Keeping spirituality alive can sometimes be a hard thing to do. A spiritual person is supposed to think positively, be loving, caring, sharing and optimistic. How does one maintain a high spiritual level when things are just not happening the way you want them to?

Sometimes life gets the best of us and we find ourselves in a not so pleasant state of mind. Stressed out, aggravated, irritated; and finally negativity comes creeping into your life and steals your joy, your patience, your love, your peace of mind, your serentity...the works.

There are times when we become so wrapped up in life's problems and trials and tribulations that we let life torture us. Sometimes everything goes haywire including relationships not going well and money not flowing as freely as we may want.

You may even find yourself not caring about being spiritual, kind, or anything nice. You take a spiritual fall from grace, so to speak; and you simply feel like wallowing in your misery.

I say take the time to wallow. Even feel sorry for yourself if you need to. Don't run away from your frustrations. Face them squarely in the face. Analyze your feelings and come to terms with what is taking you to that awful place. Allow yourself to feel and experience whatever emotions that ensnare you.

Take an entire day or even a few days to experience the feelings that have overcome you while realizing that it is a temporary setback. Then pick yourself up and dust yourself off and go about reclaiming your joy.

Search for what kept you spiritually alive in the first place. If you need to meditate, listen to self-help tapes, read self-help literature, study the alignment of the planets in your horoscope, practice yoga, chant, read your tarot cards, get a psychic reading, or pray. Do whatever it takes to get yourself back to the spiritual state you were in.

Because we are not perfect we sometimes experience this fall from grace. Sometimes we can just no longer be the positive person that we would like to be. Therefore, it is important that we learn to harness and implement the triggers that will take us back to a state of bliss. These triggers are different for everyone.

Some of us may simply need to find a quiet place and get in touch with the inner-self. We might need to remove ourselves from a frustrating situation or reset our priorities in some way. Granted, once removed from this spiritual place of solace it may be difficult to get back to that uplifted state. But, get back we must.

You may even need to surrender the situation to a higher power. Whether that higher power is your higher self or the power of God. You know, let go and let God. Sometimes it gets so bad that that doesn't even help. You can just become down-right spiritually lost.

I have a flip deck of Angel Cards that often bring me solace. When things appear to be just too much for me I flip the Angel Card for that particular day. Most often it helps but when I am in a really bad space, nothing seems to help. Ever been there?

I believe that the Angels speak to us in whispers. When the air is clean they can deliver their messages to us easily. Therefore, my bedroom is filled with 10 various types of plants that cleanse the air so that I can breathe fresh air and receive Angel messages as I meditate or sleep.

I also stopped smoking because I read somewhere that when your lungs are clean...and especially after extensive exercise when you are breathing deeply the Angels are able to communicate with you extremely well.

However, I started smoking again a couple of times and I have noticed that each time I do I get myself worked up in this state that I am describing here as not being spiritually alive. The trigger to get myself back to a blissful state is to remain free from smoking. When I am not smoking I am totally spiritually alive and uplifted.

I guess this is to illustrate that we are simply human and that we will not always maintain our highest spiritual level...which reminds me of my favorite African American spiritual song, entitled, 'We Fall Down.' And, the good news is that we get up and continue to find our way!

Knowing that nothing remains the same always works for me spiritually. Living for today and in the moment is ideal. Yet, tomorrow is another day, next month is another experience, next year will bring something newer. And most of all your entire life could change overnight!