Learning to be inwardly strong is one of the most important lessons we are here on the earth to learn, yet you won’t find any classes in this subject at school or college. You learn inner strength through the ups and downs of your life, and your life is designed to bring you opportunities to learn it.

Most of us know what it’s like to face challenges and disappointments. Maybe we didn’t make it to university. We didn’t get that job promotion we hoped for. We didn’t meet the partner of our dreams, and we still have not met them. We could not have the child we longed to have. All of us have hidden wounds from the things we did not achieve. But in all these disappointments lies the possibility of learning - learning how to be spiritually mature.

Spiritual maturity

Spiritual maturity is about staying the same whether or not things work out as we hoped. It’s about being at ease with gain or loss, with praise or blame. This is easy to talk about, but in the midst of crushing disappointment, it’s not so easy to learn.

On the other side, if you get what you want, you receive that promotion, find the perfect partner, and receive honours, compliments and accolades for your achievements, will it change your view of yourself? Will you become someone who thinks they are better than others? Will you become a demanding prima donna? Will success erode your values, so that in the end fame and popularity become goals in themselves?

Spiritual maturity can be compared to a tree having its roots deeply embedded in the earth so that when the wind blows it can bend with the wind and not be uprooted. The wind may be a fair wind or foul, but if you are spiritually strong neither will affect your inner balance. You will stay the same, whatever other people think or say about you, and whatever your outer achievements or failures.

Inner strength

What can you do to foster inner strength? To start with you can allow yourself to have an inner life. An inner life is not something reserved for monks or nuns of any religion who spend their lives in prayer. An inner life is a life where you do not live on the surface, but understand the deeper currents of your own being.

In practice this means that you will not always be living on the surface, chasing material or spiritual goals. Whether you are chasing money or enlightenment, the fact that you are chasing anything means you are living on the surface of yourself. To develop an inner life, you have to stop chasing. And develop a wider perspective.

Maybe that job you wanted would have taken over your life and ruined your health. Maybe that partner you wanted was the wrong person for you this time round. Maybe the child you craved was not your soul’s choice. Maybe you are meant to mother other children, or create something else instead of a child.

On the other side, if you receive a lot of praise and adulation what does it actually mean? It probably means you were in the right place at the right time, but it does not mean you are a better human being than people who were not noticed or successful. If you suddenly find yourself with a lot more money, it may change other people’s perception of you, but does it change who you are? It may give you more freedom and opportunities, but it does not make you essentially better than anyone else.

Inner life

Having an inner life means you question the accepted view of things, and see that there is an opportunity to learn in every situation. An opportunity to see things from more than one perspective. It also means that your goal in your daily life is different from the multiple goals you had before. The goal that leads to spiritual strength is integrity. Having integrity you become authentic. Your aim is to speak, think, and act authentically so that what you say, think and do are aligned- there is no deception in you. This is what helps you to be straight and strong inwardly so that you can stay calm and centered in the face of life’s misfortunes and successes.

At this time of great change for our planet, it could help us all to learn inner strength. It does not matter if you are just one person. Decide to live with integrity today, to not talk behind anyone’s back, to not say one thing, and do something else. Decide that your inner being deserves just as much attention as your outer, so next time you go to the gym, remember it’s your inner strength that makes you really brave and strong, and able to be a support to others.

Welcome to a new way of living that does not cost you anything, and that will help you become integrated and inwardly strong. Welcome to a more spiritual life.

Author

Caroline McCutcheon is a writer, healer and medium who lived for fifteen years in a small village in the Algarve.  Four years ago she moved with her husband to the Alto-Alentejo. To read more about her, and her work go to: www.carolinemcc.com

Caroline McCutcheon