Living with a Spiritual Pracitce

Living with a Spiritual Practice

What does it look like to live with a Spiritual Practice? Some people have the image of a vegan diet, endless (boring) meditation, maybe yoga, or a guru. For others it means listening and talking to their “guides” throughout the day, or conversing with those that have crossed over and buying crystals, essential oils and massaging one’s chakras. In reality a Spiritual Life and a Practice has nothing to do with what you do, but rather HOW you are living your life.  The how’s include being VERY honest with yourself about you and your behaviors and emotions, both good and bad. You cannot be honest without being Mindful. If you are not self-aware, if you are not focused on being “awake” throughout the day, you will have no idea of what you have been feeling, thinking, or doing. Therefore to be honest means you must be mindful of your own self, your thoughts, actions, and emotions, all of them as much as possible, throughout your days and evenings.  The how also includes keeping your focus on asking for Guidance and Help throughout the day, before your left brain and/or ego takes over you decision making process. And finally, if you are asking for Guidance, you will need to pause and breathe, at least 3 times as a practice throughout the day to give yourself a chance to Listen to the Sacred, and Hear.

Mechanical meditation will not do much for you other than making you feel better, and there is nothing wrong with taking good care of yourself. Forcing yourself to sit can change your mood and might teach you some endurance, but that is about it. Guided meditations, whether to music or narrative can make you feel better, but it is not a way to listen to the Sacred.  The same goes for crystals, oils, and any external treatments. They have their place, and they are definitely helpful and better than alcohol, drugs, medications etc.  Yes these all can enhance meditations however you yourself, with no “tools”, can be the actual vehicle to connect with Spirit, all by your Self. It does take a Practice, which is a bit more strenuous than applying external tools to activate the internal.  Don’t get me wrong, sometimes tools are definitely needed, however they are not in and of themselves your Practice and what starts out as beneficial may turn into a crutch for or distraction from developing your own strengths.

Living your Practice is primarily about attention and attitude. Where is your attention? Are you thinking about when “this will all be over” when life is challenging you or praying for life to get better?  This kind of thinking means you are focused on your discomfort and getting results or circumstances that you “like” or prefer and it also precludes and inclusion of consulting a Higher Source. This is all “I” thinking and “getting what I want” thinking.  The challenge is to use personal discipline to create a new habit, the habit of looking at what you are learning, how you are being challenged, what the Guidance is, instead of flipping into “why is this happening” or “why is this happening to me”?  Placing your attention on the bigger Spiritual picture throughout the day is a powerful Practice.  Using the focus of your attention on the Spiritual rather than the mundane will allow you to call in and more importantly hear Guidance rather than getting loss into the morass of the limitations of the human mind, left brain only thinking.  Meditation helps to build the reinforcing experience that the Unknown does exist and teaches you how it feels to be connected, a feeling, an experience, not a thought.  Meditation helps you to motivate you to keep your attention on Source. However, it is also vital to remember that keeping your attention on Source will motivate you to seek out more time for meditation. They feed each other.

With your attention on the Sacred, you will now have some room to make choices regarding your attitude throughout the day.  If you are still an addict, over eating, losing your temper, feeling like a failure, seeing your “mistakes” keeping your attention on the Sacred will place all of this in a different context. Everything, let me say that again, everything, is happening for you to learn, grow and evolve. While you might be suffering and beating your Self up, this perspective will also help you to remember where to place your attention, on your growth, on compassion for the Self as you muddle through, and discovering all the dark corners where you still hate or disrespect your Self, you a Child of The Creator.   If you make a choice from this perspective, from your growth, from your Sacred Journey of Learning, it will be very different than a choice made from shame or self-loathing. You are meant to make mistakes, that is the only way to learn. You are meant to fall apart so you can be rebuilt through your connection with Spirit.

So, how to live with a Spiritual Practice?  Yes meditate. But also practice the three breaths (great article on that by Pema Chodron—google it).  Use the three breaths to enhance and expand your Practice of Mindfulness and to reconnect with Spirit Guidance. At the end of the day, like brushing your teeth, take some time to go over your day, review your actions, feelings, thoughts and Spiritual Choices. Consider what you learned, what you could have done better, what you did well, what you might do differently in the future.  Carry a small notebook with you and throughout the day and make some notations throughout the day of your feelings, thoughts, actions and any intuitive or energetic experiences that occurred. This small notebook and taking notes will also help you to develop the new habit of being Mindful. It will give real and specific material to review at the end of the day.  This is a Spiritual Practice: Dedication and discipline to being Mindful and staying connected to Spirit throughout the day, and actually “practicing” these skills, as best you can.

Journey On