The Spiritual Challenges Of The Modern Era

How does society affect the well-being in our soul?

The modern spiritual era often puts us at odds with our own beliefs and values. Many of us face spiritual challenges in our daily jobs and lives. Some of the most common challenges include keeping our integrity, while living in a world that doesn’t always support doing what is right, finding time to connect to the spiritual, and staying true to our own beliefs, while respecting the beliefs of others.

Integrity-staying true to your beliefs and values-is an important part of spirituality. Unfortunately, today’s society often promotes compromising one’s beliefs for what is expedient. The workplace is a very common place to run into challenges to one’s own integrity. A friend of mine, for instance, believes strongly that money should not be a barrier to receiving good health care. However, she works for a nursing facility that exists to make a profit. It is part of her job to turn away people who cannot afford to pay for services. Should she leave a good-paying job that is helping her support her family? Or should she continue to ignore her own values in order to make a living?

If you, like my friend, are facing a crisis of integrity, it’s important to acknowledge the challenge to your values. Talking through the issue with like-minded friends, a counselor, or a member of the clergy may help you find a compromise or a solution that hadn’t occurred to you before.

Another difficult issue in the modern spiritual era is finding time to connect to what is spiritual. Many jobs today gobble up far more than the traditional forty hours per week. Basic survival activities such as eating and sleeping often take up what is left. This leaves very little time for attending religious services, communing with nature, connecting to our families, or whatever else we may view as spiritual.

Many time management experts recognize this dilemma and advise people to place a high priority on setting time aside for spiritual observances. They suggest looking at “empty time” such as time spent watching television or playing computer games and using that time, instead for spiritual observances, such as prayer or meditation. Although giving up the “empty time” may seem difficult at first, chances are that once you get in the habit of connecting to the spiritual, you will find it far more satisfying than staring at a television set or computer monitor.

Still another challenge that faces us in the modern spiritual era is respecting our own beliefs without disrespecting the beliefs of others. The modern world is a small world. You probably know people of many different religious and spiritual beliefs and philosophies. It is important to strike a balance between staying true to your own spiritual path and acknowledging that not everyone is on your path. For instance, before you start a morning meeting with a Christian prayer, you need to remember that not everyone attending the meeting is necessarily a Christian. It might be more appropriate to start with a moment of silence so that everyone can focus spiritually in his or her own way. Another idea is to open a dialogue between members of different faiths and see if you can find a way to acknowledge the spiritual that everyone can agree with.

The modern spiritual era is a fertile time for many different types of spiritual challenges. Being aware of the challenges and open to finding creative solutions will help you survive in this world without losing touch with what is important to you spiritually.