Love animates the World

CHARLOTTE DUFOUR is a veteran in the fields of international cooperation and sustainable food systems. Here she is interviewed by KALPANA SAI of the Heartfulness Institute about the role of Yoga and spirituality in mental health and wellness. She shares some solutions for a world that seems more anxious and disconnected than ever

- KALPANA SAL

Q: Welcome Charlotte. How would you define mental health and spirituality?

Mental health is very much about feeling a sense of joy and lightness of alignment between the lead our lives and the aspirations of our heart. When we feel purposeful and mentally well, we feel happy and grateful.

Spirituality is about connecting and nourishing the connection to the Higher Self or soul, and about learning to disentangle ourselves from the fears and attachments of the ego. I like to think of it as an expansive source of love that animates the whole world. We can call it the Divine. And the journey of spirituality is about nourishing that connection.

Q: How has spirituality shown up in your life?

Spirituality has always been present in my life in some shape or form. I grew up in a Christian family with a very devoted grandmother, and with no pressure to conform to practices. So, it was always there, but I really discovered what it meant when I was struggling with physical and mental challenges there were some very difficult events.

I was regularly close to burnout, and sometimes flirting a bit with depression. Then there was a turn around, when I found a Yoga and meditation retreat in a community in Italy. And that was just a whole mind- and heart opener.