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Spiritual Practices Are Divinely Personal
Having an active spiritual practice means purposefully setting time aside daily (or almost daily) to focus on your personal growth. As the saying goes, we can’t pour from an empty cup. Habitually maintaining our high vibrations improves our mental health drastically.
How great would it be to finally be able to work through all that drama that might still be holding you back? How wonderful would if feel if you really understood yourself on a spiritual level?
“Spirituality is less about ‘doing’ and more about ‘being’ our truest most authentic self everywhere we go.” – Emmanuel
A steady spiritual practice allows us to get really good at calming the thoughts of the Ego. When the Ego isn’t constantly yapping in our minds, we can hear what the Subconscious has to say. This moves us forward as a consciousness, so we can discover our relationship with higher energies.
Spirituality and self-care are thoughtfully intertwined. Having a self-care routine and a spiritual practice are basically one in the same thing. Both are centered on the idea of coming back to yourself, for yourself. By giving ourselves our own attention, we initiate our own healing. It is a marvelous gift to be able to give ourselves.
Why cultivate a spiritual practice?
A spiritual practice is important to cultivate because it helps us in three major ways. We take more time to be with and heal ourselves, we can explore the deeper meaning of our lives, and we can get closer to God/Source/Universe.
I believe that building a practice of personal growth is the single most important thing any one person can do to improve themselves and humanity as a whole. The ability to reflect on the self is inherent in our DNA; it is a requirement for advancement. Even ancient peoples took the time to review what was working for them and what wasn’t.
Our souls come into this life on Earth with the intention to grow and learn. If we never allow ourselves the chance to do so, our whole lives become one giant missed opportunity. Often, this is how we get wrapped up in karmic cycles that will continuously bring us back to Earth until we finally learn our lessons. However, if we consciously decide to bring ourselves forward, we can spiritually evolve much faster.
Related article: Build A Spiritual Morning Ritual
What is needed to cultivate a spiritual practice?
Ultimately, a spiritual practice can be whatever you’d like it to be. Spirituality is highly customizable and personal, nothing is right or wrong. Really, what is crucial is building an intimate relationship with ourselves.
What is necessary to have? You need only two things to being a spiritual practice: the desire to heighten your awareness and a commitment to personal growth. In my opinion, you cannot have a thriving spiritual practice without indulging in meditation. Meditation is the practice of being fully immersed in the present moment by not indulging in the thoughts of the ego. This is a habit that allows us to better tune into our Higher Selves and other spiritual beings/guides.
What is not necessary to have? All the bells and whistles. Things like spiritual knick-knacks are not necessary to grow spiritually. Think crystals, singing bowls, smudge sticks, and other alter tools that are common in our community. Although they are fun, collectible, sacred, and definitely enhance the experience, none of it is TRULY needed. Personal growth is an inner journey, an examination of the mind and soul. Both of these things are within us, so nothing outside of ourselves is necessary.
All we need to grow is the desire to heighten our awareness, a commitment to bettering ourselves, and a regular habit of meditation.
What does a spiritual practice look like?
A spiritual practice can be compared to a workout regime. It is something you do consistently and it can vary over time. Going to a single cardio class will not improve your physical fitness. Just as casting one spell only at Halloween will not bring you closer to Spirit.
Organized rituals are very enjoyable–I highly recommend planning and performing spiritual rituals as often as you can. But a rewarding spiritual practice is not confined to such rigid rules. Truly, you can be as formal or as informal as you’d like. Do whatever feels right in the moment. Maybe today you feel like engaging in a proper cleansing ritual. And maybe tomorrow you’ll do a yummy yoga sequence instead. The edges of the Universe are the limits!
Below is a list of common spiritual practices that can be included in your practices. Please note, like stated above, that none of these things are necessary for us to grow spiritually. So don’t think that this list is limiting in any way. Don’t make up excuses. Don’t think that you need these things to cultivate a spiritual practice. If it is something you want,
you already have all you need.
The goal of a spiritual practice is to strengthen and expand our consciousness. It would be a real shame if we only allowed ourselves to open up energetically during formal rituals. At any point in time, we have the power to connect directly with Spirit. We genuinely don’t need a single thing, as long as our intentions are in love and light. Isn’t that incredible?!
Here’s a short list of some spiritual activities you could possibly incorporate into your spiritual practices:
1. Any style of yoga (related article)
2. Tarot reading
3. Meditation
4. Crystal grid making, for display or on the body (related article)
5. Smudging, cleansing
6. Spell casting
7. Journaling (related article)
8. Channeling
9. Painting/drawing
10. Mantras/affirmations
11. Lucid dreaming
12. Various forms of holistic healing (related article)
Thank you for reading! If you have anything to add, please feel free to do so in the comments below. What do you include in your spiritual practice?
