Why I Pray In The Shower

Finding true happiness in my life came about by a slow and often uncertain journey on a path that I would later figure out I created.  A journey that while far from over, no longer requires as much effort as it once did to believe in myself and a creator I presently call God. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 11 of my book that talks about personal and spiritual growth and what it did for me.

Due to the level of personal growth I’ve achieved so far in my sobriety, I very rarely display the insecure and often immature behaviors that I did in my drinking days. I can still be immature and even unspiritual at times when I decide to act like “the funny guy” but I don’t worry about this affecting my spiritual growth like I used to because I know it’s not who I really am. However, when I try to describe exactly what personal and spiritual growth is, it’s very hard to do. Also, what one person considers to be personal or spiritual growth can be quite different from another’s. For my own personal growth, the self-actualization I experienced was a result of it and helped take me to a whole other level of wanting to help others. For my spiritual growth, overcoming my fears with prayer and action took me to a whole other level of belief in a creator and myself. I also know that I still need to grow much more as a person and that I certainly have a long way to go before I’m at the level of spiritual growth that I see in some other people. But as I wrote in the beginning of this book, a part of spiritual growth is knowing you will always need to grow, and I will add that I believe a part of personal growth is realizing this even more.

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Tags: finding true happines, overcoming fear, self-actualization, self-improvement, spiritual growth

Some spiritual books I’ve read claims that much of our unhappiness in life stems from the fact that we depend on people and material things to bring us happiness and not spiritual values. They also claim that until we completely detach ourselves from these dependencies, we will continue to be hurt by others and never be free from fears and insecurities. I agree with what they’re saying, and although I have less fears and insecurities in my life today, I admit I’m still dependent on people for at least some of my happiness. However, I have acquired enough spiritual growth over the years to not remain hurt by others. It’ll take a lot more spiritual growth before I’m completely free of my dependency on people, especially the ones I love, but at least I know any pain I feel as a result of that dependency will only hurt a little bit.

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Tags: dependency, emotional pain, Happiness, love, self worth, spiritual growth

I was fifteen years old when I first fell in love with a boxer named Muhammad Ali. I know using the term falling in love when concerning another man may sound strange, but I assure you I wasn’t the only one who loved and adored the man who was The Heavyweight Champion of the World back then. I wrote in my book why Ali was my idol as a teenager, but what I didn’t write about was the self-love that he possessed. It wasn’t the insecurity fueled kind that’s evident in many people today, but the type of self love that happens through spiritual and personal growth. It took me several years in my sobriety before I learned what true self-love felt like and I wish I could help everyone achieve it. It’s been over 35 years since I began my love affair with the man who was called “The Greatest” by himself and others, and although he may not be what he once was physically, I know because of his beliefs that he still loves who he is today. I’m certainly not the same person I was physically as a teenager or for that matter even a few years ago, but I too love who I am today. I have found that the secret to loving ourselves is to always strive for spiritual and personal growth and that when we learn to love ourselves enough to be happy with who we are, we will begin to love ourselves unconditionally. When we love ourselves unconditionally it holds the promise of some day being able to love others the same way and makes having the self-love I’m talking about truly the greatest love of all.

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Tags: believing in ourselves, muhammad ali, personal and spiritual growth, self love, self worth, the greatest love of all

To be perfect is to be entirely without any flaws, defects, or shortcomings. I know I’m nowhere near being perfect as a person, and that I never will be in this lifetime. I try not to worry too much about my imperfections though, or the spiritual imperfections I also have. I realize that part of spiritual growth is knowing I will always need to grow and that having imperfections both spiritually and as a person is a part of who I am. I don’t necessarily like having them, and I certainly don’t like seeing them in other people, but because I have learned to love myself unconditionally I am slowly learning to love others unconditionally too. Now having imperfections doesn’t give any of us the right to act in ways that hurt people, nor should it be used as an excuse for when we do. But if we honestly keep striving for personal and spiritual growth even when we fall far short of being perfect, it’s still possible to love ourselves and be be happy with who we are. An unconditional love for ourselves that holds the promise of loving others in the same way no matter what their imperfections may be.

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Tags: creating our path, Happiness, self love, spiritual growth, spiritual imperfection, unconditional love