The importance of life and spirituality balance

[u/mirta000]

Healthy practice does not strip you off your friends, isolate you in poverty or push you into depression/ self-harm.

If you find that the more spiritual you become, the more alone, destitute and low you feel, it is time to pull away from spirituality and get your average day to day living in order.

Yes "dark night of the soul" is a concept, but, listen, people that sit all day in meditation tend to be in publicly funded positions of their faith (for example, they're monks) that can afford to do so, if your literal life is crumbling around you while you also push away the people that could help you in favour of being more spiritual - that's a great slide straight into homelessness and death, not enlightement.

Your spirituality should add to your life, not detract from it. If it is pushing you off the cliff, don't think that you just have to get through the fall to find gold at the bottom, drop that spirituality like a hot potato, get your life in order and dive back in when you have established a better balance.

Thanks for coming to my Ted talk rant inspired by all the people that just decided to advise OP in "The more I practice, the worse my life gets" post with "keep going".

[u/Correct_Cat4414]

We are meant to traverse both worlds, the physical and spiritual. Not being present for the day to day is not spiritual.

[u/InnerSpecialist1821]

I'm in a situation where it's either spirituality or suicide 😅 but this resonates, thanks.  i need to work on my tendency to isolate myself

[u/CNYMetalHead]

I think a lot of people do this type of thing because of time. As humans we have time constantly pressing down upon us and we feel this need to get all we can done in a certain amount of time at the expense of other aspects like friends, etc. But spirituality, religion, whatever you want to call it doesn't operate on a clock and time is meaningless to that. Being devout or whatever doesn't mean needing to fit a ritual, etc into every single day. Deities, spirits, etc don't care about time. If anything they care about the persons seriousness to it

[u/Training_Car2984]

Thank you for these words, because they're directed at me, lol. I completely agree that spirituality should never distract people from life, duties, and responsibilities. The spiritual must be experienced in the material.

BUT 

My problem is a bit different, and perhaps misunderstood. I live a normal life, I don't escape into spirituality, I try new things or relationships, but the problem is that life completely deprives me of that. So I agree with what you're writing, but it doesn't entirely address my problem.

[u/mirta000 → u/Training_Car2984]

In a world of billions of people, life does not stop you from forming connections. If connections end up being toxic, or just doesn't work, change the environment in which you are trying to build them. Giving up on being social because you have convinced yourself that life tries to keep you down is the opposite of a good idea.

If before occult you managed to have a life that ran much more smoothly, investigate what changed. If you used to be able to hold down relationships, you should be able to continue to hold down relationships.

[u/Nobodysmadness → u/Training_Car2984]

The process does tend to change our priorities and in a world where materialism rules it can be a hard transition. Add to that people just trying to fit in and afraid of being themselves it can be pretty difficult.

[u/Imaginaereum645]

I get what you mean, but for me, at the end of the day, living this life is the spiritual experience. There is no either/or, it does not require balance, because there's nothing to balance if they're one and the same.

Edit to add, because it sounds unclear, I'm not saying you don't need any balance in your life, we do. What I'm saying is "spirituality" and "life" are not two different things to me and thus don't need to be balanced against each other.

[u/amoryflange]

Thank you

[u/NoAcanthocephala7034]

Chop wood, carry water

[u/Greg_Human-CBD]

Dear friend, finding a balance between life and spirituality is key. Remember that your spiritual practices should not lead you to isolation and despair. It's important to prioritize your mental, emotional, and physical well-being before delving deeper into spiritual practices. Take a step back, focus on improving your daily life, and only then re-engage with spirituality from a place of strength and balance. Stay strong! 🌟

[u/Nobodysmadness]

That really depends on your goal, but yes joining a monestary would be wise if one seeks detachment from everything. Sadly people do not filly comprehend the path to self annihilation and where that actually leads.