In the Western world we have moved further and further away from the examination of mental processes and how they impact upon the way in which our lives unfold. This can be seen in many areas of our lives; we abrogate responsibility for how we feel to circumstances, other people - anything and everything other than ourselves and how we think.

Take health, for example. We constantly look for a physical cause and not a mental one, when in fact both physical and mental forces are likely to be working together to effect a physical symptom. Depression can be caused just as easily by how you think about things as by a chemical trigger in your brain. The two causes tend to be intertwined. But it is less painful to go to the doctor for pills than it is to take the time to introspect and examine ones thoughts and feelings or to face the reality of one's circumstances; or is it less painful? In the short term perhaps this is the case, but in the long term I very much doubt it.

And if we ignore the mental, we completely bury the spiritual. We all too easily close our minds off to this seemingly intangible aspect of the universe in which we reside. And yet, we do pay some lip service to spiritual wisdom. Most of us accept the truth in the quotes from the ancient Greeks, Buddha or other sages. Even those who are "non-believers" are happy to listen to such pearls of wisdom and accept them as the truth, whilst closing their minds to the real source of such wisdom.

In the Eastern world spirituality has been preserved throughout the centuries. And in the West, there is clearly a gradual return of spiritual awareness which can be seen in the volume of contemporary books being written on the subject and also the content of numerous television documentaries. I myself notice it in the growing number of people who purchase hypnosis downloads and hypnosis recordings relating to matters of spirituality.

Why is it so important that we grow in spiritual awareness? We are all multidimensional beings. We are mind, body and spirit. Everything in life is made up of energy and has its own energy frequency. Everything and everyone has their own electromagnetic field. We send out electrical frequencies through our very thoughts and we correspondingly magnetize electrical frequencies into our lives.

You can choose to add more power to your thoughts as you tap into the power of the universe. Some people refer to this as the collective unconscious, others think of it more in terms of a higher being. This is not at cross purposes with any religion or faith you may have. Every religion agrees that there is a higher being, a source of all things, and you can approach spirituality in the light of your particular faith. If you are not of any particular religion you can apply spirituality in a manner which is comfortable to you - be it thinking in terms of the collective unconscious, or a higher being.

Most of us are very set in our beliefs and do not question things enough. People are far more comfortable seeking a physical cause as opposed to a psychological one - let alone a spiritual one. Yet to ignore your spirit being, you ignore the real you. Your spirit is where your inner wisdom comes from. It is your higher self. You can easily tap into your spiritual side, and in so doing you will become more aligned and in tune with source, with the higher you.

There are certain laws of the universe which, once you are aware of them, you can choose to consciously apply. Sometimes this is called cosmic ordering. From a scientific viewpoint, your thoughts have energy, and as you focus on something and energize that thought with a lot of emotion and are consistent in your thoughts, you will magnetize what you want into your reality. From a spiritual perspective, as you ask the universe, the collective unconscious, the higher source for something, and believe that it will be provided, and are again consistent in your thoughts, the universe will make it happen.

A journey into spirituality will allow you to feel more in tune with your higher self, to feel aligned with source. You will feel that you can open your mind more to your inner wisdom and to the wisdom of the universe; you will find your true self, and your purpose and inspiration in life. As you pay attention to your spirit self and acknowledge who you really are you will experience an incredible feeling of freedom, inspiration and purpose in your life.

As you allow yourself to entertain the realms of spirituality you will feel that you have moved from damp darkness into warm bright sunlight.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in hypnosis downloads.