Yes. Yes it does. What's left of my five older brothers all have this in common: they remained Roman Catholic. I have not for the most part. I do find myself going in and out of belonging to any organized religion. I do believe in a Creator & a Universal Synchronicity. If only to get angry and vent and then to be grateful I try to stay within my beliefs when it comes to my life...what I know is that Jesus walked the earth along with others who led people to live better lives. Such as? The Golden Rule - do unto others as you would have them do unto you. My promise is my word and 100% of who I am. We are our 'brothers and sisters" keeper in the spiritual sense. If someone is my Friend I am fiercely loyal. I don't give up on people even if they've given up on me. That's not to say I'm a door mat ~ gave that up for Lent a very long time ago...never looked back.
I take time to think philosophically with my own intentions. I am also make life my own. I owe it to myself and my Creator. I'm interested in your comments as well. Great post!

As a missionary kid raised in a war zone abroad, arfie, you know I was literally raised in a religious war zone. My parents both suffered from mental illness that was aggravated by war zone living to the point that a major breakdown happened that left dad, once a pastor of a 3,000 member church, mowing lawns for a living for the rest of his life.

So it amazes me that I'm an ordained minister myself. As you know, though, that came as an extension of what I did when I saw my parents break down. They never accepted treatment for their original mental problems nor for the PTSD that aggravated them when they made such poor choices to live in war zones--4 of them.

I decided to try the other path, and I got diagnosed right about the time they broke down. I took to heart the suggestion that I add meditation to my PTSD meds and therapy, so I could learn to manage flashbacks and panic attacks. Over time, that led me to believe spiritual wellness and mental wellness were intertwined in a positive way, at least for me.

So I ended up making spiritual maintenance in hospital chaplaincy my job, and it helped keep up spiritual maintenance for me. Since I had to give up chaplaincy because of my kidney disease, though I teach full time I've preached at two small churches now part time for 5 years. I'm preaching at one this Sunday on the book Accidental Saints, which might interest you.

https://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Saints-Finding-Wrong-People-ebook/dp/B00VOYP7TA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481775396&sr=1-1&keywords=accidental+saints

Your posts here on DS PTSD over the years have been very spiritual to me. You speak as someone who has worked a 12 step program for a long time, which produces wisdom I highly respect. So my answer to your 2 questions is yes and yes. Please keep sharing as you "chew" because like Iwo says above, I'm interested in your comments as well. Have been for years now. Chew on, my friend.

The 12 steps are, indeed, where I first opened myself to the notion of spiritual maintenance. Even there, it took me a long time to be able to trust the word, "Spirit." I still flinch when I use it. Who is gonna hit me this time?

Still. . . Doesn't seem like it belongs on the taboo topic list. There remain components of life which science has yet to identify, much less measure, which just won't seem to go away just because I don't have safe words for them.

Big hug for you arf..... I opted out of organized religion many years ago due to too many 'right' fighters for me... I was brought up Anglican
So now I surely do need to be nourished spiritually and I believe in God and I believe in Christ however I also believe that there are different paths to God mine happens to be through Christ
I have seen miracles happen and I think when you are open to them or gifts they do happen and appear
Faith is something that we just have to believe in as there won't be the scientific proof that Thomas was looking for....smile
I do think it adds a lot to life though.... I don't think I could have gone through some things without my spirit being nurtured
I found watching a film on Mother Teresa's life really great whether it's the movie that is really well done and closely based on her life or a documentary of her
I am not very social now so that may be in conflict for some.... I have a social anxiety..... xo

I was abused by a church elder. I was pinched all the time by my alchoholic religion addicted mother. I played trumpet in church all my teen years. it was mixed up since I get excommunicated for going to the Baptist church and getting dunked in high school.. OMG what a hypocrisy. I have faith and a relationship with a higher power in my recovery. I have a loving power that loves me the way I am . I have felt much power in my life in times of great need and or great sorrow. I have always had a sense of guardian angels since I survived cancer . However I do not believe the hateful rhetoric of religious zealots that harm folks or shame them to death. Or make folks feel like they have no way to God if they are GLBT or what ever makes a person feel outcast from Gods love because of who they are . I pray each day and am thankful for all the times I knew I was prayed up and cared for when others hurt me marginalized me used me or cast me out for being different. I know an angel saved me when I got raped. I should have died Not on here sharing experience strength and hope . I maintain by asking for help daily . praying for others and being grateful for my life even the painful burdens I face . the ptsd and the underlying sorrow of being a survivor of child abuse. thanks for letting me share.

LOL forgot she pinched me for singing too loud but she was proud when I became a professional musician. and she would have been proud to know I became a teacher , I forgave her. if not for a praying mother I am sure I would have gone down some bad paths with all my abuse. She loved me and taught me values that I still practice . She had me baptized. I love my mother for teaching me a moral compass of right and wrong.

i do believe that the soul needs nourishment of a spiritual kind. but i think the word spiritual is over used and cheapened. having grown up in a militant christian environment i get triggerd really easy by anything religious or anti-religious. i also spent many years trying to find my "spiritual path."

i resonate with the word faith. i have faith in what i know and the things i have experienced. what others call supernatural i have seen scientific connections that show i'm not imagining things. meditation is proven to aid the body in healing. cause and effect offers reasons for karma coming around. people coming together in support no matter the beliefs to aid a friend from miles away.

unfortunately dogma and dictates destroyed any comfort i could have found in spirituality. however, i have faith in what i know to be strength and knowledge that has protected me and helped me and healed me. how others relate to that as god or budha or whatever, i have enjoyed many years as a shaman who gets to see things from a different point of view.

so to the question of maintenance? spiritual community? it really only works if you want to do it. many will tell you its important. for me because i would not do it the way that others approved of i got hit with a lot of resistance. in the end though, my way saved my life.

DG
take what you need leave the rest....

Interesting question Arfie~I've had this question in my life several times, and for many different reasons. How many people come to their own worldview on a system of beliefs is through an important experience, and mine was no different. I wasn't raised with any religion, in fact my mother abhorred it. But, I found myself wondering about my spirituality as I kept feeling a connection with God at various times of loneliness, questioning life's pain, the meaning of my life...if it had any, and the purpose I should live for...if not my own self-serving desires. When I spent time with God I felt better, not in an "everyday is perfect sunshine" kind of way...but in a "someone see's me and really cares for me" kind of way.
When I was in my early twenties I went on a trip with my Dad and we were over the Gulf with a bunch of people for several days without cell signal. So, I really had time to consider my life in real honesty, without any distractions. It was the last day of the vacation that I told God I was tired of the way my life had been going, and I was ready for Him to take over. Less than a year later, my best friend and oldest sister died. Ironically, she was the one who had prayed for me to give my life to God while I was on that trip with my Dad. Without her I didn't know what to do with myself anymore. I was so alone! Then, God spoke gently to my heart and reminded me that He was there for me, and that He loved me and that I would NEVER be alone. I finally was able to break out of my depression after that. Nothing before was working...and I was becoming suicidal. I started talking to my family again, spending time with friends, getting encouragement from counselors and going to a church community that really talked about their lives in honesty. People didn't hide their pain, and that was comforting to me. I stopped trying to process my sister's death alone, and allowed God to really open up my heart again. Life started to became livable, and I found that it wasn't just one thing in my spirituality that "fixed" things, but it was a culmination of changes that God led me through alone, and with others, to help me heal.

Everyone has their own experiences that shape their lives, and this was mine. I don't really know if I answered your question...or if this was even helpful. I guess I just wanted you to know that letting people in can hurt, but it can also heal. Christ helped me to let people in again, and to allow myself to see a future where there wasn't one before. He gave me peace and allowed me to love others when I was scared to after I lost my sister. I'm thankful for that, and I'm thankful for those of you who have shared here as well. ~Many Prayerful Blessings Friends

Sometimes I think I have found ways and means of spiritual maintenance, but. . . Only in extreme isolation, far from all potential debate championships. The debate still puts me in fear of exploitation and/or getting shot down in vulnerable moments and never seems to get to the practical aspects of any of it. More right folks than helpful folks.

When I can steer clear of The Great Debate, there is not a doubt in my mind that the cosmos are more complex than the human brain can comprehend.

I reckon it is good that I never was close enough to any of the Right Clubs to be abused within that community. Just the individuals and I seldom knew their club memberships. Just the clubs they hit me with.

Individuals who need to be right scare me. When I am alone, I do not believe ^it^ is about Right or Wrong.

I don't believe ^it^ is about what you call ^it^ either. Good luck finding a word for any ^it^ that doesn't offend and/or trigger somebody. I sometimes wonder if most of the profound debator Janes and Johns were in a triggered state when they exploited me.

My story is somewhat like Muji's. When I was a kid we lived in a war torn country, both a civil & religious war. A Christian mother and a Muslim father. The war wasn't just outside, it was in our home too. My siblings and I had to find our own paths and figure out on our own what to believe. I've been Christian my whole life. It saddens me that there are divisions between denominations. If you're based on the Bible and you believe in Christ, then you shouldn't be fighting each other. I think my older brother must have changed religions at least 3 or 4 times so far, maybe more. I noticed his mood lightened when he got into Buddhism... and then I don't know after that, but he's now agnostic. I would be ecstatic if he started going back to church one day, but for now I'm happy as long as he's happy and not depressed anymore like back in the day.

I think spiritual nourishment is a combination of things. Yes, I think it involves nurturing that relationship with your Creator and helping to grow into a healthy one, however which way you'd like to go about it. I don't think we are rubber stamps and that one way is the only way. God created each of us uniq and gave us different gifts. He has something in store for everyone. You could do volunteer work, go on a mission trip, visit elderly at retirement homes, play music for the sick, join a church, join a Bible study, go on a pilgrimage, etc.

I've been thinking of taking Bible college classes. I've taken Biblical Hebrew. Then took it again to refresh my memory. This year has been so crazy. I hope next year to pick up a class. I don't intend on becoming a pastor or a chaplain (like Muji), but I want an intimate knowledge of the Word.

I also agree with Doo.... and that there's also a form of feeding your own heart. I write poetry, songs, do paintings, etc. Sometimes I just write about the trees dancing in the rain... or it can be about my faith. Sometimes I'll paint silly cats or fish. Other times I'll add Bible verses in Hebrew to my artwork. Or sometimes I just want to take a drive up the hill and watch the sunset over the beautiful scenery. I have friends who do pottery, take self defense (or teach self defense), go fishing on the weekends. Whatever makes you feel "full" inside.

Hugs arfie, yes it does. For some it may be in parables of the different books of teaching, for others it's the feel of the dirt in their hands that tells them they are just a solid and needed as every other grain of sand the for even others it's people, enough good ones that outweigh the bad 10-1.
People like me and maybe you need them all and utilize the best, learn to discard the worst and build a stronger soul.
J.

Doo you said"My hyper-vigilance gets the best of me way too often. I am my own best friend and my own worst enemy..."
Some days it's the other way around too, we are our worst friend and best enemy, Learning where we fly the best with support and confidence is a goal.

The pragmatism which pulls me to engineering arts tugs me here, as well. When I entertain the notion that Spiritual Maintenance is as critical as Physical Maintenance, I find myself wanting to be able to put it in to plain, functional words for the sake of community. Not a problem when I isolate, but if community is an actual need of the human species. . . If I MUST acknowledge myself as a member of the gregarious human species. . .

At present, I feel like I spend more time defending word choices than plying hygiene and nutrition.