How Spirituality can guide our Decision-Making in Challenging Times

In a world that feels increasingly fast, fractured and uncertain, many of us find ourselves at personal crossroads — burned out, disconnected and facing choices with no clear answers.

When logic runs dry, when pros-and-cons lists don’t help and when spiritual practice isn’t part of our daily lives, a quiet question can emerge:

What do I actually believe in?

This is the point at which, for many of us, spirituality enters  - not in a doctrinal-type-of-way, but rather to provide a connection to meaning and our inner compass that can help us choose what matters to us.

Burnout and an Unexpected Prescription

Not that long ago, I was completely burned out. Exhausted in the bone-deep way where everything, even small decisions, felt beyond heavy and my body was screaming stop. Knowing I needed a change and a break, I spent a good chunk of my savings (money well spent) on checking into an Ayurvedic treatment centre, hoping for rest, wholesome meals, gentle movement and some massages.

The centre provided this, along with an unexpected conversation I still carry.

After my first session with the Ayurvedic doctor, which involved pressing some points on my body, taking my blood pressure, weight, height, assessing my complexion and observing me while responding to his questions, he looked at me directly and said gently:

“You must reconnect with your spirituality - and you must sing.”

I was quietly taken back in that moment, as I’d always loved singing since I was a child, but hadn’t sung for a couple of years, as life had taken over and become overwhelming. I hadn’t even sung in the shower. 

During our conversation, I hadn't consciously told him anything about a prior love for singing or anything at all about music. At that point, I couldn’t see clearly why I was feeling how I was or how I would get better. Burnout and exhaustion can leave you feeling like there’s no way out. 

Like I said, this conversation with the doctor has stayed with me. In suggesting I reconnect with my spirituality, he invited me to recover a thread of aliveness — a part of me that knew stillness, music, awe and wonder.

Since this conversation, I've become more interested in individual spiritual practices as a personal, quiet source of guidance. And recently my nanna’s regular saying in the face of her adversity has made much more sense to me. 

“I just sit on the toilet and give myself a good talking to” 

Her unique approach to personal, spiritual guidance, without being traditionally “religious” or officially believing in “god”, enabled her to continue getting up every day and find meaning, despite serious challenges such as dodging bombs on her street, experiencing loss, bereavement, misogyny and significant financial struggle. 

I would like her to know (wherever she is now), that when facing big decisions, I am “thinking practically” and “getting on with it” of course, but also talking to myself (sometimes while sitting on the toilet), singing to myself and attempting to check in with who I am and what I care about.

What actually is Spirituality, though? 

Spirituality, at its heart, is about connection - to ourselves, to others and ultimately to something larger than oneself. It can come through prayer and also through silence. Through writing and also through song. Through ritual, nature, service, art or even sport. 

In difficult times, Spirituality can provide us with both comfort and clarity. 

I have observed the power of this comfort and clarity in friends who uncompromisingly hold religion as a central pillar to their lives and practice spirituality daily. I have observed and admired how they have stayed mentally and physically in control through war in their cities, miscarriages, relationship challenges, motherhood, family bereavement and more. 

This observation in my daily life has led me to look at how others have also drawn on spirituality (not necessarily organised religion), to guide their lives and choices. 

Etty Hillesum: A Conversation in a Time of Darkness

In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, the Jewish writer, Etty Hillesum, began a spiritual dialogue with “God” - not through formal religion, but through her own evolving inner life. She saw the world collapsing and chose not to run, but to bear witness with grace.

“I want to be the thinking heart of the barracks,”

...she wrote from Westerbork transit camp. For Etty, Spirituality was more than simply belief and a will to survive. She practiced Spirituality as attentive presence, to enable her to live well in the time she had left.

George Harrison: A Search for Inner Light

After the chaos and fan frenzy of Beatlemania in the mid-60s, George Harrison felt spiritually empty. 

While searching for meaning, in 1965, he was introduced to the Sitar during the filming of “Help!” and shortly afterwards in 1966, met Ravi Shankar. This sparked his deep dive into Indian music, Hindu philosophy and the Hare Krishna movement - which ultimately led him to find inner peace.

Harrison once said:

“The purpose of life is to find out ‘Who am I?’, ‘Why am I here?’ and ‘Where am I going?’”

His song “My Sweet Lord” conveys a spiritual yearning, and epitomises how spirituality shaped his creativity, his company and his way of life. Spirituality gave him direction when the celebrity world had left him lost.

Maya Angelou: Rooted Without Being Bound

Poet and activist Maya Angelou was raised in the Black Christian tradition, but her spirituality expanded far beyond. She spoke openly about her relationship with God, as a sustaining force of justice, joy and beauty.

“I’m always amazed when people walk up to me and say, ‘I’m a Christian,’” she once said. “I think, ‘Already?’ It’s an ongoing process, you know.”

Her spirituality helped her to face trauma, racism and loss, while shaping her decisions to forgive, to speak and to write. Spirituality showed up in every action and word, as her moral and emotional compass.

Thich Nhat Hanh: Spiritual Practice as Daily Action

The late Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh was exiled for his peace work during the Vietnam War. His spirituality was a call to compassionate action.

When faced with impossible decisions, such as to stay silent or speak out, stay safe or go into danger - he drew on mindfulness, community and the belief that every step can be peace.

His famous phrase “No mud, no lotus” reminds us that clarity often arises not despite difficulty, but through it.

Po from Kung Fu Panda

Even children’s films have something to say about the search for clarity. 

Cheesy though it may be, in Kung Fu Panda, Po’s journey isn’t about becoming someone else, but realising who he already is.

There’s a moment where, mid-meditation, he blurts out:

“Inner peace… dinner please.”

This is often how spiritual practice can feel: holding the longing for purpose in one hand and a rumbling stomach in the other.

In the end, Po wins not by overpowering his enemy, but by really knowing himself — his own story, his strength and his sense of peace. This reminds us that even amidst chaos or fog, humour and groundedness can guide us back to what really matters for us. 

Building a Spiritual Practice Without Organised Religion

We don’t need a label or to be a “yogi” to live spiritually - what we can try to aim for is sustained rhythm, reflection and intention in our daily actions. 

To start this, you could try: 

• Lighting a candle before making difficult decisions

• Keeping a question journal: e.g. What am I really being asked to do here? Why would I do it?

• Walking in nature and noticing what draws your attention

• Reading poetry or texts that you're drawn to, to feed your soul

• Singing and dancing - not to perform or become a pro, but just to feel alive.

• "give yourself a good (motivational) talking to on the toilet" (you can thank my late Nanna for this one)

And like the doctor at the Ayurvedic centre told me: sometimes, the most spiritual thing we can do is sing to feel alive again and get back to ourselves. 

Have you heard or seen or experienced any examples of non-religious spiritual practice, which have helped people to retain or recover meaning during challenging times? (Feel free to share any stories below)