10 Jumpstart Ideas For Your Spiritual Lifestyle
A strong and healthy spiritual lifestyle sometimes requires only one or two small adjustments to our day that can gives us that extra jolt of meaning and internal energy that we need to get us through. This list isn’t a quick-fix, rather, it’s a few jump-start ideas to get you going.
1. Wake up earlier.
Not all of us are early birds, but there must be something to waking up in the early hours of the morning since most spiritual masters practice this form of self discipline. If waking up at 5 am is unmanageable, take small steps and wake up maybe ten to twenty minutes earlier. Use this time, in the quiet of the morning, to prepare and reflect on the day ahead, the week or life in its present state. Take the time to make a proper cup of tea and maybe watch the sunrise too. We need to allow the freshness of the new day to refresh us.
2. Breathe
It’s a simple, yet easily forgettable thing, the gift of breathe. We do it every day without realizing how much it can do for our mental, emotional and spiritual well being when we breathe consciously. Transformational breathing is a great way to find that calm we tend to miss in our busy lifestyles and rid ourselves of negative emotional baggage we carry with us.
3. Say “Thank you” out loud.
Gratitude is certainly one of the building bricks to a stable and healthy spiritual life. Besides saying “Thank you” only in prayer, try saying it out loud to another person or even to food. We can stop a minute before mindlessly eating that apple and say “Thank you” for being so red and crunchy. It sounds a little hippie-ish, but we will see and appreciate our food in a way that we never did before.
4. Drink more tea.
A bit yogi? Perhaps. However, tea is and has been a staple in many healing systems around the world for centuries. So instead of loading up on caffeine, soda, energy drinks and whatever else, try adding one or two more cups of tea to your day. Green, black, white, fruit or herbal—there are so many kinds to like. Not sure where to start? Check out www.learn-about-tea.com which is an online guide to the world of tea and all their (physical and spiritual) health benefits.
5. Turn off the screens.
Whether it be our laptop, PC, i-pod, TV, cell-phone, Black Berry or whatever other digital device that keeps our head looking down rather than up and around at the world in front of us—turn it off at some point during the day and keep it off. Let the panicked and antsy feeling pass and then try to sit still for three to five minutes and just be. It’s good to allow ourselves to not be distracted. We don’t need to go into a full-on meditation, but just allow ourselves a break from the intangible world on the screen(s) and bring ourselves back to the world right in front of us.
6. Subscribe to a quote of the day.
If we’re going to check our e-mails ten times a day anyway, we might as well add one more e-mail (or blog) to the list that can give us some spiritual food for thought. A great inspiring quote of the day to add to our inbox is www.charityfocus.org. They e-mail a Daily Good quote and (true) story about someone who has done good for the world and made a difference in some small way. It’s a change of pace from all the other spam out there.
7. Try to eliminate words like ‘have to’, ‘should’ or ‘ought to’.
Being an adult is about being responsible. We have to pay bills and we should tith and we ought to volunteer our time to do more in the community. But in reality, when we feel we must do things out of duty, it suddenly becomes a burden rather than something joyful we choose or want to do. Instead, try using words like “want to” or “would like” to create a more joyful experience in activities that require us to be responsible.
8. Clean up something.
As the saying goes, “cleanliness is next to Godliness”. Number eight probably shouldn’t be something we are forcing ourselves to do (see number six), but if we willingly choose to clean up our lives in some small way, we will be giving ourselves a tremendous gift. Whether it be the desk or hanging up clothes we will feel as if a load has been lifted internally and with it, more space to think about things that are more meaningful to us and our spiritual lives.
9. Make a ritual.
Try to create some pattern or ritual to follow each day. While “variety is the spice of life,” we don’t need to “reinvent the wheel” all the time. Make time to do something each day that is meaningful, whether it be to take a look at yearly goals or take a short morning walk to prepare for the new day ahead. Allow a small ritual that brings inner joy and helps focus (or refocus) the day.
10. Stop to watch the sunset.
In the evenings, we tend to immerse ourselves in some online activity, whether it be Facebook, checking e-mails, planning lessons or just surfing the web to veg out after a long day. Take time to stop and look out for the sunset. It is by far, one of the most beautiful, incredible (and unique) light shows on the earth—and it comes free of cost. It’s one of the easiest ways to connect with the natural world, wherever one happens to be.