I recall when my uncle was wounded in war and the army sent home his purple heart to my grandmother. It lay in a beautiful little box and it represented blood that had been shed in the line of duty. Even more deeply it represented courage under the most difficult of circumstances – under fire.

To be a spiritual warrior requires courage just as fierce and determined as that required for going to battle in Afghanistan or Iraq. Courage is a word from old French which is derived from the root, “coeur” which means “heart.”  So courage literally means to take something to heart. Strength is found in the depths of the heart. Sometimes we need to excavate and go deep to find it. The more deeply we feel that we are One with the Divine or Love or whatever you want to call it, the more we become fearless.

Spiritual courage means that we no longer act from what we feel others want or expect us to do. We no longer allow fear to guide our lives. We follow deep inner guidance of the Soul. By being loyal to our Self and following the spiritual heart, we gain in courage and Self-confidence. We begin to realize a deeper oneness with God in all of life.

When we scale spiritual heights and move out of the ordinary world, we become expansive and often friends, family and colleagues are not able to follow. We may feel alone for a time, but we attract a new group of people who share our spiritual values to accompany us on our journey. Go deep in your meditations and contemplations to find your inner courage. It’s rooted in your deep connection to the Divine. By focusing on this connection, Self-confidence and inner strength develop. Nothing can deter you from moving in the direction your heart carries you.

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http://www.awakeintheworld.com.