because I had to embrace my spirituality to wake up happy with who I am. It’s paramount to my self-growth. In the simplest terms, spiritual self-development is working towards existing in a way that brings out your inner and most authentic self. Who you are born to be, not who you were told you have to be. It’s about living true to yourself every single day regardless of what other people think and especially, despite what society deems acceptable. There are 4 thought-provoking ideas that have helped me. Gratitude, energy, capabilities, and faith. Incorporate these ideas into your everyday life and you will begin to realize how blessed you truly are. I will discuss each in detail, starting with gratitude.

Gratitude
Every single one of us thinks that we alone feel inadequate, we crave more as if we’re not doing enough. Every single person on the planet has that same feeling. People with successful careers have felt that, celebrities who seem to have it all felt that, musicians, athletes, and politicians alike have all felt the stabbing pain of inadequacy. It’s a common trait among humans. The way to counter that ever-lingering feeling is through gratitude. Be grateful for everything that you have, and for all that you have done. Look out your window and be in awe at the trees or the flowers, shoot, even if you’re looking at another building, be grateful that you are fortunate enough to be looking at it through a window in the safety of your home. Be grateful that you’re breathing clean air and smile every time you see your reflection, as there are some who are far less fortunate than you. There are people out there who know nothing but suffering, and who pray constantly for all the things that you have. When you’re grateful for the life you have, you will do anything in your power to preserve it. Slow down time and bask in the greatness that you created.

Energy
What do you want others to feel while in your presence? Do you want to bring them down, or do you want to lift people up just by speaking to them? The energy you exude speaks volumes about who you are spiritually. Because like the electricity that makes our hearts beat our spirits produce a certain energy that others can sense. To see what kind of energy you are releasing try a little exercise. Close your eyes and imagine your body is releasing rays of light, the color of the light is determined by the energy flowing through your body. Now is the light you’re releasing warm and bright or is it dark and cold? Are you sending love, kindness, and gratitude out into the vast world, or is it bitterness and resentment? The answer to this is determined by the spirit that resides within you. A happy and grateful spirit will flood all in their presence with positive, loving energy, while an angry and ungrateful spirit will do the opposite. You can’t live a happy life if your insides are muddy. If you’re noticing a darkness within you try practicing gratitude, smiling more, and reciting affirmations. All of which have been proven to restore the positive energy within a person.

**Capabilities
**For some reason, many of us underestimate our capabilities. If something appears to be too hard to master we often dismiss any attempt to try. Is it because of how we were raised and the beliefs we adopted along the way or is it the inevitable fear of failure? Which plagues all of us. When you begin to harness your spiritual capabilities your fear of failure will still be there, but it won’t prevent you from taking the plunge. When we fully embrace ourselves in the most intimate way possible we see that our limitations are products of our minds and that fear is just an illusion. Embracing spirit is one of the strongest ways to destroy your limitations because you’ll realize that everything that has held you back was never a real threat, it was just your brain trying to keep you safe. We have evolved from ancestors who had to fight for their lives every single day, whether it be from starvation or being eaten alive by giant animals. Our minds are wired to sense any kind of distress and avoid it. To develop spiritually allows you to take control of your brain and do things it’d rather not do.

Faith
For me, faith has been the most important detail in regard to spiritual self-development. Having faith is necessary in every part of one’s life because when you have faith you’ll begin to believe that everything, no matter the circumstances, will be alright. Which most of the time, it is. When you live by faith a bad day will remain in that day and not follow you into the coming week. The pain of a breakup will cease after a few days of mourning, and the goals you’re hoping to achieve will be just around the corner. Living through faith ensures you’re living with gratitude, releasing energy that is kind and warm, and not limiting your capabilities. Faith is the force that drives all of the things I’ve discussed previously. It all begins with faith. You don’t have to indoctrinate yourself into a religion or get baptized in the name of God, merely living as a person who knows who they are while doing no harm is enough to transcend the confines of our physical world. If you’re lost or you feel stuck, embracing your spirit is the first thing you must do in order to become whole again. Our spirit is who we are in this lifetime and all lifetimes henceforth.