How to overcome life's problems with spirituality

REACH OUT TO GOD. No matter how you envision or personally relate to the creator of the universe, reach out to that Spirit. Open yourself to God’s presence. Pray for guidance and help. Know that God is always with you, always there for you, even if you haven’t spoken to Him, or aren’t sure if you believe in Him. A relationship with God can bring an inner-peace, even when everything around you seems to be in chaos. Trying to navigate through life’s challenges when you are experiencing inner turmoil is like trying to navigate the ocean without a compass during a storm. God is there for you during troubled times; hold on to Him.

SEEK OUT SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE: Contact your priest, high priestess, minister, rabbi, or any religious leader of your faith. If you don’t have one, ask friends or family to recommend one, or look through the phone book for a legal clergy. Even if you don’t consider yourself a religious person, they will be willing to listen to your problems, offer guidance, and pray with you. Often they can direct you to support groups, organizations, doctors, counselors, charities and authority figures who may be able to help you.

TURN TO YOUR SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY. There are people who care about you and want to help you through your troubled times. They know that you, like them, are a child of God. In that way, we are all brothers and sisters in the spirit. When you are having difficult in life, seek out your religious community for strength and support in your time of need. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t been to church for a long time, your spiritual community will more than likely welcome you back. If you have never been part of a spiritual community, it is time to seek one out. Try visiting different churches, temples, Bible study groups, open Pagan rituals, Wiccan grove classes, or whatever religious community to which you are drawn. Try getting in touch with a member or contact person, ask questions, and find out when would be a good time to visit. If you give it a chance, you will more than likely find a group you connect with. That comradery alone can be of great comfort.

PARTAKE IN THE SACRED: Look for things that make you feel aware of what you hold sacred. Search out places that make you feel closer to God, and go to them. Seek out things that make you feel all of God’s greatness, and do them. Perhaps you feel the presence of God when you are lighting devotional candles in a Roman Catholic church, when evening mass is done and the crowd has disbursed. Perhaps being by a still lake under the full moon with the crickets chirping around you inspire an awe of the beauty of creation. Maybe you feel the connection to God when you are painting a picture, or playing your drums, or studying the Kabbalah. Whatever or wherever makes you feel closest to the divine, make time for that experience, daily if possible.

BELIEVE IN YOUR WORTH: Know that you are a spiritual being with an immortal soul. God saw you as worthy to put on this earth; don’t doubt His wisdom. Know that you are as deserving of love, honor, and respect as the next person. God can forgive you for anything you may have done, as long as you are ready to put your mistakes behind you and move on. But to do that, you need to grant yourself forgiveness. Everyone makes mistakes; mistakes are not a tragedy. It is letting those mistakes hold us back and keep us down that is the tragedy. If you know, or even if you think it is possible, that you are a spiritual being, it is time to embrace your spirituality and let God, in whatever form you see Him, enter your life.