I grew up in a Catholic family, and my dad forced me to go to church every Sunday. I remember I was bored and didn’t listen to a single word the priest said. When I was twelve years old, I rebelled against that habit; I announced that I did not consider myself a Catholic and wanted to find my path.
Then adolescence came, and I got more interested in chasing impossible love stories—years passed by between school and romantic disappointments. Many of us feel the need to find our spirituality, but when we are young, we are too busy looking for ways to fit into the group. Once we think we achieved what society says it’s essential to be happy, like a decent job and a stable relationship, some of us go back to their search for spirituality; others simply declare themselves atheists.
I received the calling to turn inwards in my 30s when I had an existential crisis. I suddenly remembered that I had abandoned the Catholic faith, but I never replaced it with something else—I felt empty. I didn’t want to subscribe to the principles of a specific religion—I wanted to build my faith without dogmas. I started to read books, and these are the three readings that formed my belief:
1. “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne – This book was given to me by a friend, and it arrived at the perfect time. The idea that a positive mind attracts positive outcomes is not a secret, but the book goes deeper and explores the immense power of the mind. After finishing the book, I tried the techniques described and validated the theory. I put the law of attraction into practice on a daily basis. This was the first piece of my spirituality puzzle:
The mind is powerful, and the Universe is listening to our thoughts delivering EVERYTHING we focus on (positive or negative).
2. “Anatomy of the Spirit” by Caroline Myss. – I found this book roaming in a bookstore. Based on fifteen years of research into energy medicine, Caroline Myss shows how every illness corresponds to emotional and psychological issues that have influenced corresponding areas of the human body. She mentions different religions finding the common trait of the seven stages to reach spiritual maturity. Thanks to this book, I started to pay close attention to my emotions and added the second piece to my puzzle:
When we experience a high level of stress or negative emotions repeatedly, we harm our body, which receives the negativity in the form of physical illness.
Once I understood the importance of controlling my thoughts and my feelings, I turned to yoga and meditation to learn how to focus on the present and redirect the negative energy. Each one of us is different and accumulates stress in various parts of the body. This statement takes me to the last piece of my puzzle:
Our physical and spiritual practice should help the parts of the body which are most affected by our mental turbulence. An in-depth analysis of our chakras can help us choose the best method.
3. “Eastern Body, Western Mind” by Anodea Judith. This book was given to me by a friend. The author, a psychologist, explains how she treats her patients with the chakra method. Looking into your chronic health issues, you can analyze the source of your distress and treat it with specific exercises.
In short, I believe that the Universe has a spiritual power able to deliver to us all we want if we work hard and visualize our success. Our negative emotions need to be kept in check using meditation and mindfulness techniques. There are seven centers of energy in our body, and through deep self-analysis (or helped), we can find the reasons behind chronic physical issues and find a path towards physical and spiritual balance.