When my sister gave birth to her first child last year, I had the honour of being in the room to support her and witness this tiny miracle. Pretty soon after the birth, I left the room to call my parents and relay the awesome news. When a baby is born in my family, it is our spiritual and religious belief to do a prayer and open our scripture and select the first verse of that page as blessings for the newborn. We name the baby with the first letter of that scriptural verse. It is a sacred ceremony to us and many generations including my own children and myself were named this way. So, my parents were happily waiting to do this for my niece. 

I was on my way back, excited to bring my sister the blessing of the scriptural verse and letter to be used for the name of her child, but I got stopped at the nurses’ desk. There, sitting at the desk, was a new nurse - who said I couldn’t go in. I told her I had just been there and I only left to go and call my...

Exploring your own values and higher purpose generates more happiness, compassion, self-discovery, wisdom and greater meaning in life.

Research has shown that having a higher purpose and desire to be in service to others has an impact on gene expression, specifically in decreasing pro-inflammatory compounds. On the other hand, seeking out things in your life that create fleeting happiness, like depending on activities that avoid your pain and pursue pleasure, have been shown to be unfulfilling and can trigger genetic expression of those pro-inflammatory compounds. These compounds and stress biomarkers are linked to cancers and chronic diseases, like autoimmune and gastrointestinal disorders, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and hormone imbalances.

Spiritual practices such as meditation, prayer, worship, tai chi, yoga, and connecting to activities that make you feel “alive” and peaceful, have been shown to strengthen an area in your brain called the...

Love is an essential need of the human spirit.

Honouring and Serving,
Simran Rattan

Forgiveness is an important need of the human spirit.

Honouring and Serving,
Simran K Rattan

There are times when you are sure about what you are doing and times where you have no idea what you are doing or why you are doing things.

It's the times when things seem unclear, when we can feel lost or stressed. During that time consider pondering on what is really holding you back. Focus on your strengths and what really matters to you. This will bring clarity, positive emotions and confidence back.

To help, These 3 questions can help you to navigate through stormy or uncertain times.

1) What has helped you in the past to navigate through uncertain times?
2) What tools or strategies have helped you to gain clarity in the past?
3) What is the service or value you want to contribute to others?

When I feel unclear on what direction to go, I reflect on the above three and add the question, how does this tie to my vision and needs of my spirit? One of my needs is connecting to the universal creative intelligent life force within, through meditation. When I think of how this ties to my...

It was fantastic being on Dr. Errin Weisman’s podcast, Doctor Me First.

We had a great conversation on my word; spirituality. We talked about why spirituality is not being addressed in health. We talked about a powerful question, that at first I was skeptical to use. I thought people wouldn’t respond, but to my surprise the opposite happened! Have a listen!

Creativity is an important need of the human spirit.

Honouring and Serving,
Simran Rattan

Relationships are an important need of the human spirit.

Honouring and Serving,
Simran Rattan

Values are another important need of the human spirit.

Honouring and Serving,
Simran Rattan