My job as a transformational life coach often means dealing with some deep, thought-provoking spiritual questions. While I can’t claim to know all the answers, my quest to explore all that is spiritual has opened my own mind to a range of answers that appeal to me. And, sometimes they resonate with the person asking the question. If they don’t, the question simply opens the door to further exploration, both for myself and the other person.
Spirituality is a broad concept and can cover a range of thoughts and ideas. I’ve also realized that spirituality encompasses questions related to our emotional well-being, our physical health, and our mental thought processes. While spirituality is a part of our life it’s also essential as a base to ground ourselves so we can function on holistic and balanced principles.
Read on as I share nine thought-provoking questions that have always made me think out of the box while encouraging others to develop a more open mindset about their views on life. While I share some of my own thoughts around each question, I also challenge you to come up with your own answers that resonate with you.
1. What is Spirituality?
When working with clients on my life coaching program, the first step is identifying which of their life areas are out of balance. The eight life areas are recognized as:
Emotional
Health
Partner
Vocation
Money
Personal Development
Social and family relationships
Spirituality
Most of my clients rate their spirituality life area low and most express their desire to explore the topic in depth. Inevitably, I’m asked, “What is spirituality?” While most of us understand what is religion, spirituality is often something “out there” involving the universe, angels, and spirits.
And, so I share my personal view on spirituality. Which, in a nutshell, is being One with all that is around me be it humanity, animals, birds, rocks, water, Mother Earth, the stars and the moon, and the sun. It's about living in Existence with all that is around me and being comfortable no matter where I am.
What would your answer be?
2. Is There a Higher Being?
People searching for connection through their spirituality will always ask, “Is there a higher being?” This really depends on your personal belief system and while many may discount the possibility of the “man with the long white beard”, a higher being can be called God, Great Spirit, Jesus Christ, Allah, Buddha, and more.
Wiktionary defines higher being as:
“Any of various theoretical, or otherwise unknown, non-human life forms believed to have power over human life” or “When not classified by a specific religion, common title for the indefinite belief in a god of some form.”
Which definition resonates with you?
3. What is the Meaning of Life?
A big question that always crops up when people are searching for a purpose in life is. “What is the meaning of life?” This is one philosophical question that had me pondering my own meaning in life and the best answer I ever got was from Viktor Frankl’s incredible book, “Man’s Search for Meaning".
A survivor of the atrocious concentration camps during WW2, the author identified that other survivors all had a meaning in life. This could be someone they loved and cared for, significant work, and having courage even when facing adversity. When you have a meaningful purpose, then you have a meaning to live.
I would then ask you, “What is your purpose and why?”
4. What Is More Important – Love or Fear?
For many of us, there’s no question of what’s more important when we’re talking about love and fear. Love seems the most obvious answer. But, what if being all-powerful is vital for your success? Do you rely on love or fear to get there? Or, how about controlling the people you love most in your life and instilling fear is the only way you feel you achieve this?
Love and fear, fear and love. Which is more important? I believe love conquers fear. Love is the opposite of fear. When you’re fearful, you’re feeling unloved, unlovable, and unable to love. When you’re loving, you’re empathetic, you’re courageous, and you’re compassionate. But, unconditional love is only a possibility when you’ve identified what it is you fear most. And, I assure you, we all fear something.
Identify your fears so you can start to love truly.
5. How Do I Listen to My Intuition?
Being intuitive goes hand-in-hand with spirituality. Your intuition keeps you safe. It guides you through the different phases of your life, helping you make the right decisions for yourself. If you believe in a higher being, your circumstances could be based on a spiritual and intuitive hunch. But, “How do I listen to my intuition?” is a question asked by many especially when their exploring their spirituality.
Intuition is considered fundamental to any spiritual or religious experience. Worship, prayer, and divine intervention are all considered deeply intuitive communication between yourself and a higher being. However, intuition is not only confined to people who engage with God or another higher being. They simply experience it in a different realm.
When do you know when you’ve listened to your intuition?
6. Is Mindfulness and Spirituality the Same Thing?
When I ask someone if they’re spiritual they sometimes reply by saying that they meditate every day or practice mindfulness. This brings us to the question, “Are mindfulness and spirituality the same thing?” Think about what the mindfulness experience brings you. It allows you to connect, on a deeper level, with your mind and your soul.
While spirituality is a way of life for many, mindfulness is a tool or technique to enable you to self-reflect on what is going on within yourself. This kind of inner work is key to living a deeply connected spiritual life.
How do you use mindfulness to help you?
7. How Do I Live a Spiritual Life?
When I first ventured into the world of spirituality, I was exposed to many different ways of living a spiritual life. It involved incorporating a number of techniques and rituals that allowed me to connect with myself on a deeper level. Some of these included:
Meditation
Yoga
Moon rituals
Reading the tarot cards every day
Praying
Smudging
Living a spiritual life also meant trying to always be kind, compassionate, responsible for my thoughts and emotions, and staying grounded. It also meant surrounding myself with a like-minded tribe that accepts me for who I am, saving me from having to be someone I am not.
How do you live your spirituality every day?
8. Is Shamanism the Same as Spirituality?
It was shamanism that opened my door to spirituality. It’s a form of spiritual practice and includes a range of principles that form the basis of most self-development tools and techniques. Most of my spirituality is grounded in these shamanic principles and I aspire to be a shaman every day of my life.
When I tell my clients I base a lot of my life coaching approaches on shamanic principles, they ask me, “Is shamanism the same as spirituality?” In other words, do I operate on a spiritual level?
Shamanism has its own belief system, focusing on energy, symbolism, and other ancient healing practices to empower others to grow and evolve their own levels of consciousness. The practice often includes rituals using totems, plants, and spirit guides to promote healing.
When exploring spirituality, ask yourself if the principles of shamanism would fulfill your need to live a spiritual life. Read Serge Kahlil's book, "The Urban Shaman" to explore this worldwide spiritual practice in depth.
You can also watch this interview with Serge Kahlil King.
9. Am I On the Right Path?
How often do you find yourself asking, ‘Am I on the right path?” I knew the answer to this one when I realized the life path I was on a few years back was destructive. I definitely knew I wasn’t on the right path and this was accompanied by the persistent “knocking on my door” which I firmly believed was my soul calling out to me.
I knew that to find my right path, I needed to explore spirituality and I did this through shamanism. But, remember, spirituality means different things to different people. So, to find the answer to whether you’re on the right path or not depends on doing some soul-searching work in your own way.
Another question to ask yourself is, “What is the right path for me?”
Final Thoughts
Asking deep and thought-provoking questions is one way of starting your exploration into the world of spirituality. It’s also a method to use when searching your soul and looking for the right answers that resonate with you and your life. Asking deep questions also forces you to step out of your comfort zone, expand your mindset, and allow yourself to grow into the Self you’re meant to be.
This post was originally published on August 3rd, 2021, and updated on September 14th, 2022.
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