Spiritual is the new sober

Spiritual the new sober? Cuckoo! No, really. More and more people are starting to see that spirituality is far from always having to do with religion and that a spiritual attitude to life mainly stands for finding inner balance and believing in yourself.

Whereas spirituality and religion used to be mentioned in the same breath, nowadays it is long gone that someone who is spiritual is also automatically religious. In fact, spirituality is above all: awareness. Becoming aware of what you need and believing that you can achieve what you want, especially with a view to creating inner peace.

Susan Smit put it very nicely in her book 'the Hovermill'.

There are those who embitter and those who improve. The latter is the spiritual attitude to life.

God

Whereas people used to pray to God for anything and everything and sit obediently in church every Sunday, there are now more and more people turning their backs on their old religion and taking responsibility into their own hands instead of putting it entirely in God's hands.

The higher the education, the less likely a person is to be religious, according to CBS survey. Of the group of low-educated people who have only completed primary education, 64 per cent are religious. Of the group of highly educated who have completed university studies, it is only 37 per cent.

Devil

Perhaps the decline in religion is also due to the fact that we have now become aware that illness is not the work of the devil. And that we therefore no longer need to pray to God for healing. These days - thank God - we can simply go to the doctor.

People also no longer have to pray for food. People who do not (or no longer) have a job due to financial setbacks or through their own fault, knock on the door of social services or the UWV, and in the more serious cases they are fed by the food bank.

In the past, God and the church were a 'last resort' for many people in the face of various woes. Nowadays, people turn to the state for this.

Conclusion: very likely, the increase in our intellect and the decrease in poverty have contributed to a less religious Netherlands. That religion is unfortunately still too often associated with war, scaremongering, power and child abuse will undoubtedly have had something to do with it too.

Destiny

Many people who engage in spirituality do still feel connected to a particular faith, but at the same time have become much more aware of the fact that we have our Fate mostly decide for themselves. For them, their religion has now become an addition to belief in themselves rather than a basic need.

In fact, many former religious no longer have any need at all for a set belief that is full of commandments and prohibitions; one is perfectly capable of thinking for oneself and determining what is right or wrong.

In addition, we are all becoming increasingly averse to being patronised, and if there is anything that collectively tries to patronise us, it is the church with its well-defined commandments and prohibitions.

Borders

Nevertheless, there is still a need for a certain kind of grip. Since people generally feel safe in having boundaries anyway, they now set them for themselves rather than letting the church set them.

People still like to live by certain rules, but rules they actually feel good about and not 'because they have to'.

Here, of course, spirituality offers the perfect alternative to the more corny and rigid faith. Spirituality is still a kind of faith and a way of life, but one with much more freedom.

So spirituality could be called the down-to-earth version of religion. A kind of religion light. A religion where God is only present in the background 'just in case'. And in some cases even a religion zero. A faith entirely without God.

Spiritual

Surprisingly, though, more and more people who previously dismissed spirituality as 'new age junk' have now discovered that less fairly more can be and that having to constantly be bent over for the mortgage is actually the plague to your inner balance.

That perhaps having a fat car in front of your door is not really necessary to simply be happy after all, and that even in a six-bedroom house, you can only sit on one chair at a time. Especially those who have a burnout have had or are currently facing are increasingly reflecting on how important inner balance is and how to obtain it.

OK, maybe they haven't figured out yet that they are quite spiritual with this attitude to life, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this is what it is is.

In fact, I bet that the most down-to-earth rakes can agree with the points below just fine and are becoming increasingly aware of them:

• Many material possessions do not guarantee happiness.
• A good balance between work and leisure time is needed to maintain the balance between body and mind.
• Good planning that allows one to do more in less time is important in terms of physical and mental health.
• When things are less hectic, it is easier to give in to personal needs.
• Creating more self-insight can do absolutely no harm and is even essential.

So as I said. Spiritual is the new sober.

Or is sober the new spiritual?

Reading tip: The path to inner balance and personal freedom

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