Spirituality Articles

Spirituality is a broad yet personal topic. Although it can vary as much as people do, spirituality is an important part of figuring out how to be happy.

Laughter is Spiritual Crack

by Jared Akers

Last night my wife and I met up with some friends for a great dinner and conversation. I love those times when you laugh so much your face hurts! It was the first time I’ve had a great steak in quite a while also. I mention the steak because my wife and I have been working hard on getting in shape for our upcoming trip to Cozumel in late November. We love SCUBA diving so we’re hoping that by getting in shape, we’ll not only look better, but won’t be so wiped out after a long day of diving. Oh, and I used to eat a lot of Ribeye’s with tons of fat on them…

Here’s my shameless plug (no affiliate links), but it’s really working! My wife and I are following the fitness tips found in the Vacation Body Blueprint, which is a free eBook you can get that outlines a basic routine for reducing body fat. We joined the gym on October 2nd and have been going 5 days a week since. It was slow going at first, but on October 13th I downloaded the eBook. At that point I weighed 183 lbs and was at about 24% body fat. As of this morning, I weigh 177 lbs and 20% body fat. I use a scale and a digital caliper to calculate body fat but I’m still not sure how accurate it is. But I can tell you, my pants are fitting better! The biggest key to loosing body fat, diet. Period. You need, on average, a calorie deficiency. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “you can’t out exercise a bad diet.” If interested in my workout, I can post that in another post (let me know of you guys are interested in my workout and diet), or you can follow the link and get the Vacation Body Blueprint.

OK, back to laughter…

Rule #62: Never take yourself too seriously [Read more…]

It Ain't Easy Being Me: Avoiding Self-Destruction

by Jared Akers

Today I first want to encourage everyone to go check out Dena’s blog, Evolution You. Dena asked me to write a guest post on my experience with addiction and alcoholism. More specifically, how I overcome addiction each and every day. So please check it out, Overcoming Addiction Through Spiritual Growth.

Now let’s talk a little about self-destruction.

When I was in an alcoholism treatment center, I always had my guitar with me. One of my favorite songs I would play is, It Ain’t Easy Being Me by Chris Knight. The music video is shot in the middle of a demolition derby and presents a interesting visual as to the theme of the song. Self-Destruction. Most of the patients and myself could relate. I still play the song today when I share my story at treatment centers, but as a reminder of how I used to be. [Read more…]

Racism and Spiritual Growth

by Jared Akers

This week’s post is going to be a little different. Different in that, I had no idea what I was going to talk about when I started writing this. I have tons of topics and lots of things I’m passionate about, but decided to just sit down and see what comes out. (I’m trying to put less pressure on myself to conqueror world peace with every post!)

My stepson is training as a kick boxer and occasionally he participates in matches. They charge admission, have lights, music, a fancy ring etc… A few months ago, my wife and I were attending one of these matches. Besides kickboxing, they also have grappling and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) matches. In one of the MMA fights, there was this huge guy fighting this smaller guy. I noticed the smaller guy actually seemed to be doing pretty good. About halfway through the fight, this younger kid sitting next to me leans over and says, “man, that black guy is really good, I think he’s winning.” It was then I realized he was talking about the smaller guy, and now I realized the smaller guy was black. I hope that’s the “pc” word these days. I don’t know, his skin was darker than mine, and the white guy’s skin was also a lot whiter than mine. Of course I tan sometimes, I’m a bit of a metro sexual though so… [Read more…]

Do Something: Finding Spiritual Growth in Daily Actions

by Jared Akers

Doing something does not always equate to accomplishing something. For years I scurried about getting all sorts of things done, but was no closer to inner-peace and happiness as a result. Today my actions take me towards something, towards spiritual growth which is where I find the truth about myself and lasting happiness.

When I was working as a server in a restaurant, I learned how to look busy. I discovered that if you carry a ketchup bottle around and look like you’re going somewhere, people will assume you’re busy and leave you alone. I was self-centered, or as I referred to myself, shy. Which is just a form of self-centeredness and making everything about me. When all I’m thinking about is how uncomfortable I am in a situation, I’m missing the opportunity to be of service to someone else. I’m making it about me.

“Slow down and remember this: Most things make no difference. Being busy is a form of laziness-lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.”
-Tim Ferriss’ 4-Hour Workweek

Many of you may have heard me talk about my $10 life where for years I would only put $10 worth of gas in my car at a time. I was too impatient to wait any longer. As I stood their watching the numbers clicking by, I would think about all the things I had to get done. Most often, none of them were for someone else—if that was the case, $5 was the limit—back when $5 would get you somewhere. While waiting I would think about what a great friend I was and that when I was finished with the laborious task ahead, I could get back to changing the world. It was always about me—always in a rush to manage my time, always looking for something I thought I was missing. Being alone with me was too uncomfortable. [Read more…]

You Are A Miracle, So Count Your Blessings!

by Jared Akers

One of my favorite books is Og Mandino’s The Greatest Miracle in the World (amazon link). First off, it’s a quick read and contains a great story of Og and Simon the Ragpicker. From the book comes the God Memorandum which consists of the four laws of happiness and success:

Count your blessings
Proclaim your rarity
Go another mile
Use wisely your power of choice

It is also suggested that one should do all things with love. If you haven’t read the book, the premise is that most humans have lost their way, that we have resigned to living on the junk pile of life. There are religious connotations in this book, so if that sort of thing bothers you, well… I would just suggest you keep an open mind. I read this book early in my spiritual journey, and as with anything spiritual or religious, I usually take what works for me and leave the rest. I’ve included the section on counting your blessings, this really helps put into perspective what a true miracle each and every one of us are.

Count Your Blessings:
[Read more…]

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