How To Embrace Spiritual Practices In Your Everyday Life
By
Mary G. Jackson
Author of PRESENCE Recognizing the Divine in Your Everyday Life
The last thing you need in your life is more stuff to add to your plate. So I commend you for even attempting to read this since I am pretty sure your life is already jam-packed. So how can you add something to your life without taking on an additional burden? You do it by transforming what used to be to become something new – nothing additional. This is taking the concept of recycle, renew, and reuse to a whole new level. You can unite your everyday life with dynamic spiritual practices without burden or stress.
Start At The Beginning
Begin at the beginning of your day – what do you generally find your usual routine? Wake up yet stay in bed for a while? Shower? Rush through a quick morning getting dressed? It doesn’t matter what you do, and you don’t have to change a thing about your morning. Consider a shift in your focus. Instead of your usual mindset, gift yourself with either a phrase or a visualization that plays like a running movie or soundtrack in the background.
The Light exercise
Consider envisioning that you are surrounded by an abundance of light as you start this day of yours. Or create a sentence or two-line expression that you say or sing to yourself as you get ready. I love the light exercise because it is so simple and yet such a pleasant way to begin my day. If I need an extra boost, I pick two lines from my favorite nursery rhyme, Row, Row, Row Your Boat and repeat them to the famous tune that usually goes with it. Sometimes it’s “row, row, row your boat gently,” sometimes it’s “merrily, merrily, merrily.” Sometimes it is one or two lines from the Twenty-Third Psalm. You get to pick whatever you like best for either your vision or your phrase. You can switch each day or keep the same every day.
Pre-Praying
The next spiritual practice is what I think of as pre-praying. This pre-praying is more like creating an opening that is an imagined physical opening between you and your idea of the Divine. This can be a bridge, tunnel, or pathway. I like to experience an opening into the top of my head (crown chakra) that allows a connection from the Source into my body. I don’t have much agenda with this practice – just being aware of the connection works for me. There are other ways to connect that may appeal to you.
Praying
Praying is incredibly powerful and helpful to expand your spiritual awareness. The prayer you like can come from the Bible, a book of prayers from your religious tradition, a published book of prayer, or any source that is inspiring to you. I suggest you have that prayer written on a small piece of paper and keep it somewhere in your wallet. Take it out on a daily basis and read it. My favorite is the Prayer of St. Francis. So if you are waiting at the doctor’s office, stuck in traffic, resting between chores, chilling while the soup comes to a boil, read a wonderful prayer a few times a day. You don’t like reading prayers? Try the lyrics to a love song that is special to you and transform the romantic love the song talks about to become the love you have for the Divine and that you feel from the Divine. Or, if that seems too churchy for you, consider reading the love lyrics and send out the message to the whole world – let your soul energy expand through your prayer to every other soul on earth. Another prayer can simply be a conversation you have with the Divine or any spiritual figures from Jesus to spirit guides to angels. If you are alone, speak out loud! If you are somewhere less private, have that conversation within. You might begin by having it be one way with you doing all the talking, and eventually, you might get the sense of response – whether it is a feeling or words.
Connecting with your Practice
Anything that can be a reminder of your connection can become a spiritual practice. Take an ink pen and put a single dot in the palm of your hand. Noticing the dot can become your personal centering event. It may not be like the hours monks spend in centering themselves, but it can take you within even for a moment and remind you of a more transcendent way of being.
Are you willing to transform your day -- your life—by engaging in spiritual practices in your everyday life? None of these practices takes more time, but they take more awareness and mindfulness. I ask you to give it a try for a while and find if you are more connected in a genuine way to the Source of All Love. You may find that it is quite simple (not easy) to find yourself more attentive to your spiritual journey and more responsive to the Divine in your everyday life.
With over 25 years of experience in spiritual exploration, Mary G. Jackson has captivated readers with her unique approach encompassing empathy, encouraging individuality, and exploring the ways hope actively impacts our daily lives.