Tag Archives: Meditation

4 Places that Inspire Spiritual Connection and Well-Being

Can you think of a place where you feel a spiritual connection? Perhaps there’s a location that feels sacred to you – a site you perceive as holy or divine or that evokes feelings of reverence or devotion?

Over the years, I’ve thought a lot about this. Increasingly, I recognize the importance of my hometown church, where I participated in so many religious rituals that stay with me to this day, including the funerals of my mom and dad. I recognize a special relationship I have with the north shore of Lake Superior, a “thin place” for me that was the setting for me kneeling and proposing to my wife decades ago. I think of the armchair in my living room, a spot I quietly associate with spiritual reflection, as it tends to be the place where I most often read, meditate, and attend online Quaker meetings. And I recall the small stone bridge in a remote Scottish village where I once had one of the most profound spiritual experiences of my life.    

What is it about these places that means so much to us?

New Research on Our Spiritual Ties to Place

In a recent article published in Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, psychological scientists asked 832 North American Christians, Jews, and Muslims to describe – in detail – a place where they had a spiritual connection. Their responses revealed four primary types of spiritually significant places:  

1. Places of worship.

The most commonly mentioned places were the most predictable. Churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, and similar sites exist in large part to allow individuals and communities to engage in religiously and spiritually significant behavior. Interestingly, when individuals in the study described their ties to places of worship, they often emphasized their shared experiences with others – family members and members of their communities, for example – highlighting the interconnection between places and people.  

2. Natural settings.

Then there were the natural landscapes – the forests, mountains, oceans, and parks – that individuals frequently identified as spiritually meaningful. Unlike places of worship, these places tend to foster solitary experiences. People described feeling awe, wonder, and amazement most often in these locations.

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The New Science of Ecospirituality

Many people experience a spiritual connection in nature. I know I do. When I hike through the woods, sit by a stream, gaze at the sky, or even listen to a bird sing, I feel part of something larger. Nature feels like a cathedral to me, offering sacred space to reflect on my relationship with the Divine.

Psychologists have a name for this impulse to perceive the sacred in nature: “ecospirituality.” In a recent article published by the Association for Psychological Science, scientists reviewed research on how ecospirituality relates to two of the great challenges facing our world today: (1) preserving the well-being of our planet and (2) preserving the well-being of ourselves.

What is “Ecospirituality?”

Many of us love spending time in nature. We may even identify as “environmentalists.” Ecospirituality, however, goes further: it involves viewing nature as inherently “spiritual” or “sacred,” something that inspires reverence or a sense of timelessness. Consider these statements, which come from the main scientifically validated measure of ecospirituality:

“There is sacredness in nature.”
“When I am in nature, I feel a sense of awe.”
“Sometimes I am overcome with the beauty of nature.”

Do you resonate with these statements? If so, you likely score high in ecospirituality.

Ecospirituality Inspires Environmental Preservation

Our planet faces more environmental challenges than I can list here. Psychologists believe that perceiving a spiritual connection in nature motivates people to take care of our earth beyond the influence of other pro-environmental attitudes and identities.

For instance, in one study, participants high in ecospirituality perceived elements of the natural world (like oceans, mountains, and forests) to be closer to their inner circle of moral concern than participants low in ecospirituality. For those high in ecospirituality, in other words, the earth feels more like a good neighbor we’re compelled to help than a foreign citizen we feel we should.

Ecospirituality also encourages feelings of gratitude. When we perceive something spiritual in nature, we tend to appreciate it more.

Overall, available research suggests that, if we believe nature is sacred, we hold it closer to our hearts, and we’re more grateful for it. This makes us more likely to want to protect it.

Ecospirituality and Well-Being

Ecospirituality not only benefits our planet, however; it also benefits our emotional health. Psychologists believe that those who engage with nature on a deeper, spiritual level experience a range of such personal benefits.

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3 Mindful Practices to Increase a Sense of Belonging

Humans need to belong. This need – so vital to meet for our well-being and ability to flourish, particularly during difficult times – seems increasingly unmet for many individuals. As the Surgeon General warns, increasing isolation, loneliness, and disconnection drive several of the mental and physical health challenges many people experience today.

The reality that many of us don’t feel we belong need not be a source of guilt or shame. Without us even noticing, the world has changed, making this need more difficult to satisfy.

In fact, there once was a time when it was easier for individuals to feel a sense of belonging during everyday life. People lived in stable communities, connected with the land, in relationship with sources of inspiration greater than themselves. For various reasons, though, belonging has become harder. For instance, since the COVID-19 pandemic, work, civic, and religious communities have become more fragmented.

As we consider how to nurture more belonging in ourselves and others, Brene Brown’s insights are instructive. Brown distinguishes between “fitting in” vs. belonging. Fitting in, she says, involves changing ourselves to meet the demands of the situation. True belonging, on the other hand, requires us to be who we really are as we involve ourselves in something larger.

When experts in Psychology first discussed the need to belong, they focused on belonging in close relationships. For example, Abraham Maslow wrote how people, at some point, “hunger for affectionate relations… for a place in [a] group.”

Others, however, recognize different ways to feel a sense of belonging. For instance, indigenous thinkers point to how ecological belonging and spiritual belonging provide other means to feel part of something larger.

Although there may be various ways to seek greater belonging, many of us need more tools to use. Below are three practices for increasing perceptions of belonging in the interpersonal, ecological, and spiritual realms. I refer to them as “practices” because they literally require practice if we are to develop them as skills and most benefit.

  1. Interpersonal belonging

For all these practices, it may be helpful to begin by settling into a comfortable position where you can spend a few quiet minutes by yourself. Take a few deep breaths to center yourself in the moment.

Remember a time when you felt deeply part of a community or group, while at the same time feeling like you were fully yourself. Details will be essential here, so call to mind as many specifics as you can, particularly during those moments when your sense of belonging seemed highest. Maybe this occurred when you felt especially “seen” or “heard.” It may be helpful to take 15-20 minutes to write this memory down.

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How Contemplative Practices Promote Health and Well-Being

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In a review of everything currently known about the topic, researchers recently developed a scientific model of how contemplative practices of various kinds may encourage better physical and psychological health. Published in Psychological Review, one of the flagship academic journals of the American Psychological Association, this new model advances our understanding of the adverse effects of stress and what can be done to combat it.

The researchers note there are four primary stress-related states we all experience: (1) acute stress (example: arguing with a spouse), (2) moderate threat (example: working), (3) rest (example: watching TV), and (4) deep rest (the least studied of the four, but most beneficial). Although many believe that rest is our baseline, default state, the scientists in this article suggest that, in the United States (and, by extension, in other developed countries), most adults now spend most of their daytime hours in moderate threat arousal, which drains of us of the restorative energy we need to function at our best. In fact, considerable research conducted over many decades demonstrates that this level of chronic stress contributes to various physical and psychological health problems ranging from heart disease to immune suppression, from chronic pain to depression. Individuals from marginalized groups seem particularly likely to experience this degree of toxic stress, helping to explain some of the health inequities we observe in certain groups such as people of color and individuals with poor economic resources.

Whereas acute stress and moderate threat cause sympathetic nervous system activity, deep rest is characterized by the dominance of the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system basically calms us. The researchers in the Psychological Review article further speculate that deep rest may be uniquely restorative at a cellular level. In this way – though there are surely limits – deep rest may be physically and psychologically “healing.”

Although there may be several activities that promote deep rest and enhance the body’s restorative capacity, most emphasized in the article is how contemplative practices may play a unique role. As noted by the authors, “contemplative practices are mind-body exercises that are intentionally practiced to work toward inner well-being, psychological flourishing, and deep connection with self, the world, or a higher power.” Examples of such practices include deep prayer, chanting, meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, and Qigong.

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Quaker Advices and Queries

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Within Christianity, some traditions emphasize a more mystical and spiritual approach than others. One tradition I’ve been particularly intrigued by is Quaker spirituality.

Part of Quaker spiritual practice is to identify, share, and meditate on specific advices and queries. Some of these can be traced back to George Fox in the mid-1600s. In some ways, these advices and queries translate Quaker experiences and insights about the Gospels into modern life.

Communities might lead a service with reference to an advice or query, and individuals might meditate on one for an hour, a day, a week, or a year.

I’ve been studying Quaker advices and queries shared by meetings across the world for several years. Below I’ll share some of my favorites, which mostly come from the London, New York, and New England yearly meetings.


Apponegansett Meeting House, Jean Schnell

Advices:

Take heed to the promptings of love and truth in your heart.

Bring the whole of your life under the ordering of the spirit of Christ.

Seek to know an inward stillness, even amid the activities of daily life.

While respecting the experiences and opinions of others, do not be afraid to say what you have found and what you value.

Try to find a spiritual wholeness which encompasses suffering as well as thankfulness and joy.

Each of us has a particular experience of God and each must find the way to be true to it.

Listen patiently and seek the truth which other people’s opinions may contain for you.

Avoid hurtful criticism and provocative language.

Think it possible that you may be mistaken.

Try to make your home a place of loving friendship and enjoyment, where all who live or visit may find the peace and refreshment of God’s presence.

Let your life speak.

Responding to divine guidance, try to discern the right time to undertake or relinquish responsibilities without undue pride or guilt.

Search out whatever in your own way of life may contain the seeds of war.

Do not let the desire to be sociable, or the fear of seeming peculiar, determine your decisions.

Try to live simply.

Stand still, wait for divine guidance, then act.

Be grateful for the gifts you have. Neither be too proud of them nor value them too little. Do not waste time coveting the gifts of others.

Attend to what love requires of you.

Beacon Hill Meeting Room, Jean Schnell

Queries:

Are you open to the healing power of God’s love?

How does Jesus speak to you today? Are you following Jesus’ example of love in action? Are you learning from his life the reality and cost of obedience to God?

Do you respect that of God in everyone though it may be expressed in unfamiliar ways or be difficult to discern?

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Five Spiritual Practices that Increase Well-Being

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For thousands of years, religious and spiritual communities around the world have organized themselves around specific practices they find meaningful. In recent years, psychological scientists have been in conversation with such communities, trying to learn about these practices, sometimes refine them, and test the effects of related interventions on well-being. For those who consider themselves somehow spiritual – about 86% of American adults in one recent nationally representative survey – these activities may hold special significance. Although whether or not a practice really is “spiritual” depends on the person and what they hold sacred, these activities may be central parts of a lifestyle that prioritizes and integrates spirituality and well-being.

Below are five forms of spiritual practice that psychological research suggests increase well-being.

1. Meditation

Meditation practices refer to a broad collection of activities that seek to focus the mind. Really almost anything can be a support for attention during a meditation practice. For example, we can focus on our breathing, a meaningful word of our choice, a raisin, the movement of light on the floor as it comes through a window, the sound of a bird, sensations of emotional or physical pain, a text that holds spiritual significance, the kindness of a loved one, or the presence of the divine, just to name a few.

In recent years, a variety of apps have become available to help people engage in these kinds of activities. My favorite is the free “Healthy Minds Innovations” app from the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

2. Awe

Dacher Keltner defines awe as the feeling we get when we’re in the presence of a vast mystery that transcends our understanding of the world. For instance, we might feel awe in the presence of something huge, powerful, timeless, or intricate. Other people can leave us awestruck as well because of their astounding virtue, knowledge, or skill.

Priscilla Du Preez | Unsplash

Priscilla Du Preez | Unsplash

Taking an intentional awe walk is one way we can seek awe. This might involve taking at least 15 minutes to stroll through a natural area, maybe one that brings us through a wooded area or field of flowers, or near a lake or river. Alternatively, we can take a walk under the night sky, at dawn or dusk, or while a thunderstorm is taking shape in the distance. As we take our walk, part of the practice entails taking our time to really try to take in what we notice as vast, for example by allowing ourselves to by swept away by a view or amazed by the detail of a flower.

3. Forgiveness

Forgiveness refers to a process of letting go of negative emotions and the urges to seek revenge or avoid another because of the pain they caused us. Importantly, forgiveness need not involve telling a person we forgive them, condoning or forgetting a hurtful action, or restoring a relationship.

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