How Does Belief in a Higher Power Shape Daily Life

The idea of a higher power represents one of the richest and constant patterns throughout the blanket of human history. As discussed at the Universal Enlightenment Forum (UEF), this drive to seek out something more than ourselves represents a meaning-making pattern deeply rooted within our human psyche. Some traditions understand this higher power as conscious and active, such as Brahman in Vishnu traditions, while others see it as an impersonal rhythm, like the Tao.

Here’s how believing or recognizing a superior power affects one’s practical and emotional surroundings.

Control to Humility

However, among the most significant transformations experienced through the recognition of a higher power, there is a disappearance of the delusion of control. Indeed, modern living has placed before us not one but several challenges, requiring that we be and remain the controllers of our own fortunes in life, and thus, we are left with enormous amounts of stress when things do not go according to our plans.

In understanding the presence of a force that exceeds human understanding, the individual can transition from a state of anxious struggle to one of humility. This, as UEF explains, is when the ego can take a backseat. In recognizing that we do not run the universe, we can develop the ability to absorb hard times and see them not as our own failures but as pieces in a larger, albeit puzzling, puzzle.

The Lens Of Meaning

Belief serves as the lens through which we view the meaning, or the 'why', that exists in our daily activities. Without perspective, even the mundane tasks and responsibilities that make up our everyday life become nothing short of 'a pathless desert.’ But if life has meaning in terms of the spiritual world, even the most insignificant tasks become holy. ‘You are That’ (Tat Tvam Asi), the conception of the divine as not absent but imminent in traditions such as Hinduism: seeing the mundane task of living as a form of self-realization itself. Mantras of repetition or the breath of mindfulness are ways of reaching the power of the divine, which helps find “The Sacred in every breath."

A Moral and Spiritual Compass

Something greater than ourselves is often the ultimate guide in ethics. Whereas law gives us the social contract, religion gives us the incentive to have compassion. In any faith system, the belief in such an entity is always associated with the belief in "Ubuntu" – the concept by which our humanity is tied up in that of others.

When we come to feel that we are a part of oneness, then treating all people with kindness ceases to be merely a social amenity and has become a spiritual necessity. This mindset promotes compassionate engagement with all beings because compassion has the power to heal. 

In a world increasingly driven by self-interest, kindness can sometimes feel secondary rather than essential.

Comfort in the Face of Mystery

The universe is so vast, and human knowledge is finite. This means that we are yet to find answers to many questions, including ones that are existential in nature, such as our beginning and end. The idea of a higher power means that there is ‘a sense of purpose, comfort, and hope that accompanies it’.

It serves as a soft place to land in times of bereavement, uncertainty, and chaos. One will no longer view the universe as a random series of chaotic events. They will instead realize the hidden harmony of the universe. It is in this mindset that an individual will seek the stillness of the mind in times of trouble.

Conclusion

In the end, faith in a higher power is less a function of following a set of rules and more a philosophy of living. It inspires us to knit our various viewpoints together, celebrating the richness of human belief while recognizing the "common thread" that binds us all. By turning our gaze not on the limited self but on the infinite, the power to live meaningfully, at peace, and with a deep sense of belonging within the mysterious universe awaits.