I started taking an interest in my spiritual life decades ago. Once I made the commitment, there was no going back.
When I first started, my interest was huge, followed by a long dry spell when I forgot about it all. Then something a while later caught my interest and I explored some more.
It seemed to come in cycles. Interest built again and then receded again, like waves washing to shore with a natural rhythm. Yet over time, the ups and downs stabilized, the dips seemed less intense and lasted for less time while the upsurges lasted longer as I adjusted and found joy more easily. One of the happiest insights I found about the journey is that when I really feel stuck - even despairing, it's an indication that things are already on the rise again. It means the deepest dark is behind me and I am more in touch with the spiritual voice calling me home.
Over millennia, saints and masters have suggested things we can do to help us move ahead in our spiritual journeys. Here are a few of their ideas, processes and techniques:
- be in the moment - it's the only thing that's real
- develop awareness
- be kind
- appreciate what we have - even the little joys
- take time regularly for prayer, reflection or meditation
- surround ourselves with work, activities and people that reflect our inner values
- quit the blame game
- listen to our inner wisdom
- learn humility - disassemble the conceit of ego
- accept both good and bad fortune - life never goes according to plan
- trust that we are being led to grace
One thing to remember though. It's not me that calls all the shots. I can incline myself in this direction and take whatever steps may work well for me, but in the end this is about more than just me. If I am drawn to a spiritual life, it is spirit calling to me as much as me calling to spirit.
