How To Start a Spiritual Practice – 10 Easy Ways

List Of 10 Easy Ways To Start a Spiritual Practice:

#1 Read Spiritual Books

Reading good books is one of the best investments one can make with money and time. But, reading a spiritual book can be life-transforming in various ways.

For instance, reading a spiritual book introduces you to new spiritual teachers who lift your spirit up. Also, it fills up your storehouse with goals, ideas, and new spiritual practices as well as it expands your vision like an orchard which is full of life.

Here is a list of 10 spiritual books for beginners:

• Light Is the New Black: A Guide to Answering Your Soul’s Callings and Working Your Light by Rebecca Campbell
• May Cause Miracles by Gabrielle Bernstein
• Letting Go: The Pathway to Surrender by David R. Hawkins
• The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz
• Search Inside Yourself by Chade-Meng Tan
• The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
• Be Here Now by Ram Dass
• The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
• Freedom From the Known by Jiddu Krishnamurti
• The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

#2 Yoga

Derived from the Sanskrit word “yuji,” meaning ”union” or ”yoke,” yoga is a practice that brings together body and mind. Yoga incorporates breathing poses, meditation, and exercises, designed to reduce stress and encourage relaxation.

Practicing yoga is said to come with many benefits for physical and mental health, but the benefits reach far beyond your physical and mental body. For example, yoga teaches that if someone begins to see the world around them as a constant source of energy that they are tied to, then they will be able to tap into that universal energy to be able to manifest their aspirations or desires.

#3 Meditation

The emotional, physical, and spiritual benefits of meditation have been well documented for millennia. Philosophers, scientists,  religious leaders, and spiritualists, have heralded the power of witnessing awareness.

Meditation is so effective since it works on the whole person. Some would even say that meditation is the cure-all for most ailments. However, stress reduction is one of the most common reasons people try meditation.

Meditation can also significantly improve the loneliness (a possible side effect of spiritual awakening), or longing you have in your life. A regular meditation session can help you reach a state of interconnectedness with others and with your higher self, improve the joy you feel daily and become a compassionate person, free of anxiety and fear.

Ultimately, meditation teaches us to watch our lives like a movie unfolding around us in which we are the main character. This detachment from our worldly experiences helps bring us greater equanimity and peace, knowing that we don’t have to take everything which goes on in our heads so personally or so seriously.

#4 Less Talking

Abstinence from talking is a good opportunity for us to transform our lives into vehicles for purposeful change. Listen to the true beauty and messages in touching and moving music.

Listen to the sounds of life and nature which surround you every day. Listen to what others are really saying to you.

#5 Mindful Breathing

“Fear less, hope more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Hate less, love more; And all good things are yours.”- Swedish proverb.

Breathing heals on many levels and understanding how it performs this function is good for our physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Some medical sources affirm that as much as 70 percent of the toxins we ingest daily can be liberated with a good respiration process.

In Latin, the word for breath is “spiritus,” which translates as “spirit.” To inhale is to “inspire” or to “bring in spirit.” Authentic spiritual teachers know that breath is a current of spirit which connects all life.

#6 Chant A Mantra

Mantras are sacred words that have spiritual qualities when uttered, They have been used for thousands of years by many different cultures and religions around the world including Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. Mantras are used to protect the mind from sources of suffering and to connect with the Divine.

The most well-known mantra is called OM. It serves as a gathering mantra, gathering your inward energy and preparing your energy for movement. OM is also the mantra of assent and acceptance. It helps you to accept your higher self and allow energy (prana) to flow freely and openly through you.

#7 Interact with Nature

Psychologist Carl Jung said that the time spent reconnecting with nature is a profound investment in one’s spiritual health.

According to recent research, viewing nature scenes or spending time in nature helps in the development of the immune system. Therefore, you can have a more resistant physical body to diseases if you just spend some time in nature on a regular basis.

Note – you don’t have to start with a sabbatical. Just a walk through the trees will help you restore, realign, and rejuvenate.

#8 Have A Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet

“To keep the body in good health is a duty, for otherwise, we shall not be able to light the lamp of wisdom, and keep our mind strong and clear.” – Gautama Buddha

Although diet is typically considered a matter of physical health alone, it is a crucial aspect of intellectual, emotional, and spiritual development as well.

#9 Affirmations

Affirmations are proven methods of self-improvement due to their ability to rewire our brains. Much like physical exercise, affirmations push our brains to form new clusters of “positive thought” and raise the level of feel-good hormones.

To boost your confidence and let your soul’s true spirit manifest freely, recite one of these spiritual affirmations at least 10 times each morning:

• I am the architect of my life; I build its foundation and choose its contents.
• I am brimming with energy and overflowing with joy.
• My mind is brilliant, my body is healthy, my soul is tranquil.
• Every day in every way I am getting better and better and better.
• I am the Divine Presence that is creating perfection throughout my whole life.
• All my thoughts, actions and words are divinely guided.

#10 Go In A Retreat

Taking a spiritual retreat is an opportunity to escape our regular environment for a while to relax, unplug, and have space and time to focus on ourselves.

To quote the words of Jiddu Krishnamurti:

“I think it is essential sometimes to go into retreat, to stop everything that you have been doing, to stop your beliefs and experiences completely and look at them anew, not keep on repeating like machines whether you believe or don’t believe. You would let fresh air into your minds.”

References

https://nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation/overview.htm
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2015/02/09/7-ways-meditation-can-actually-change-the-brain/