True integrity means that we have all four areas of life working in harmony with each other. Our physical self complements and enhances our emotional, mental and spiritual selves. Each dimension complements and enhances the other three. In fact, when you are ‘in’ integrity, there is no awareness of the four separate selves. There is only “I”.

Even though that’s true, while we are working towards wholeness and becoming our best self, one of the four areas might get left behind. The way to bring them back in balance is to focus on the ‘weaker’ side until it is as strong as the others. Here are some thoughts on the spiritual self.

Working on the Spiritual Self

For me, the spiritual self is the part that is most attuned to our connection to God, the Universe, Buddha, whatever we call “That Which Created and Links All of Us”.

The spiritual side is the part that is most difficult to connect to as we go through our daily lives. Few of of make room for this dimension as we rush off to work, run around town dropping and picking up our kids, getting to the store and getting dinner out on time, spending the requisite hours on the job – and then some, ensuring that we have the basic needs taken care of. Very few of us are strong enough to have enduring faith when we are hungry or exhausted or wondering wherre we will lay our head down tonight.

1. Schedule your spiritual ‘connection’
   Because we don’t get reminders of our spiritual need in quite the same way as our physical needs (hunger and tiredness, for example), we must stay conscious of that need and take care of it on a regular basis. For most of us, this means planning a set time each day (or multiple times a day) for prayer, meditation or reflection.

2. Feel Your Oneness in Nature
   One of the easiest reminders we have of our spiritual connection is right outside your door. Everytime you leave your house you come face to face with God’s greatest gift to us: the physical world. Whether you are in a rural or urban setting, there are reminders of His grace everywhere in the form of trees, birds, shrubs, weeds, and water. Even in the city, the one thing that cannot be replaced with concrete and steel is the air. The moment we leave the air conditioned haven of our office building, we encounter air. Take a moment and be grateful for it! It may seem too little or too silly, but it will help you stay connected.

3. Learn to breathe in a spiritual way.
   No matter where we are, we can always take three long, slow, deep, conscious breaths. The slower you go, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth, the calmer you become. Keep your mind wrapped around the process of breathing and you will be amazed at how quickly you feel calm and relaxed. This simple technique brins you quickly to your place of wisdom, the place within you where the connection to God happens. Enjoy it often!

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