Enrich Life with Daily Spiritual Practices

People who live an intentional life often establish a set of daily practices to help them stay clear and grounded.  This is true for many people on a spiritual path.  In the Soul Artist Experience series of classes, many members of our community adopt a set of daily practices for a period of time to assess the fit and comfort of these rituals.  Keeping your practices vibrant and fresh helps to enrich life.

As Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said;  “We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”  

Because we inherently are divine creatures, we are already spiritual.  We don’t need to adopt practices that will make us ‘more’ spiritual.  However, we can bring focused attention and awareness to our spirituality through our daily practices.

My sister gave me a beautiful book years ago about living spiritually every day.  The book, Spiritual Literacy answers a universal question.

“How can I live a spiritual life every day?”

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat show us that the daily occurrences of our lives can be filled with a sacred meaning. 

Spiritual Literacy – Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life is a profound book for me on several levels.

First, it helps me experience and linger at the moment.  Then, it helps me understand that seeing with gratitude, fresh eyes and awareness is spiritual living.   I now seek moments of what I call daily joy.  Those are the experiences I find myself noting in my gratitude journal.

Spirituality is connecting to the presence—an awareness of and experiencing of—oneness.

While spiritual practices and mindful habits may not be necessary to living a spiritual life, I find they are joyful and so reinforcing. 

Retiring from life as a corporate executive has allowed me to spend my days exactly as I like.

What splendid freedom!  As Reverend Michael at Agape says:

“We get to a point where life fits around our spiritual practices, rather than fitting spiritual practice into our lives.” 

That is true for me.  I realize that not everyone is in a place where they can devote so much time to spiritual practices but I am grateful to be at that moment in my life.  When we bring ourselves fully to each present moment, our life is the practice.

 

 

“We are what we repeatedly do; excellence then is not an act, but a habit!” – Aristotle

My daily routines serve as reminders to keep my attention in the now, so that I may wake up to the gift and miracle of life that is each moment.  In the Soul Artist Experience 2.0 course and the Soul Artist Experience Master Class, each cohort participates, to the extent we are each called to — in similar daily practices.  

We participate in the same daily spiritual practices.

We have several recorded guided meditation options.  For example; a different one for each day of the week.   In that recording, we also experience a daily pranayama.   This is a great daily practice because breathing brings us into the present, is great for mind and body and deepens our meditation practice.  And for each daily law there are also affirmations of the day.   

Some Soul Artists choose additional daily spiritual practices.  We learn from one another.

Some prefer to ‘drop in’ to a place of stillness and find spiritual connection using daily practices other than meditation.  Prayer or spending focused time creating in art journals are also wonderful ways to enter states of connection and flow. 

Everyone is encouraged to choose practices that are right for them, but trying new daily routines on for size from time to time is also beneficial. 

 

I like to change things up to keep my spiritual practice fresh and vibrant. 

Hearing about each others’ routines within our Tribe of Soul Artists is a source of inspiration. 

Daily spiritual practices often include:

Morning Intentions

Perhaps you set an intention for the day soon after waking.  It may be as simple as sending light to the day for the highest and greatest good.  Or, asking that your day be filled with ease and grace.  You might intend to be useful in joyful service to others.   On days when I plan to paint, I often set a specific morning intention about connecting to my inner wisdom to help me co-create.

Meditation

For me, meditation is an incredibly important daily practice.  For the past seven years, I have meditated morning and afternoon and those times for me are lovely bookends for my day.   I cherish and look forward to meditation as my most valued daily practice. 

Being in Nature

When I am in nature or inspired by beauty it is a feeling of instant peace and aliveness. I am in awe of creation and grateful for life. Fresh air,  flowers, birds, sunshine, trees blowing in the wind, the smell of different perfumes in the air make me feel joyful and alive.  Being outside benefits the body, mind, and spirit.  I feel fortunate to live where I can take time outside every day.

Practicing Gratitude

The feeling of gratitude instantly gives me perspective and moves me into a compassionate, heart-centered space. Every day I give thanks for good health, my family, and the love, freedom, and peace in my life.   Keeping my gratitude journal is a practice that tangibly helps me notice, appreciate and remember.

Practicing Mindfulness

Life is a gift and a miracle and I try to keep this in mind and stay present—even when I am doing everyday, mundane tasks. I turn my attention and connect with Spirit throughout the day.

Blessing my Food

I have returned to a childhood practice that reminds me of my parents.  Giving thanks for my food is a simple but meaningful practice.  Asking that my food be filled with healthy, loving energy, I thank all those who had a part in growing the food I am eating.  I try to eat mindfully focusing on the tastes, textures, colors, and beauty.

Kirtan and Chanting  

In the past few years, I have added time every day to listen to Kirtan and chant.  This is a joyous part of my day and I relish this time in my life where I finally have time and space for this type of devotional practice.

Yoga Asanas 

Just in the past year, I have finally added yoga to my day.  It has been a goal for me for many years and I am thrilled to be practicing daily now.  Many people find that adding yoga asanas brings a new depth of awareness to their spirituality by bringing in greater body awareness.

Pranayama

When you practice pranayama, you breathe in a specified pattern. You consciously inhale, exhale, and hold your breath in a particular sequence.  Pranayama has many benefits including decreasing stress, improving sleep quality, increasing mindfulness, and greater cognitive performance.  It is also wonderful to do five to ten rounds of pranayama prior to meditation because this assists with a deeper meditative experience.

Daily practices can enrich your life through greater mindfulness, savoring moments of joy and the inherent practice of gratitude. 

In addition, doing routine things at roughly the same time each day can result in meaningful mental health benefits; decreased anxiety, better cognitive function, and more uplifting mood states to name a few.

Thank you for reading this post. Feel free to share it.

If you would like to explore making art as a spiritual practice, we would love to include you in our Tribe of Soul Artists.   Learn more.

Gratitude and thanks to the Soul Artists who have shared their work for this post;

Kathy Kellum, Teresa Henke, and Sandy West

Find out more about my journey through my book on Amazon: Vision Quest; A Journey to Happiness by Jane Ramsey.

Watch my YouTube video about freeing your inner artist.

Gratitude and thanks to the Soul Artists who have shared their work for this post;

Why Meditate explains the benefits of regular meditation practice.

Interested in the Universal Laws?  The Blogs for each of the twelve Laws are found below:

Divine Oneness here.

Vibration here.

Correspondence here.

Attraction here.

Inspired Action here.

Perpetual Transmutation of Energy here.

Cause and Effect here.

Compensation here.

Relativity here.

Polarity here.

Rhythm here.

Gender here.

To find out more about me and our course offerings, please click the links above the Blog Post or here:

Browse courses by Jane Ramsey

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Namaste,

Jane