HOW TO CREATE A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
I think we’ve all heard how important it is to cultivate a spiritual practice in our daily lives, but just thinking about how to start can seem totally overwhelming. How on earth do people fit it into their lives? How do they know what to do? Is it actually worth it? Let’s break it down….
WHAT IS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE?
Simply put, it’s an action we take that helps us feel closer to the Divine/Spirit/The Universe….whatever you want to call it. Something we can do that helps us to deepen our relationship with ourselves and the world around us.
HOW DO I START?
Small! Don’t try and fit every kind of practice into your every day. If you start trying to meditate for 30 minutes, journal for another 30, Yoga for an hour, write your gratitude list….it’s not going to happen. I feel exhausted just thinking about all those in one day!
When I started cultivating my practice, it was 5 minutes of meditation and 10 minutes of Yoga in the morning, and a small gratitude list at night. That’s 20 minutes max, out of a whole day. Is it enough to make a difference and help you feel connected? Absolutely! Will you want to increase what you do and for how long? Yup. Once you start down this path, there’s usually no going back.
Try a week of 5 minutes of meditation, then 7/8 the week after, 10 the week after that. You get the drift. Think of how you can fit it in - can you get up 10 minutes earlier? Do you use public transport to get to work? I used to fling a guided meditation on when I was on the bus! People just think you’re sleeping, no one ever clocked what I was doing (I don’t think so anyway? And if they did, I was too zen to care!). If you struggle to feel the motivation before go to bed, find time in the middle of the day. If the morning doesn’t work, try the evening. Experiment and see what works for you.
OK, BUT WHAT DO I DO?
I hear ya…there are so, so many things you can do to commit to a spiritual practice. Meditation, Tarot, Yoga, Journaling, Gratitude, Rituals, Breathing exercises, Being in nature, Being of service, Running, Moon rituals….and there are hundreds more I haven’t listed here.
It doesn’t have to be anything like this though. A spiritual practice is anything that helps you to feel that connection to yourself and something bigger. If that’s meditating for an hour, awesome. If it’s finding 5 minutes in a busy day to just be still, perfect. There is no right and wrong. And if you don’t know where to start, just pick whatever you are drawn to first. If it starts to feel like a chore after a while, switch it up for something that doesn’t.
DOES IT REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
In a nutshell, yes. But it’s different for everybody. What floats someone else’s boat, might not do it for you. The best thing you can do is release all expectations. You aren’t going to have a deep, spiritual experience every time you sit still for a few minutes, but if you treat it like just another thing to tick off your to-do list, then you probably won’t get much from it.
Remember why you are choosing to do this, and be present.
What are you going to start with?
