9 Spiritual Nourishment | Nourishing ourselves with truth

Just like a human body, a spirit can’t run for long on junk food.

Everyone knows that if we don’t feed our body well, we will become tired, weak and, eventually, sick. In a similar way, when our spirit is undernourished, we react from tired old habits and can’t find an ounce of inner peace.

We are typically not shy in seeking our daily bread, although our food choices may leave something to be desired. But in terms of spiritual nourishment, many people are walking around starved and vitamin deficient.

Whether we realize it or not, we’re full of hidden untruths, the spiritual equivalent of Twinkies. Just like a human body, a spirit can’t run for long on such junk food.

What we need is an intake of spiritual truth.

And we need it regularly, not just once.

It’s no secret that our physical bodies won’t feed themselves. We must each earn our bread: buy it, prepare it and eat it. Spiritually, it’s much the same story.

We must seek out rich spiritual nourishment and make the effort to take it in. Then we digest it by thinking on it, applying it to our lives, and praying for help.

Sound like too much effort? Thinking maybe you lack the necessary willpower? Not so. Every single person has the willpower, though we often don’t apply it very well.

“I’m too tired” and “What does it even matter?” are soul-sucking attitudes that lead us down a spiritless drain of depression and hopelessness.

It doesn’t hurt God’s feelings if we’re not willing to make an effort, but it matters a whole lot to our own world-weary souls.

The right use of our will

Our work is to search out our faults and find the roots of our blind emotional reactions. We have to find our own inner wants and start to put our souls in order.

Yes, we must all do this, but don’t despair. Living life this way steers us clear of depression. This is the way to turn unpleasant events into steppingstones, and to convert failures into opportunities to learn and do better.

Nothing that happens in life is good or bad. Life’s next disaster could turn out to be the best thing that ever happened. Likewise, a fortunate event could debilitate us if we don’t learn the spiritual lesson it contains.

It’s only through the right use of our will that we have the power to change and direct our reactions into healthy channels. To allow ourselves to slide into depression is to blame fate and others for what happens to us.

That’s never the truth. Both the cause and the solution for everything that happens in our lives are inside us.

We are not slaves to how our life unfolds. We are the architects. Finding the way out then requires that we see ourselves squarely, face what needs facing, and have the courage to endure the uncomfortable.

If we don’t run away from ourselves, we can take responsibility for our lives and ask for help in making changes.

Aligning with inner truth

Willpower isn’t a blessing for a chosen few. Willpower naturally flows from our Higher Self.

When willpower is aligned with God’s will for us, it runs clean and true. It guides us to find our own particular task, which could be quite different from that of the person sitting next to us. We have to find our own right way.

Task-wise, though, we do all share one common theme: we must come to know ourselves. We can all start with this, working to uncover untruth inside us. Keep in mind, untruth is always connected with painful experiences.

When we focus on clearing our inner distortions—the places that are not in truth—we will come into alignment with our own Higher Self. Then we operate in alignment with the Higher Selves of everyone else and follow the will of God.

Best of all, when we are living in alignment with our Higher Self, we will be fully alive. Weariness will vanish and our willpower will wake up.

Letting go and trusting God

What does it take to live in alignment with God’s will? It requires us to be willing to look for what separates us from God. Note that there are no big or little things in this regard. It all matters.

Every time we sacrifice our own little will for the greater good of God’s will, we discover that whatever we give up is actually a burden. Anything that comes between us and God can only be a burden.

Here’s the real rub: the problem isn’t that we don’t know what God’s will is for us. It’s that we do. And yet we doubt we will like it.

We typically hang on to whatever we think will give us some modicum of pleasure, even when we know full well it’s not in our best interest. Quite simply, we don’t believe God has our highest good at heart.

The only way to know the truth here is to test the water. We have to give it a fair shot. Then the peace and joy that will flood our system will become the salve that soothes our hurting souls.

This is the only thing that will give us the confidence to do it again and again, gradually stepping into alignment with God’s will.

In this way, we can learn to trust God. In this way, we can let ourselves be nourished by what God is ready and willing to give us: a direct connection with truth.