Cultivate Creativity to Improve Spiritual Wellness

We all look at “creativity” as a goal. If we were more creative, we could write, paint, or sing our way to a happier life, right? Well, what if we looked at creativity from a different perspective. What if we nurtured our creative juices, and the result wasn’t a sculpture or a mural but a deeper, more fulfilling sense of spiritual wellness? In today’s blog, let’s look at what spiritual wellness is, why it’s important, the link between creativity and spiritual wellness, and tips for developing your creativity. Let’s go!

What is Spiritual Wellness?

Spiritual wellness means being connected to something greater than yourself and having a set of values, principles, morals, and beliefs that provide a sense of purpose and meaning to life, then using those principles to guide your actions. The practice of spirituality makes and holds room for compassion for self, others, and the world. Spiritual wellness is about seeking a meaningful connection with something bigger than yourself, which can result in a positive mental state of peace, awe, contentment, gratitude, and acceptance.

Why is Spiritual Wellness Important?

Spiritual wellness is so important to living a full and balanced life. Strong spiritual wellness decreases depression, anxiety, stress, and anger, enhances your positive sense of self, helps you develop healthy coping skills, encourages you to find meaning in life, and develop human connection. Spiritual wellness enhances the quality of your life by increasing feelings of inner peace and hope. It increases your sense of compassion, expands your capacity for love and forgiveness, altruism, joy, and fulfillment.

The Link Between Creativity and Spiritual Wellness

The link between creativity and spiritual wellness is very clear. First, spiritual wellness means taking time to contemplate your purpose in life. Contemplating your purpose in life helps put you in touch with your potential to create and to affect change. Expressing your creativity helps you process your thoughts and feelings on your purpose in life. Second, those who want to boost their spiritual wellness turn to mindfulness, striving to understand how they can impact the world and give back. Expressing your creativity via art, music, or writing is a beautiful way of giving back to the world. Third, embracing a life of spiritual wellness means fostering a personal connection with God. You can funnel that inspiring love of God into your creativity. Fourth, creativity isn’t always joyful. Some people use creativity to help them process grief, sadness, or anger. Spiritual wellness teaches you compassion and forgiveness for yourself and others. It also helps you process grief, sadness, or anger, and cope with them in productive ways. The more you look at the link between creativity and spiritual wellness, the more you come to realize that they are both integral means to achieving true holistic health and wellness.

10 Tips for Developing Creativity

Does everyone have the capacity to be “creative”, or is that something you are just born with? While not everyone can achieve the creative genius of Mozart, everyone is capable of embracing creativity in a way that adds meaning to their life. Here are 10 tips for developing creativity within yourself:

1. Embrace Curiosity: Curiosity leads you to master new skills and adopt new ideas. That open-mindedness is also essential to spiritual wellness, where you open yourself up to the universe.
2. Set Aside Fears: When you overcome fears you embrace the idea that you can do anything you put your mind to, and that attitude fosters creativity. Setting aside fears and trusting in a higher power also fosters spiritual wellness.
3. Seek Out New Experiences: When you feed your creative engine with new experiences, you suddenly have new fodder for brainstorming. New experiences also foster a sense of awe and gratitude which are at the very foundation of spiritual wellness.
4. Find Your Purpose: Having a purpose is an essential part of vision which inspires creativity. When you have vision, your passion shows through, and your creativity flows naturally. Purpose is also a key tenet of spiritual wellness.
5. Take Time Off: Your mind needs time to process experiences and make new creative connections. When you take time for yourself to meditate and connect with a higher power, you also foster spiritual wellness.
6. Move Your Body: Studies have found that exercise improves memory and creative thinking. A healthy body supports greater spiritual health as well, by lovingly caring for the body that God gave you.
7. Do What You Love: Find a hobby that brings you joy, and that joy is sure to spark creativity. Joy places you in the present moment, and that mindfulness and gratitude is an important part of spiritual wellness.
8. Find the Conditions that Make You the Most Creative: Figure out what time of day you feel the most relaxed and happy. That is your creative sweet spot. Now tune into the location, the lighting, the music (or silence), and the tools/equipment you need to be creative. Give yourself all the support you need to succeed. Spiritual wellness is also a type of support, giving you the confidence to listen to your own guidance.
9. Make Time for Creativity: Just as you need to make time for spiritual healing practices to enhance your spiritual life, don’t wait for inspiration to strike to get creative. Creativity is a skill that needs to be honed and developed. Making time for creative thinking is an important form of self-care.
10. Collaborate with Others: Collaborating with others — having someone else to bounce off and spark ideas — can be a great source of creative inspiration. It gives you a new perspective and helps broaden your thinking. Conversely, don’t be afraid to ask for feedback from others. It can push you to consider an angle you’d never thought of before. Creativity thrives in a cooperative space. And spiritual wellness also thrives within a cooperative space — in worship, in fellowship, and in celebration of the Divine.

Unlock Your Creativity and Improve Your Spiritual Wellness

Everyone is creative — it might take a little nudge to unlock your creativity, but the payoff is a big boost to your spiritual wellness. Creativity and spiritual wellness are both integral means to achieving true holistic health and wellness. Everyone is capable of embracing creativity in a way that adds meaning to their life. There are so many ways to develop creativity within yourself — strive to embrace curiosity, set aside fears, seek out new experiences, find your purpose, take time off, move your body, do what you love, find the conditions that make you the most creative, make time for creativity, and collaborate with others.

At OHI, we have several classes that work to unlock your creativity. The Your Life is a Gift class teaches you how to let go of unhealthy demands and expectations, freeing your creativity. Our Vision Boards class works with the laws of attraction and affirmations to create a visual representation of your optimum life. Our Self-Esteem class and “You” Validation class both work to validate your self-worth and build self-esteem to fuel your personal growth and creativity. Every class builds your self-confidence, deepens your spiritual wellness, and unleashes your dormant creativity. Your creativity is a gift! Let it flourish and feel your spiritual wellness soar!

A holistic healing retreat at OHI will give you the opportunity to cultivate your creative side for improved spiritual wellness! Give yourself the gift of a healing retreat at OHI and jumpstart your holistic healing journey. Book your next visit to OHI today. Call OHI at (800) 588-0809 to learn more about our holistic approach to health and wellness.