Introduction

As humans living in a complex society, we tend to focus on only certain aspects of our lives: physical health, financial security, social standing and psychological wellbeing.

This is only natural as these are vital aspects of successful, healthy living. It's also natural because in our education and conditioning, these same elements are strongly emphasized. In biology class we learn all about our body, its various parts, systems and internal organs, with particular emphasis on the five senses and the brain as our primary instruments of perception.

Socially we're encouraged to constantly improve ourselves. We learn about money very early on in life. We're also given many opportunities and tools to enhance ourselves mentally, and to create emotional health. So it isn't surprising that we focus and work on these aspects.

However, even within this particular emphasis, it's too often the external aspects that get most of our time and attention; finances and social standing. Even though many people are now health conscious, this important factor of complete health is approached cosmetically first, influenced in a major way by what's currently "in," with our culture telling us how much to weigh and what to wear. We're also much concerned with "winning," our career track and accumulating all the right "toys." There's nothing inherently wrong with any of these motivations.

This mode of pursuing happiness, success and health does, however, shift and give control to forces and things outside of ourselves. Mental and emotional health are often brushed aside too, despite education on its importance and the resources available, especially the mounting evidence of the influence of attitudes, emotions and relationships on our overall health.

The Missing Link

So, how do we put control back into our own hands, and more importantly our own heart, mind and being? Spirituality has been shown to have a prominent positive influence on physical, mental and emotional health. Spirituality has a cohesive, unifying effect on all aspects of our life and being by giving meaning and structure to life, and empowering us to live from a core of our deepest values.

People with a strong sense of spirituality are less in need of medical services, show resilient emotional health in the face of terminal illness, and have lower discomfort and loneliness. Such people cope better with life crises, have an expanded perspective and are able to interpret illness to produce spiritual growth.

Our spiritual nature is a given, an intrinsic and vitally foundational component of our existence and identity. Our awareness and knowledge that this is so isn't always at the forefront, but once reintroduced to those who may be disconnected, we have the inborn ability and tools to develop our spiritual nature to its fullest potential.

Spirituality-the details

While spirituality's physical, mental and emotional benefits are numerous and quantifiable, and while much of spirituality is unavoidably associated with religion, it's the powerfully experiential realization of our original nature that makes spirituality and its daily cultivation such an enormously crucial component of complete health.

Here's some of what there is to gain from having an active and functional personal spiritual framework and practice:

o Understanding the Universe and how it works.
o Understanding Nature and how it works.
o Having the right relationship to the Power that makes both the Universe and Nature work.
o Connectedness to one's original nature or deepest self.
o Connectedness to other people.
o Connectedness to all life forms.
o Having the wisdom to find meaning and purpose.
o Being empowered to implement that meaning and purpose.
o Being empowered to experience, then share love, compassion and caring with our planetary family.
o Removing fear from death.
o Leading a peaceful existence.
o Finding true joy and fulfillment.

Spirituality completes the five basic components of our make-up. These are the physical, energetic, emotional, mental, and spiritual "bodies." Our physical existence, which includes all material concerns, tends to be overemphasized. Emotionally and mentally we're provided with many options, but not everyone takes advantage of these. The spiritual and energetic aspects are the least emphasized and understood, though our human history is chockfull of deep knowledge and teachings in these areas.

Because our original nature is spiritual, in other words, nonphysical, unlimited by the constraints of time and space, and because this is the foundation of our life, the primordial source from which we are created prior to a womb-birth, by reconnecting spiritually and cultivating this all-powerful component of our composition, we're able to positively influence all the others.

Cross-culturally and down the ages the spiritual literature that is humanity's common heritage consistently points to the primacy of Spirit before any physical creation can take shape. To put it another way, we are really spiritual beings only, with our mental, emotional, energetic and physical expressions being instruments of our spiritual self. This doesn't negate the importance of the other components, for in physical reality all aspects are synergistically blended to produce a complete, functional and successful human being.

The health of all five components of our composition is equally important, especially since this is a holistic system, meaning that the whole person is affected by dysfunction in any one part. What causes trouble is when the source component, i.e., spirituality is ignored or relegated a superficial role, the one component from which arise our other aspects.

Spirit is not only the motive force at the inception of our creation, put also the engine that drives all parts of our being. Even if we were to diligently maintain our bodies, emotions and mind, which we don't and it's very important to do so, we would be unable to reach our fullest potential without addressing the very source of our existence.