How do I become more spiritual?

[Thistle72]

I’m a cancer nurse and have been for 25 years. In the last 2 years I have struggled emotionally with my work. I am trying to eat better, walk my dog in the open space, love my dearest relatives more but feel I need more spiritual support.
How do I do that? I tried Buddhism and felt it related a lot to my work but some of the people I met there unnerved me so I didn’t go back.

Any idea’s

How about a spiritualist church?

Hi Thistle,

What path appeals to you, do you want to go to church, do you want an organised religion with clear things set out to do/not do, do you want a nature based belief where you decide yourself what to do or not. Do you have anything in mind? Do you have a background that's calling to you?

@Thistle72

I tried Buddhism and felt it related a lot to my work but some of the people I met there unnerved me so I didn’t go back

In what way?

Never thought about a spiritualist church and I don’t know an awful lot about them- I need to google it

Not sure what path but as I say I liked Buddhism, I wasn’t sure about the singing prayer at the start but the rest I really enjoyed. I think maybe meditation might be something. I try to be mindful daily.

I met a man there he told me he had trained to be a priest but jacked it in then he was a policeman and now he was at uni but said he cried everyday leaving his children. His story didn’t sound right and he creeped me out so I didn’t go back. I could have avoided him but he made a beeline for me when I walked in

@Thistle72

Try the Advaita Vedanta guides.

Mooji
Adyashanti
Sadhguru
Rupert Spira
Francis Lucille

These are the more modern ones.

Or with your medical background maybe Deepak Chopra.

You can view them all on you tube.

Beware the pseudo spiritual, (man trained to be a priest, but jacked it in) they understand it intellectually, but have yet to experience the Truth. They can talk the talk but not yet walked the walk.

Wow thank you- I’ll look into that. I’ve never heard of them.
Without being too nosy how do you know all these things?

Hi. The spiritualist church is there to prove the existence of life after death which they do through mediums. I've got friends who are spiritualists and they don't go to spiritualist churches for the spirituality.

You weren't looking for a Christian perspective but as someone who studies, practices and accompanies people on a their spiritual journey there is a lovely book called 'Sleeping with Bread' by the Linns. It is about working with emotions so it could fit into a non religious path.

Another place to look might be the Forest Churches. They are about exploring a connection with the divine and nature. There might be one near you and you get some fresh air and a walk as well.

I hope you find what you are searching for.

@Thistle72

"I" have treaded the path.

When you watch or read these ancient teachings. There will be a resonance. Follow that resonance. it will lead you to where you need to be.

Don't let the mind take you from the path.

Tread - Trod - Trodden

I think the best way forward would probably be some sort of quasi - meditation / prayer type thing. An opportunity for you to talk to the "universe" or "god" or even just saying "I don't know what or who I'm talking to but...". At least that way you'll begin a relationship with whatever path you decide upon in time.

One thing to remember though is to allow time for the other side of the conversation, to be silent and still. This might be sitting alone by a fire, it might be while walking along a lonely hill. In time you will be better able to find those moments on a busy subway train or while driving the car without taking away from them. But to begin with it's easier to remove all distractions.

Good luck.

It can useful to examine what you personally mean by 'spiritual' and therefore what it is you want more of. A sense of connectedness, maybe? Some people find it in various versions of religiosity, others find it in volunteering, others in introspection and being in nature.

My advice would be to examine what it means to you and explore from there.

You sound an amazing woman.
I can hear and understand your need for some spiritual aspect.

We have a thread here- www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3404406-Any-Witches-Here-Part-4-Edited-by-MNHQ

This is part 4.

If you want catch up you can find previous threads on he same board.

Thank you all so much for your replies.
I feel there is plenty to look at and consider.
I so appreciate your help. Xx

Sorry if I'm way off the mark with this comment and feel free to ignore. How do you feel about death and dying, about your own mortality. Has it now started troubling you more being so close to people that are maybe nearing their own death.

Maybe the first way to start being more spiritual is to keep a daily gratitude journal? It can be personal and private to you, done at home as an individual, and in conjunction with mindfulness. i find nina simone's a moving song in many ways and a starting baseline when im struggling to find something to be grateful for on a day. Hope that helps OP.

There's a YouTube channel that's helpful to get an insight to different teachers and teachings - the ones that @noego mentioned are on there. It's called Buddha at the gas pump

m.youtube.com/user/BuddhaAtTheGasPump

The website has the teachers/teachings categorised so you can explore different paths quite easily

batgap.com

Thank you all.
I’m comfortable with death and dying it has been a big part of my job when treatment doesn’t work snymote. Although I have struggled with it in the last few years. I think due to looking after teenagers with cancer, which also didn’t sometimes have a good outcome and the grief the parents went through was terrible. To care for a dying teenager and watch the grief stricken parents has taken something from me. I’ve been out of it for a year now just doing general nursing which has helped but I want to look after my own spirituality to help me. I’m off today and going to look at the links

Love the Nina Simone song, I am grateful dailybut don’t write it down- maybe I should do that.

Hi. I'd like to second KatieMarieJ.
I'm a christian. I speak to God everyday and he 'speaks' back. This is the normal experience for most of the practicing christians i know. The way people hear God differs. Importantly he is not just as i imagine him to be - he is automanous and has a personality. He also loves us and wants to know us.
I'm not going to push Christianity because i know we get some stuff wrong and much hurt has been caused this way. But i do want to encourage you to get to know the God that actually exists, not just what other people tell you about God/spirituality or what you would like to believe. It's quite possible to have a personal relationship with God as long as you are willing to accept him for who he is. Generally he seems to be very willing to form this relationship with people - you just have to ask. He can then show you whether a particular religion/form of spiritual expression is the right way or not.
Try this prayer:
"God, i'm not sure who you are or how to do this, but i want to get to know you. People have so many suggestions but only you know what true spirituality is. Please show me the right way" Then keep your senses open. God might talk to you directly first or he may speak to you through other people and experiences.

Transcendental meditation works for me and DP. It's easy, unforced and once you've paid the initial fee you don't need to keep going back to any teacher if you don't want or need to. So I like the self-sufficiency of it. On the other side of the coin some ppl like to be more involved, go on courses etc, and that is OK too.

once you've paid the initial fee you don't need to keep going back to any teacher There's never any need to spend money to be spiritual.

@RachelJoff have you read God Calling? It is absolutely beautiful and written by two unnamed authors that describes exactly what you are describing. It got me the through a hard time.

@RachelJoff just found this www.twolisteners.org which explains it. I found it pre-internet days in an unlikely shop in NZ when I really needed it. Really beautiful.

@Vitalogy
Transcendental Meditation is a technique that has to be taught. You pay a fee to the teachers because they, like us, have bills to pay. While you can "be spiritual" without paying anything, some of us find that "being spiritual" does not come all that naturally without being taught a technique. Try learning yoga these days without paying a penny--I wouldn't recommend it! ( :

@Vitalogy
If you think that going to any type of church is freethink againeach time I have been to different denomination churches, eg with relatives, we shell out at least 20 quid for the collection. I don't begrudge that as running a church and looking after a congregation costs money, time and effort.

There's plenty of free videos, reading online.