Daily Spiritual Practice

[Milfoil]

Although there are other threads, including this one:

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=168665

Which ask specific questions about our different practices, I wondered what other people do regularly, on a daily basis. When I first asked myself I thought it would just be a few minutes of meditation, gratitude and some sacred smoke or drumming but when I started to write it down, the whole day is involved, it is no longer an isolated few minutes each day but a whole 24hr of integrated practices. So this is the core of my spiritual practice (ie not the complete picture, just the nuts and bolts):

Upon Waking: - remember dreams, write them down, how do I feel on waking? What is concerning me about the day ahead, what would I like to achieve? How can I honour the dream today?

Early Morning - Time with the Spirits. Gratitude, breathwork to exhale unwanted thoughts and energy, inhale new energy for strength and support. Sacred smoke to honour and cleanse. ? offerings? Honouring Spirits and Ancestors.

Time in Nature - if possible (sometimes we are too ill or have no access), getting out to just sit and listen with the whole body each day.

Meditation - 5mins to 1 hr meditation

Throughout the day:

Great Spirit in and of all things, the interconnectedness and sacredness of all, not just what is comfortable. Remember LOVE.

- Random acts of kindness, smile at a stranger (it may be the one thing that lifts their day)

- Contemplation - Choosing a simple concept or idea to reflect upon throughout the day.

- LOOK, Listen and be aware of everything, what shapes, what auras, what odd things in peripheral vision, what sudden thoughts, what coincidences - living aware!

- Gratitude for food - a moment of thanks to the spirits of the food, those who nurtured and grew them, how they came to me and how fortunate I am to have such abundance.

- Let go, trust that all is for the best and just enjoy each moment if possible.

- Any poetic phrases, images, songs, ideas or inspirations - write them down now so that they can be included in the journal later and acted upon. (Keep a note book or phone with a voice record function with you)

Early Evening or throughout the day - discussing spiritual and philosophical matters with others (online or IRL)

Evening - reading and writing up daily journal, Prayer and healing/drumming for others..

Upon retiring - Reflection upon the day, let go and forgive oneself and others for perceived mistakes, make the intention not to do that again, feel stronger for the good things which were learned or achieved in the day. Set the intention to dream deep, lucid and remember.

The whole day becomes a filled with purpose and awareness helping us to be fully present and fully alive.

Occasionally:

- Celebrations and events with others or alone (Solstices, equinoxes, New and Full Moons, Eclipses, Religious holidays or ceremonies

- regular meetings or talks with other, like-minded spiritual people

- Giving work, volunteering, charity work and giving our time to others.

Eventually life will fit around our spiritual practices not the other way around.

Would you share yours? If we share, perhaps we can all consider new things, remember forgotten things and learn from each other?

There is also a good article about not being so hard on ourselves when we don't manage all the things on our spiritual 'to do' list each day.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/pantheon/2012/06/slacker-paganism/

If you are not Pagan, don't worry, the same principles apply.

 

[Carla]

My daily practice has no set structure. Every day as I walk to work, I look at the trees and plants, sky, weather, birds, and any living things around me. I compare the scene in my mind with how it has looked over the months and years, a kind of contemplation of the wheel of the year. I usually chant a mantra in time with my footsteps, in my head. I shoot a blessing at someone I pass by most days, a random person. This may not include making eye contact or smiling, but feels like a sort of shot of warmth or positive energy from me to them. Some days I forget, if I am caught up in my contemplation of earth and sky, or concentrating on an intention with my mantra.

My reading is part of my spiritual practice, as I usually have a book on the go that I hope will edify me in some way.

In the past, I have spent time in daily sitting meditation, and that certainly has its place, but so far in 2012, I have done hardly any sitting meditation at all. I find I tend to do that more in the darker months, so I'm sure as the year draws in, I will return to that.

Every night during my bath, I spend a bit of time in gratitude. Drawing a bath always makes me remember how luxurious life really is for us in the 21st century. All that clean, hot water right there, so abundant, so effortless. It makes me feel I should say thank you, so I do. And then I think of other blessings of the day to be grateful for, simple things, like air, food, shelter from the rain, a warm soft bed. Or even the scent of the essential oil in my bath. The beauty of the candle flame (I always light a candle at bath time).

Some days I practice yoga, but again I notice that I tend to turn to yoga more in darker months.

Most days I work out, and that is a time to be thankful for the miracle of my body and all it is able to do.

I have a drum and a lot of other stuff, but I find I don't use them much at all. Most of my practice is simple mindfulness.


Less frequent practices:
esbats (on my own or with hubby)
dream journal
sabbat rituals
sitting meditation

 

[Milfoil]

What you say makes a lot of sense Carla, there is a time and place for some things and depending on how we work, our lives, who (spirits) works with us or is a part of us, the seasons etc, all will influence when we do certain things.

I've found that although discipline is necessary, so is time and reason. For example, keeping a journal is a good suggestion from a teacher/mentor but if it is undertaken with no idea of what is useful to include, it can be years of drudge before the penny drops and the journal is used to it's fullest.

 

[AJ]

Thoughtful question Milfoil, I'm thinking on it...and will be back.

 

[Milfoil]

Right now I am finding that just being patient, quiet and spending alone time outside, listening to the wind, the rain, the trees, the birds - everything. It is deeply affecting, calming and wonderful.

 

[AJ]

I've spent several days thinking about this, and writing down my thoughts, and in the end decided am not comfortable sharing, but thank you for making me think.

 

[poopsie]

Actually, when i wake up in the morning, I greet my little turtle and my pet cats and eat breakfast ... i also kiss my partner who would still be asleep.

I eat breakfast and as i do so, i stare at our balcony because. i would see our little maya birds and pidgeons sit on our balcony and eat the rice we put out for them ... i find so much spiritual cheers whenever i see the birds eat with a healthy appetite. then they fly away and a new batch keeps coming and as they do, i keep thanking God that these birds are alive and free ... i feel i have something to keep nature alive ...

then i ooen my laptop and i literally read this poem aloud to myself:

The Optimist’s Creed by Christian D. Larson

Promise Yourself…

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature you meet.

To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds.
To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

C.D. Larson

(The Optimist Creed was authored in 1912 by Chistian D. Larsen)

I literally read this to convince myself that I should always be positive since I cannot afford to get upset or ill otherwise, I might kill my transplanted kidney for the second time. It helps a lot. I share this eith cancer survivors whom i help.

this would be like my psyche up prayer to myself.

In the evening, before i go to bed, I pray to God to thank Him for what transpired during the day ... I also pray for people I care for and those who were asking for prayers.

On weekends, i do my self reading in tarot and journalize and i feel that it grounds me because i often ask through the Tarot what God wants me to know ...

I guess this would be pretty much my spiritual practice ... i am Catholic but I don't go to Mass since I don't believe in rituals which do not seem meaningful for me ... I don't go to confessions to a priest because I see them as jut as sinful as I am ... I might as well say sorry to God directly or to whoever I have wronged. I go to Church though and light candles and pray novenas which I have found powerful when i have special requests.

This would be good enough for me ... in a few instances i read the Bible for insight although I don't memorize verses.

 

[poopsie]

Oh, one more ... when i am stressed out, this is the prayer i read to myself to maintain my state of equilibrium ...

*** Slow me down, LORD,
*** Ease the pounding of my heart
*** by the quieting of my mind.

*** Steady my hurried pace with a vision
*** of the eternal reach of time.
*** Give me, amid the confusion of the day,
*** the calmness of the everlasting hills.

*** Break the tensions of my nerves and
*** muscles with the soothing music of the
*** singing streams that live in my memory.

*** Help me to know the magical, restoring
*** power of sleep.
*** Teach me the art of taking minute vacations
*** of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat
*** with a friend, to pat a dog, to read a few
*** lines from a good book.

*** Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to
*** send my roots deep into the soil of life's
*** enduring values that I may grow
*** toward the stars of my greater destiny."



<)))><

 

[Carla]

This thread inspired me to re-establish a morning sitting practice, and to start the meditation check-in thread.

 

[Bhavana]

My animals keep me grounded and spiritual. I try to see the world as they do. I do yoga a few times a week, and would like to meditate more - but I don't feel my home environment right now is conducive to serenity. Too much clutter, too much STUFF. I keep saying I will get rid of it and carve a more peaceful corner for myself - but I keep putting it off for some reason.