What is spiritual wellbeing? Does it mean to be a priest, a guru, one of the few enlightened ones or could it be someone who creates space and time to think and connect beyond themselves. I like to put it as ‘a brush with the Divine’.

Just as our March wellbeing challenge stated, we/I am coming from a Christian perspective, as it is my faith that I live and love, however, whether you are of another faith or see that you have no faith at all, hopefully these few thoughts will give you some ideas about how to improve your spiritual wellbeing.

Like any form of wellbeing, it takes time, practice and being intentional in our actions (of even lack of them) to grow in this area.

Look for awe and wonder
How often have you been rushing that you miss the beauty of the sky, colours of the trees or even just the squawking of a pigeon. There is often so much around us that can help you and I to connect and see what a beautiful creation the earth is.

Why not try and write a list of 50 things you feel blessed by. You will quickly get to 10 or 20 but then it gets a little more difficult, however, you may start to realise some simple small things like your cheerful postman, your gifts and talents, shelter, etc. Give it a go.

Create space to listen
Life can be very busy and feel non-stop and so to find some space to stop and just breathe can be difficult. We must create this, grab snippets of time wherever they maybe.

For myself, I will often sit in my car parked in the car park before the work day to take just 5 or 10 minutes to be still, quiet and to pray (some of the team thought I was asleep, I wasn’t, I promise!). Not just my shopping list to God, but to allow God to speak to me. One of the many great verses I go back to in the Bible is

Philippians 4:6-7The Message
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

If you’re not a Christian, why not use this time to think about your day ahead and the difference you want to be in the world.

Why not commit to giving yourself 5 minutes to be still and silent for 5 days.

Give something of yourself
With the rise of social media, celebrity culture and how instant it feels life has become, it can often feel a bit selfish. I know I fall into this trap, I have the things I need to do, the places I need to go, why can’t people just let me get on with it.

Part of growing spiritually is to learn how to give. It does not have to be money, in fact often we use that as the easy way out for our conscious. In fact giving of our time and energy can really help to grow our spiritual wellbeing as it helps us connect with others, it refreshes our soul.

It is currently Lent and many people give things up, but why not take something up! There is a fantastic initiative called 40 Acts, I myself am trying to do this over lent. It is a great way to grow and stretch yourself and your spiritual life.

Some other good sites or apps to check out are:

The Bible app by YouVersion – lots of good reading plans from 3 days to 365 days!
Pray as you go Has some great guided prayers.
Abide - has good guided meditations.

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