Spiritual Health: An Update

WED., FEB. 21, 1990, 6:26 AM
FARM, STUDY

This is the aspect or dimension of health that I want you to be most concerned with… most identified with. It shall be My pleasure, accordingly, to offer you some new thoughts or some reinforcements that shall help in your understanding of and your communication about this theme. Hear, o son.

Spiritual health is, obviously, the health of your spirit. How developed is this spirit? How well does it function, in conjunction with your body and your mind? How well does it adapt in emergencies or traumatic circumstances? And from My perspective, of course, is your spirit in rather close and constant contact with Me, the Holy Spirit?

Now I realize that when you are developing a secular definition or description it would not be wise to be so blatant about relationship with Me. Yet consider that the body must be fed, must be cleansed, and must rid itself of waste to remain healthy. The mind must have stimulation from without… ideas from people, from books, periodicals that challenge and energize thought processes. In like fashion, the spirit needs to be “fed” from outside itself… from the spirits of others, from other living things and the beauty of the earth itself, but, mainly, from Me. I realize this has to be soft-pedaled or disguised in some settings, but I must remind you of the truth that spirit cannot be truly healthy without help from beyond itself. Exercise maintains or increases the health of the body, but this is not possible without nourishing food that comes from without.

Spirit is the essence of a sense of self. The mind has thoughts about the self, but these are often revised because of conditions, successes, failures, and experiences. The healthy spirit knows who you are, and also who you are becoming. As I have told you many times, spirit can grow in all sorts of circumstances and that hard truth applies: the healthier the spirit the more it can develop from all of life’s conditions and become even healthier… the strong get stronger and the weak get weaker.

Then I say that this truth presents a challenge to spirits: if a spirit is healthy it must give of itself to help others grow strong. To be spiritually healthy you must be continually “giving yourself away.” The overuse of alcohol and other drugs can stunt spiritual growth, for dependence on some substance is always evidence of lack of spiritual health. Help from others is usually required, and help from Me is “the best.” Yet recovery to a totally healthy, well-functioning life is rarely possible if you do not extend your heart and hand to another, or others, who are seeking recovery. Spiritual health comes out of exercise, the exercise of offering help to others, particularly those in need.

Purpose in life is another facet of spiritual health. When spirit is strong there is a sense of purpose, even if such is not at all clear. In a secular sense, this general purpose should sound thus: to be a good person, a person of integrity and trust, in all of the situations of life. I would rather hear this, of course: to be a child of God, guided into righteous living and saved from the consequences of sin.

Out of general purpose comes many specific purposes. When the spirit is healthy all of these more specific purposes are coordinated. Even though they may be diverse they all integrate with and celebrate the overall purpose. A strong spirit helps retain certain purposes in times of trouble and doubt. A strong spirit also is a help in shifting from one purpose to another, if this is necessary or desirable. And a healthy spirit knows when to “hold on” and when to “let go”… to change those things which should and can be changed, to accept, with serenity, what cannot be changed… and it is a healthy spirit that knows the difference. Spiritual wisdom is a good way to put it.