Spirituality is not just about religion. It is an immensely personal belief and feeling that relates specifically to how you feel with the world around you. Not everyone needs that feeling of spirituality, but those that do find that when they have lost that feeling they have lost their way, and that can cause significant stress and discomfort in their day to day life.
For those that need help with experiencing and understanding their own spirituality, there is a process known as spiritual counseling. Spiritual counseling is not necessarily religious. It is a connection that you and a psychologist create that taps you into your own belief, and how you connect with the universe. Spiritual counseling seeks to create:
- Sense of Purpose – Above all else, spiritual counseling helps create a stronger sense of self and sense of purpose. It helps you feel more of a connection to you, your family, your friends, God, and nature, and to get a better understanding of what your place is in the world. For those that have religious beliefs, spiritual counseling helps to re-connect you to those beliefs, while those that do not necessarily have religion but do have a strong sense of spirituality, counseling seeks to form greater bonds with your connection to everything around you, so that you have stronger spiritual bonds and feel like there is something greater than yourself out there.
- Acceptance of Connections – Spiritual counseling also seeks to help you accept things around you better. For example, when you wake up and see a beautiful, sunny day, are you able to let that beauty in and really enjoy it, or are you ignoring it in favor of stresses? When you experience love from friends or family, do you get to feel it emotionally or are you mostly taking it for granted? Your ability to let those connections in is an important part of spirituality.
- Enhanced Values and Motivations – Spiritual counseling also tries to unlock your values, which are the beliefs that bring out the best in you. Every single person has different values, and so uncovering these values can help you gain more life guidance and motivation to succeed.
In a psychotherapy setting, spiritual counseling is not designed to make you believe something specific or change your beliefs. Rather, spirituality is about tapping into your own spiritual feelings and motivations, and finding ways to feel more “at one” with God, nature, or whatever matters most to you.
If you’re interested in learning more about spiritual counseling in Long Island, call me today at (516) 732-0273.
