The Anatomy of a 
Spiritual Person

 Vijai P. Sharma, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist

Wayne Dyer, a renown contemporary psychologist says, "We all are spiritual beings having human experience."  We are physical, emotional and spiritual beings, a living proof of "trinity," in this case the trinity of the body, the heart and the soul

To what extend we develop the spiritual or the other two dimensions depends on our environment, upbringing and self-cultivation.  Exceptional indeed are the people who are fully developed as spiritual persons and live their lives on the spiritual plane on a 24-hour basis. All prophets of any religion, or at least the ones I have studied, were spiritual beings in the total sense of the world.  In common parlance, we use the terms "spirituality" and "religion" interchangeably.  Although many aspects overlap, not all spiritual people are religious, and not all religious people are spiritual.

Relationship between mind and matter:  Spiritual people know they are more than their physical bodies, and their awareness and knowledge are far greater than the sum total of information  provided by their five senses.  Intuition is at its highest in them.  The "intuit" when a solution is beyond reasoning and thinking.  They believe they are more than their thoughts, memories, emotions and other mental faculties put together, and that lets them transcend physical limitation.

Relationship with one's own self:  Spiritual people are at peace with themselves.  They feel the same compassion for themselves as they feel for all other beings.  They are secure in themselves in that they feel totally accepted by the loving force or being of the universe.  

Relationship with others:  Spiritual people see others too as more than their physical forms.  They believe the same invisible life force flows through others as it does within themselves, so they feel at one with others because of that connection.  Their eyes can pierce through hateful behavior and men words and see the beauty of the soul, so they often succeed in bringing that beautiful being out by their compassion and unconditional acceptance.  Their motive for all their actions is based on love and compassion for others rather than the motive for return or recognition.

Spiritual people seldom feel alone.  The never feel lack of love because they feel they are being loved by the universe and that Universal Spirit all the time.  As a result of this unconditional, every-present love, they are peaceful, compassionate, open and loving to all human beings.  They believe in universal brotherhood and sisterhood, recognizing that all other definitions of people in terms of creed, color, sex, nationality and the like too often divide people.  They feel the same compassion and love for all without focusing on their faults and weaknesses.  They have no desire to control or dominate others.   They constantly endeavor to empower others.

Relationship with God:  Knowing that there is an infinitely superior intelligence, they constantly seek the divine guidance.  While others look outward for solutions, spiritual people go within and meditate for guidance.  They experience a constant presence of God loving them and guiding them.  They seek answers to their questions only from the source of all intelligence and wisdom.  This relationship is experienced with an overwhelming feeling of joy and gratitude, which can take the form of the lover and beloved as with the Sufis, the teacher and disciple, the parent and child, or the guardian and ward.

Relationship with the universe:  They have a spiritual connection with the whole world.  Spiritual people see the universe as part of a divine plan.  They see a purpose and inherent logic in all aspects and events of the universe.  Nothing is possible outside that plan and it's purpose,. Though it may not be immediately discernible to the naked eye.  They are simply in awe of the mystery of the universe as they feel the divine presence in every atom of the universe.  They feel grateful for every event in the universe and often experience ecstasy in admiration and awe of how the whole universe runs with such perfection.



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