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Soul

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Recap

When we refer to the term ‘the soul’ we are broadly thinking that we are more than flesh and bones and within every human being there is unique person with individual beliefs, talents and strengths. So looking after the soul is about how we find meaning and purpose, both in this life and for some people in the one beyond. It can involve us asking questions like, What are my qualities? What makes me unique? What are my beliefs and values? What matters to me? What are my favourite things to do?

This idea of looking after the soul is also called spirituality and when we seek to look after this aspect of our human nature it has proven to help with our wellbeing. Some find that their spiritual life revolves around, or is linked to, their religion or faith. They may engage in prayer, worship or meditation. People of faith may find comfort in what they describe as having a personal relationship with God. Other people find their spiritual experience through their connections with nature, music, art and moments of awe and wonder. It can come from living out what they think is important, what they care about, of the things in this world they want to change or make a difference to.

In summary, the soul and spirituality are ultimately about discovering what is important to us, what we value and taking the time to connect and live these out in everyday life. When we start to learn to be true to who we are, value our uniqueness, recognise our strengths and express what we believe and value, we start to make progress towards a happier life.

Experiments

Learning to develop our spirituality and look after the soul isn’t as easy as some other skills. This is because our purpose and meaning in life take time to develop and can change throughout our lives. One of the ways we can look after the soul is to keep asking questions, discover what matters to us and take time to work out how to apply it to our lives. The more we keep taking time to develop the soul and explore our purpose, the more we should see an improvement in our happiness.

  1. Find ways to practise your key strengths.
  2. Find ways to explore topics, causes or subjects you are interested in.
  3. Explore volunteering for a local charity or community group.
  4. Create an event to raise money for charity.
  5. Talk to a teacher or community leader about making a change to a situation/issue in your community that you think needs tackling.
  6. Learn a new skill that interests you.
  7. Complete the VIA character strengths survey and find ways to practise your key strengths. (If you have not done this in the session you could give participants the information to try it on their own.)
  8. Listen to inspirational stories from ordinary people who have made a difference.
  9. List things in society that you want to see changed and think about what you could do about them.
  10. Create a dreams and goals poster that represents what you feel your purpose in life is.
  11. Speak to your parents/carers or grandparents about what their dreams and goals are and how they got to where they are today. What has been important to them and what has changed over the years?
  12. Create a bucket list.
  13. Create a purpose tweet/Instagram post. What would be your key message (for example, if you summarised your purpose in a 280 character sentence what would it be)?
  14. Create a list of all that is good and important to you in life.
  15. Practise being present and savouring the moment.
  16. Find a space to rest, be still and relax for at least 10 minutes each day for a week.
  17. Take some time to watch a sunrise or sunset, or go star gazing.
  18. Practise forgiveness.
  19. Spend time doing something that you enjoy.
  20. Write or say a prayer.
  21. Explore some more about a particular faith.