Creating a spiritual practice can sound like an overwhelming task for someone who is new on their spiritual journey. The important thing to remember is to just begin with one thing, that you can incorporate easily. Then when you have created a habit with that one practice, you can consider adding more activities that bring you joy and peace. Here are 3 popular Spiritual practices that you may consider beginning with.
You can begin with any of these practices. Each one is very easy to implement and will bring you a shift within the first few days of beginning. Select whichever practice appeals to you the most.
Meditation
A lot of people have preconceptions on what it means to meditate. I know that before I began meditating, I avoided it because I thought I had to sit still for hours on a pillow with no thoughts in my mind.
A 21 day meditation course I took revealed that there are many different forms of meditation, included guided meditation, which is really helpful for beginners. I learned that I could begin with a short meditation less than 10 minutes long, which seemed more manageable and easier to add into my daily routine.
The piece that really helped me with getting started with meditation was when I discovered that I didn’t have to empty my head of thoughts and that even monks who have been meditating for years have thoughts, the trick is to not focus on the thoughts when meditating.
Meditation is a great stress reliever and is now being recommended by medical doctors to help their patients with a variety of health issues.
Writing down your ideas, thoughts, feelings and experiences is a great way to let them out. There is something special about putting pen to paper to let energy flow out of you.
Too often we keep things buried inside of us and the simple action of getting this out on paper, is almost like relieving a burden inside. A journal can capture positive experiences, sad events and help you with working out how you feel about situations.
Your journal can track your spiritual journey and allow you to discover how much you grow in time.
It is a wonderful and easy way to let your thoughts and emotions out. And you can get started with any kind of notebook as your journal, it doesn’t have to be fancy, unless you want it to be.
Gratitude
I wasn’t aware of how much I complained until I began a gratitude practice. Now, every day, before I drift off to sleep, I take a moment to think about what and who I am grateful for in the day.
This keeps my mind positive as I drift off to sleep.
When we talk to people we often share our problems, and forget to recognize what we are grateful for. This shift in focus can help you have a positive attitude in life with wonderful spill over effects.
These three simply daily experiences can be easily woven into your day. You can pick just one and set aside 5 minutes each day to begin. Then as you establish a routine, consider extending the time in your practice, by either doing the activity longer, or adding in another spiritual practice that calls to your heart.