Spirituality / Mehar Singh

For my piece I wanted to talk about my journey coming out of a very difficult time, mentally, and finding spirituality. When you see spirituality you probably think of ‘woowoo’ stuff, psychics, fortune tellers, witchcraft etc, but it is SO much more than this (it is quite complicated but I will keep it simple). I first started digging into spirituality when I was exploring mindfulness, after CBT didn’t work for me, and I was discharged from my health psychologist due to moving home during COVID. I was desperate to not end up in the depression/anxiety hole, so I did some research. I was already familiar with the concept of the universal laws, e.g. the law of attraction and looked into working with crystals, moon cycles, tarot cards, meditation (which I am awful at!) and more. Not everything is for everybody, and as I mentioned above, it is complicated, so you have to find what works for you, it’s not necessary to do everything. Over the last few months, I started building a morning routine and incorporating reading, working with the new and full moon, candles, incense and slowly building things up. Personally, I find it quite peaceful. As someone who has multiple chronic illnesses, my life revolves around medicine, appointments, medical admin, taking care of myself etc, so having something that doesn’t overwhelm me, outside of this, is very nice. When I can, I try to workout as well, this includes a mixture of stretches, yoga and Pilates (I looked into different exercises and found ones that won’t hurt me so I made a workout routine out of it). The practice of reading, working out, cleaning, baking, self care, the moon, tarot, candles, incense, crystals, being grateful for things and writing out what I want to manifest, all fits into spirituality, as it’s a way to ground myself. I do it with intention and deep breathes, music and attempting to meditate (usually just closing my eyes, saying what I’m grateful for, taking a deep breathe, and opening my eyes again). For me, I wanted to find something easy I can do during a lockdown, when I can’t travel (medically), when I’m overwhelmed, a way to start my morning out with something motivating and to focus more on the good and be grateful.