Many of us either do engage in or would like to engage in a spiritual practice. A spiritual practice is anything that gets us in touch with the love of Spirit (your Higher Power), that engages us in living in the present and from our heart center and that moves us to behave in the space of love for both self and others.
Unfortunately, in our busy lives we often neglect self-care and feel like we don’t have the time to develop a genuine spiritual practice. But we can easily let go of that story by doing some things that don’t take up much time and still bring about a great return/reward for our spirits and our energy. Below are 8 of them.
1. Before you get out of the bed in the morning, think of a word that describes how you want your day to go – happy, easy, calm, productive, etc. Really take a moment to think about how you want to feel before you get up and get going. Those few moments of connecting to that word can make all the difference in your day!
2. Find a daily inspirational reading source – Many teachers and spiritual thought leaders put out daily readings. They might be quotes, blogs, letters or teachings. Whatever it is, find what resonates with you and take 5 minutes each day to read it.
3. Notice how many things you can appreciate on your way to work – whether you are in a car or riding a bus or train or you do your work from home. Simply look around and ask yourself what can be appreciated. A beautiful clear blue sky. Minimal traffic. Someone reading something and simply smiling over it. Objects in your house that you love and are connected to. Pleasing sights, sounds or smells. There is always something if you look for it.
4. Count your breath – Sit down in as peaceful a place as you can find where you won’t be disturbed for 5 minutes and close your eyes. Take 15 very deep, slow breaths as you count each one to yourself. Hold each in breath for a full 3 counts before you exhale.
5. Find at least 1 person you don’t know that well and pay them a heartfelt compliment – Maybe you really like someone’s shoes that you see on the street, tell them! Maybe someone you work with did a really great job with something, let them know! A little compliment goes a long way!
6. After you finish eating dinner name 3 things you loved about your day – Sometimes we can fall into the trap of focusing on what we don’t like. So use those later moments of the day to consciously focus on what you DO like. What we focus on expands.
7. As you get ready for bed think of someone who might need some extra love and send it – We don’t have to be physically next to someone or touching them to extend them love. Our energy is much more powerful than we realize. Love sent from afar can absolutely be felt!
8. As you are falling asleep put one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly and breathe deeply into each area – Quietly thank yourself for anything that was covered that’s on this list. And even if nothing was, thank yourself for simply being you and contributing your energy to the day. Because those things are enough!
If time (or anything really) has been a deterrent for us in developing a spiritual practice, we can always let go of preconceived notions of what a spiritual practice “should” look like and remind ourselves that our inner spirit needs to be cared for. In doing so, we honor Spirit. And as we are all Divine beings created from that divinity, we also keep that connection to Spirit much more open and flowing. And taking this care also puts us in the best place for those around us. It’s a Win Win Win!!
