On some level, aren’t we all looking to improve our spiritual life? We don’t have to be dissatisfied with our current spiritual life to know situations can be better. There is nothing wrong with wanting more out of our spiritual life. I am now going to tell you my secret to an enriched spiritual life! Imagine a loud echoing voice accompanies by a drum roll … Get Out of Your Comfort Zone!

Can it be so simple? Yes! Especially when a common gauge of a fulfilling spiritual life is having connections with like-minded people. So many people ask me how my husband, David, and I have flourished so quickly in our new spiritual community. It’s not magic.

We get out of our comfort zone, regularly. We force ourselves to leave our home and go to local events. By getting out and meeting people, we have discovered what locations we connect to, who our peeps are and what groups have similar goals and vibrations. You can do it too! Here are some things we did to get familiar with our community and our community familiar with us. You don’t need to be new to your community to try some of these ways to improve your spiritual life!

Talk to people when out in the community:

We actually started chatting to a woman at a salad shop and she invited us to her Real Estate Christmas party where we met wonderful people. One woman we met at the party comes out to many of my events!

Attend local spiritual events

Here is the key to improving your life. Have a life! Get out! Meet like-minded people! You may need to try a number of different types of events held at different locations, but you will find the ones that work well with your interests and energy. As you find the events you want to go to more often, you will begin to connect with people on a deeper level. People get to see what you are like, what interests you, and what really makes you tick! You also get insight into a group of people without having to spend as much one-on-one time.

Go to some not so spiritual events:

Remember that Christmas party? Spiritual people don’t only hang out at meditation groups! What else are you interested in? Knitting? Then go to a knitting circle! When you open up and talk to people, you will be surprised at what commonalities you find! Back to my example of the woman we met at the salad shop! She is a vegan who is very involved with a local animal protection group and it turns out that we have a lot of common friends on Facebook!

Friend people you meet on Facebook:

Okay so don’t be a stalker, but if you go to an event and meet someone you feel comfortable with, exchange Facebook names! I have friended people I haven’t met, but the person is usually a friend of a friend and we have similar interests. Don’t get upset if a person doesn’t friend you back, some people are quite particular about friending and keep their Facebook for close friends and family.

Visit all the local new-age shops:

Don’t just go in the shops everyone talks about; look out for the little shops and don’t ignore the big ones! I had one of the best readings with the nicest woman at a local health food store! You never know where your new buddy or your next adventure will be found!

Explore a local spiritual church or organization:

Not all churches are religious and not all spiritual organizations are of a single faith! Look for a spiritual center that holds weekly or monthly “services” that jive with what you find spiritual. We found a wonderful “church.” We also connected with Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E, starting with attending different functions, connecting with the other participants and talking to the people at the information desk and bookstore. After we got to know the organization a little better, I asked to be a psychic at their psychic fair and volunteered to teach!

Host a party!

We had a New Year’s Day party and invited many of the people we had met over the year to our house! Our guests really loved meeting new people as well. It turned out that although they all were part of the local spiritual community, many didn’t know each other.

Invite a person out for lunch or for a cup of coffee!

Often I had to take that first step rather than wait for the other person to invite me and if I reached out a few times and got no response, I let it go. I can’t tell you how much fun I have with my “friend first-dates.” You get to really know the person when spending one on one time and can learn a lot about opportunities in your community.

Be a positive vibration:

We were conscious of our vibration. At first, we sat back and observed instead of interjecting. We avoided the knee-jerk reaction of telling people all the personal achievements we had in our last community. We let our energy, not our words tell people who we were. We spoke only positively about people and events. If we didn’t have something nice to say, we kept quiet.

Spend time alone:

Sometimes it is tempting to stay busy all the time rather than spend time alone. Quiet time can also be important for improving your spiritual life. Being comfortable with being alone is a spiritual lesson in itself. Personally, it takes more effort for me to go out and meet people than to spend alone time, but it is different for everyone.

David and I have done all of these and most required leaving the safety and comfort of our home. Plain and simple, we got out of our comfort zone and became involved in our new community. Was it always fun? Not necessarily, but it was always a learning experience. Even if it wasn’t always a success or resulted in a new friend or opportunity, we broadened our insight into our community.

We also learned where we didn’t feel comfortable, a valuable lesson. All of our time spent exploring our new community has been well spent. We have already formed friendships we hope last a lifetime. It has improved our life, widened our horizons, opened doors and fulfilled dreams we didn’t even know we had when we first moved to Virginia Beach! Life opportunities rarely happen in the comfort zone and you don’t have to be new to a community to improve your spiritual life. I challenge you to get out of your comfort zone and live a fully enriched spiritual life!