Is Spiritual Life Really Good For Us?

Does Spiritual Life Do Us Any Good?

I know people who believe spiritual life is the answer to all our problems. They are convinced our physical, financial, political lives reflect spiritual truths. When we have medical problems with our bodies they result from our spiritual lives. If we lose money or are unemployed it is because of what we believe. Public policies and political conflicts are tips of spiritual icebergs.

They believe spiritual life is the only thing which really matters, the only thing which can help us.

There are other people who see spiritual life as the source of most of our problems. Some people experience spiritual life as the primary source of conflict and terrorism. I know people to whom spiritual life is pointless, that it has no relevance to their lives.

They question why anyone cares about spiritual life. For them, spiritual life does us no good.

Spiritual Life is Real Life

In some ways it does not really matter whether spiritual life is good for us. Spiritual life just is. It is one aspect of our entire lives.

We rarely ask whether physical life or emotional life is good for us. The degree to which they are good depends on how healthy we are. We do not really enjoy exercising or eating healthy, but we know those things will make our physical lives better. Saving money and paying our bills may not be activities we enjoy, but we know they will help our financial health.

It is not as though we have a choice whether or not to have a physical life or a financial life. We have a life, and those aspects are pieces of the larger puzzle. Our choices generally are not whether to have certain aspects of our lives, but how to pay attention to them. Spiritual life works the same way.

The question for us is not whether or not spiritual life exists. Our question is more about why it exists and how it benefits us.

Why and How

Why do we have spiritual life? What is the idea behind spiritual life? How is spiritual life intended to work? When is it supposed to help us?

These are good questions which appear to be simple and open complex worlds. It might be helpful to continue our analogy.

We generally take physical life for granted. I cannot remember the last time anyone asked me why we have physical lives. It is easy for us to assume the various aspects of our lives are just the way things are. Each of them, though, comes with practical costs and benefits.

Being physical gives each of us a specific locations and allows us to function in three dimensions. Having a physical body teaches us important lessons about what sustains life. Physical life gives makes incredible pleasure possible for us through each of our senses.

Being physical also imposes significant costs on us. Because we are physical, we can get sick and injured. We can feel physical pain. Some of us need to shave every day. We are limited in how we move and travel and experience the world around us because we are physical. These costs also have important lessons to teach us.

Some people argue physical life is the most important aspect of our lives. For them, a healthy body is the highest priority. The goal of life is to understand and maximize our physical life and health.

They see us as physical beings who also have other, secondary aspects of life.

How Does Spiritual Life Work?

Spiritual life also comes with practical costs and benefits.

Being spiritual allows us to connect to the deep, Sacred truths all around us, and within us. Spiritual life can enable us to experience our lives in new ways. It can lift us beyond the limitations of other aspects of our lives. Spiritual life shows us the meaning and purpose behind the rest of our lives. Spiritual life helps us see more of the big picture.

There are costs involved in spiritual life. Spiritual life teaches us how life is integrated, how things fit together. We begin to recognize how our values are reflected in our behavior, and what that says about us. Spiritual life allows us to discover and explore our deepest selves, which is a lifelong quest. Being spiritual helps us see more, and more deeply, and appreciate the implications of what we see. Spiritual life draws us to go deeper.

Some people see us as spiritual beings who are having a physical experience.

Is Spiritual Life Good for Us?

We try to evaluate the effects of our physical or financial lives in waistlines and bank accounts. It is a challenge to measure the results of spiritual life.

For some people, spiritual life is like a convenience store. Open all hours, it offers a wide variety of what they need or want. They present their requests and assume spiritual life exists to fulfill them. When they cannot sleep or need reassurance, spiritual life is where they go to get answers.

For others, spiritual life is more about questions than about answers. It is a place to sit with large questions and, often, come out with even more questions.

Some people view spiritual life like a vacation home. They get away from the stresses and strains of life for a little while and unwind. After a little rest, they head back into “real life.”

Each of us measures spiritual life in our own uniquely, profoundly personal ways.

What Does Spiritual Life Do?

Spiritual life draws us into deeper Sacred truth. As we explore the depths of truth, we discover it flows through us. Spiritual life inspires us to grow deeper, to become more intimate with the Sacred truth in us. We get to know our own true selves, and share our deep truth with the people around us.

Spiritual life is part of who we are.

How is spiritual life good for us?

Where has spiritual life done you the most good?

[Image by markhealey]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and leadership coach in Southern California. He is a recovering attorney and university professor, and a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California.  Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com, and his email address is [email protected].