As we explore the pathway to a balanced and healthy spirituality, we realize the importance of nurturing emotional health in our life. It is possible to grow emotionally healthy without a personal commitment to Christ. But it is also possible to be zealous about spirituality and remain unaware of one’s social, emotional and psychological deficits. When we integrate emotional health with contemplative spirituality, the disciple of Christ experiences a holistic transformation.
What is emotional health? How do we describe contemplative spirituality? I wish to share an outline of both as presented in Scazzero’s book, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (2006:45, 46).
Emotional health is concerned with the following:
- naming, recognizing, and managing our own feelings
- identifying with and having active compassion for others
- initiating and maintaining close and meaningful relationships
- breaking free from self-destructive patterns
- being aware of how our past impacts our present
- developing the capacity to express our thoughts and feelings clearly, both verbally and non-verbally
- respecting and loving others without having to change them
- asking for what we need, want, or prefer clearly, directly, and respectfully
- accurately self-assessing our strengths, limits, and weaknesses and freely sharing them with others
- learning the capacity to resolve conflict maturely and negotiate solutions that consider the perspectives of others
- distinguishing and appropriately expressing our sexuality and sensuality
- grieving well
Contemplative spirituality focuses on spiritual practices and concerns such as:
- awakening and surrendering to God’s love in any and every situation
- positioning ourselves to hear God and remember his presence in all we do
- communing with God, allowing him to indwell fully the depth of our being
- practicing silence, solitude, and a life of unceasing prayer
- resting attentively in the presence of God
- understanding our earthly life as a journey of transformation toward ever-increasing union with God
- finding the true essence of who we are in God
- loving others out of a life of love for God
- developing a balanced, harmonious rhythm of life that enables us to be aware of the sacred in all of life
- practicing the spiritual disciplines for our life today
- allowing our Christian lives to be shaped by the rhythms of the Christian calendar rather than the culture
- living in committed community that passionately loves Jesus above all else
By nurturing emotional health and contemplative spirituality, we will discover the fullness of life that Jesus promised.. We are commanded by Jesus to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength as well as to love our neighbor as ourselves (see Mark 12:28-34). Loving God well, loving others well and loving ourselves well are essential to living the Jesus life.
