At B-Thrive we think using the Ancient African approach of spirituality could help with mental health because it is part of our culture. In a lot of Ancient Spiritual traditions, mental health is part of an holistic well-being system where your spiritual, mental, and physical health is intertwined. This is also a common practice in African spirituality.
Spiritual sanity is the process in which one is not connected to the soul but you are also connected to the Ancestors in a healthy manner. It is a method of being connected to who you are, and knowing yourself and it can positively influence an individual’s mental peace and well-being. Imbalances in one's spiritual system can create an overall imbalances in the body. Reasons like this is why African traditions teaches us how to balance mental health with spirituality. The following steps can be take to practice this:
⭐ Spiritual-Centered: This is when you have a coping mechanism that is grounded in spiritual connectedness with the creator. You draw on divine wisdom and the collective wisdom of the ancestors to overcome challenges and environmental stressor.
⭐ Collective-Centered: This is a group-centered coping mechanism where you draw on collective, communal resources for social, emotional, and resource support in order to manage environmental stressors and challenges.
⭐Ritual-Centered: This is a form of coping mechanism that uses certain rituals and practices that are designed to calm and refocus energies. Rituals such as lighting candles, burning incense and building an altar to connect with the ancestors, gives you the power to meet challenges and environmental stressor.
There are four fleas benefits of practicing African spirituality and wellbeing, a few of these benefits are:
* Having a sense of being grounded
* A Feeling of empowerment
* Having extended spiritual guidance that gives us a sense of reassurance (less loneliness)
* A feeling of being solution-focused by being more proactive and confident to implement change we need
* A sense of purpose - the use of altars, lighting of candles, burning incenses to keep a connection with your ancestors allows you to get some guidance. These rituals when complemented with communal support (emotionally and socially) gives you the support to be able to find suitable resources for healthy well-being.