5 Ways to Develop your Spiritual Practice

​Now, more than ever, it’s important for us to have a regular spiritual practice that we are committed to doing. 
 
Our daily lives can become busy very quickly and even overwhelm us at times.  The challenges and suffering that we see and experience in the world seem to be ever present.  The daily surprises and threats to our well being as an individual, country, or world that come to our attention can be frightening and unsettling. 
 
So, not only is it a wonderful idea, but it’s truly necessary for us to develop and deepen our spiritual practice now.  For our own health and for the health of the world.  Heal Yourself, Heal the World.  
 
Here are 5 ways to help you begin or deepen your spiritual practice – simple and easy to incorporate in your daily life.  Yet with profound benefits for your health and the health of the world. 

1.  Meditation 
Meditation is a space and time to come back to your true self.  In quieting your mind and being present to the moment, you can connect to your Higher Self.  This will support you in taking the steps on the journey in your daily life that help you grow spiritually. 
 
Meditation isn’t a time to contemplate and think about your next steps.  It’s a time for creating a space that is attentive and mindful of the present moment with an openness to listening. 
 
If thoughts arise, you observe this and let them float away.  You create an open vessel for higher wisdom to enter.  Yet, what arises for you may come later on, after meditation.  But meditation creates the fertile ground and the openness for it to come. 
 
Even 5 minutes a day is helpful! ​

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​2. Art as Meditation
No, you don’t have to be a talented artist, if you’re thinking this!  Art as Mediation is a way to connect to higher spiritual wisdom through art.  It might be movement such as dance or Qi Gong.  It may be painting or drawing.  Or it may be through an instrument, singing, or chanting.  Art as Meditation connects your creativity with matter.  And, through you, spiritual energy will flow, guiding you on your path to further discovery and growth toward your Divine essence. 
Practiced regularly it will develop a higher consciousness and deepen your wisdom. 

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​3. Gratitude
Whether you’ve had a wonderful day or a difficult day, the practice of gratitude brings to your awareness the gifts that come each and every day to you.   You soon realize there are many!  Such gratitude is like an offering to the Divine – for all that has been given.  And when such appreciation is a regular practice, a space opens for more gifts to flow into your life. 
 
Every evening before you go to bed, recall or write 3 things from the day that you are grateful for. 

​4.  Breathe
Breathe in, breathe out.  We often take our breath for granted.  Yet it’s our source of life and one way we commune with the world. 
 
In a deep inhale, into your belly, you help your blood be nourished, fueling your whole body.  As you exhale, you let go of the waste the body does not need, detoxing your bodily systems. 
 
Throughout the day, pause for a moment to inhale slowly through the nose, deep in the lungs and belly.  Exhale through the nose slowly.  At the end of the exhale through the nose, open your mouth and blow out any remaining air in your lungs until they are empty.  Breathe in deeply again through your nose and repeat.  This expels all of the used breath and fills your lungs with fresh, new air.  Supporting health and well-being in your body. 
 
This can be done in the car or as a short break at work or at the end of the day. 

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​5.  Silence
Silence, sweet silence.  This practice can help you get in touch with the deepest spiritual center of yourself.  When you enter into silence and stay there for a while, you can access that great river of health, abundance, wisdom, and guidance for yourself.  The dwelling of your Higher Self.  In the present moment, not the past, not the future.  This space is always within you.
And being open to listening during silence will cultivate a space for communication.  Maybe through an image, idea or thought that arises during the silence or some time after a period of silence. 
Schedule an hour or even half an hour a day to practice silence.  Turn off any device or electronic that communicates or creates sound.  Put down all reading material.  You can sit quietly, staying in the present moment (not thinking of the future or the past) OR engage in an activity that does not require you to use language (reading, writing, listening, speaking).  Taking a walk in nature or gardening are possible activities, again staying mindful of the present moment. 

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At the end of your silence, express gratitude for this time and continue on with your day.

Which practice resonates with you?  What spiritual practice have you developed already?  What would you like to develop more?  In healing yourself, you can also heal the world.  Write a comment and let me know.
 
In our lives, it is through the work of spiritual practice
that we find our deep and true selves.
 
Through the arts of meditation and silence we cultivate a clarity of mind and move beyond fear into compassion and community.
 
The 4th principle of Creation Spirituality
 
 
Needing a little more guidance in deepening your spiritual practice? 
Click here to find out about my classes at the Fox Institute.
Click here to learn about my Healing With St. Hildegard group events in my Viriditas Home Studio for 2018. 
Click here to learn about my Healing With Mantra group events in my Viriditas Home Studio for 2018.