Few people seek us out to work on their spirituality, yet we often end up going there at some point. The fact of the matter is we are all mortal. This life will pass. How you define yourself and your experience living this life are both keys to much of how you will navigate your life. The way you feel about spirituality will inarguably affect every aspect of your life–from your business, to how you raise your children, to how you treat yourself and what you believe about the world.
Believing in something greater and beyond ourselves is a choice. Spirituality is one of the foundational building blocks of the method that we use in our work, because we all have a spiritual life, whether we think about it or not. You could arguably chose not to have a spiritual life. However, we would argue that it does not really provide any empowerment in your life.
I think it’s important to clarify what I mean when I say spirituality. Spirituality can be defined as “the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things.” Essentially, the belief that we are souls having a human experience. Or what I like to say more simply, my connection to God. I am not talking about any one religion specifically, rather your connection to what you believe to be your higher power. Be that God, Source, the Divine, Jesus, or whatever you hold as your belief.
Some of our clients come to us already having the basics of a spiritual practice and some come to us from what they would describe as an atheistic world view. But eventually the question for all of them is similar. Why do I need a spiritual practice and how do I build or deepen a practice that is approachable, aligned, and easily tied into my daily life? The three keys that I will share in this post will allow anyone to build a practice that can ultimately be life changing.
Before we get into the keys, I’ll start by sharing a short client story.
I worked with a celebrity who, at the time we began working together, called himself an atheist. Throughout our work together we began to look at his model of the world, and bring tools into his life (like meditation) that allowed him to access a more connected part of himself. When he created the space for this connection, his entire model of the world changed. I recently received a note from him that his new spiritual practice was the best thing to ever happen to him, and he is currently working on a new project about spiritualty that he previously never thought would be possible. In addition, he has so much more happiness, joy, peace, and fulfillment…every day!
In another instance, I have a mentor that is one of the most connected people I know. He has been instrumental in my own spiritual growth. Through his devotional practices that he has shared with me I have have been able to make some very critical business and personal decisions from a confident, trusting and grounded place.
I think you can see how this works—if we choose to build an approachable spiritual practice for ourselves it will ultimately help us view the world through a different lens. One which allows us to create connection, make decisions, and build a fulfilling life with ease.
How do we begin? Here are the three keys:
Number One: Devotional Practices
Devotional practices are the time, energy, and effort that we spend on our spiritual connection. For many religions that includes prayer, attending services, service work etc. But there are endless practices for you to choose from based on your beliefs. Forest bathing, meditative walking, hiking, yoga, pranayama, meditation, mantra or puja, journaling, and even types of dance are all examples of ways to connecting with something greater than yourself.
For those who are completely new to a spiritual practice, I generally recommend guided meditation. This is always a great one especially for high-achievers, as it is something you can complete and accomplish definitively. (If you are a high-achiever yourself, you probably know why that is important. 🙂
The Calm App or Headspace are excellent resources for beginner meditations.
Additionally, resonance breathing is highly effective as it gives your mind something to do. A bonus of this type of work is that it entrains your parasympathetic nervous system and literally lowers stress response. My friend and and mentor Eddie Stern built out an app for this that you can get for free HERE.
Number Two: Nourishing Your Soul with Resources
A huge one here is reading! Books, books, and more books. Whether that is Bible based study group, the Gita, or the Tao Te Ching. Gaining multiple perspectives and reading outside of your normal preferences is one of the best ways to expand your understanding and worldview. My NLP mentor, Wyatt Woodsmall, once told me not to spend a lot of time reading things to support what I already believed. Doing so doesn’t expand your possibility and can even deepen belief structures that can create blind spots to other possibilities. It’s healthy to read things to challenge your belief system so you can gain perspective. Multiple perspectives is one of the ingredients to creating wisdom.
Other resources could be podcasts or courses on various spiritual practices.
Some of the authors I often recommend that tend to resonate with the majority of people are Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Neale Donald Walsch, and Eckhart Tolle.
Number Three: Communing with God
When I asked Wyatt many years ago how to become more spiritual he responded by asking me, “Well what do you mean? What is spirituality?” I answered that spirituality was my connection with God. He responded by saying in essence, “Then why wouldn’t you just focus on the time you spend with God?”
This is about creating space to remind yourself that you are a soul having a human experience. Done daily, it allows you to stay present to your spiritual connection throughout your day so that you are co-creating with God. In your business, in your personal life, in the way you are in service to your community, in your passion and purpose, and in the life that you design for yourself.
Often we forget who we really are and slip into reactive “doing.” Our lives can be driven in a high mode of being swept up in busyness. Staying connected to your source throughout the day is a way to co-create. We are not alone, life is so much more rewarding and enriching when we live connected to our source.
Looking for more resources or help in your journey? Reach out to us at The Center for Conscious Living and Fulfillment below.