Finding the Divine everywhere - even on my lunchtime stroll around the river.
In my last post I talked about the self-analysis I do whenever I find myself saying that I "don't have time" for Spirituality.
I have a busy life in a full job and part-time degree course and so I thought I would write about some of the ways I *Find Time* for Spirituality:
1. Starting Small
It is easier to find time for 5 minutes meditation than 5 hours. Start with just 5 minutes and if it doesn't work out you haven't lost anything. But once you get into the groove (which takes just under 5 mins) then you will easily stretch your 5 minutes into 10, or 25!
2. The Physical Is the Spiritual.
The root of Paganism is Immanence - the idea that the divine is in everything. Stay on the look out for divine inspiration in unlikely places: that pint pot of paperclips you just spilled on the floor - that is a natural labyrinth for you to muse on.
Rinse and repeat many times throughout the day.
3. Take a proper lunchbreak.
I always carve out a proper lunchtime for myself when I am at work. I spend my lunch hour going for long walks around the area I work, I get some of my best thinking done in this quiet time on my own and have become a huge fan of walking meditation.
When I realised I could contact my Gods without spending 3 hours in silent meditation in a special room - a whole world of possibilities opened up.
4. Turn Off the Phone/TV/Computer.
I am constantly amazed at how we are expected to be contactable at all times in the modern world. I find this constant state of being switched on makes it very hard to do deep inner work or even really engage with points 1-3 above. If you are someone who is getting a never ending stream of texts, tweets and calls then turn off your phone and stop checking the internet.
5. Don't Let Perfectionism Put You Off.
I spend a long time feeling that if I wasn't wearing special robes, setting aside hours for practice and planning and executing elaborate rituals then I wasn't doing it right...and there was no point me trying. Items 1-4 above felt like cheating to me. Well I was wrong about all that!
Starting is the first step - don't waste valuable minutes you could be meditating on feeling guilty you can only manage 5 minutes!
Finding small chunks of time builds up a habit and once spending time in your Spiritual Space becomes a habit then finding time seems to stop being a problem...that is what I have found anyway.
I am always looking for more ways to cheat the clock and find extra space for mindfulness so let me know how you manage it!
I have a busy life in a full job and part-time degree course and so I thought I would write about some of the ways I *Find Time* for Spirituality:
1. Starting Small
It is easier to find time for 5 minutes meditation than 5 hours. Start with just 5 minutes and if it doesn't work out you haven't lost anything. But once you get into the groove (which takes just under 5 mins) then you will easily stretch your 5 minutes into 10, or 25!
2. The Physical Is the Spiritual.
The root of Paganism is Immanence - the idea that the divine is in everything. Stay on the look out for divine inspiration in unlikely places: that pint pot of paperclips you just spilled on the floor - that is a natural labyrinth for you to muse on.
Rinse and repeat many times throughout the day.
3. Take a proper lunchbreak.
I always carve out a proper lunchtime for myself when I am at work. I spend my lunch hour going for long walks around the area I work, I get some of my best thinking done in this quiet time on my own and have become a huge fan of walking meditation.
When I realised I could contact my Gods without spending 3 hours in silent meditation in a special room - a whole world of possibilities opened up.
4. Turn Off the Phone/TV/Computer.
I am constantly amazed at how we are expected to be contactable at all times in the modern world. I find this constant state of being switched on makes it very hard to do deep inner work or even really engage with points 1-3 above. If you are someone who is getting a never ending stream of texts, tweets and calls then turn off your phone and stop checking the internet.
5. Don't Let Perfectionism Put You Off.
I spend a long time feeling that if I wasn't wearing special robes, setting aside hours for practice and planning and executing elaborate rituals then I wasn't doing it right...and there was no point me trying. Items 1-4 above felt like cheating to me. Well I was wrong about all that!
Starting is the first step - don't waste valuable minutes you could be meditating on feeling guilty you can only manage 5 minutes!
Finding small chunks of time builds up a habit and once spending time in your Spiritual Space becomes a habit then finding time seems to stop being a problem...that is what I have found anyway.
I am always looking for more ways to cheat the clock and find extra space for mindfulness so let me know how you manage it!
RSS Feed
