Dear Khaj #04: Spirit-Nourishing - How to? OUR Practice

 

Dear Khaj,

As I said in my last post, there are many ways to do "meditation" (spirit-nourishing, mental prayer, mindfulness practice, centering, etc.). The important thing, as I said, is to do it regularly and treat it like "mind brushing."

What We Did

But let's go down memory lane a bit. In your earlier years when we regularly did our "home church" together, we would go through the following steps that I'll recount here to jog your memory. Remember: This could be a good process for a regular meditation/spirit-nourishing practice all your life! You could even teach it to others ...

Breathe

We would start with the BREATH. Focus on your breathing: your in-breath and out-breath. Breathing is the very foundation of our life as humans: If you stop breathing, you'll die! It is also the anchor that frees us from the endless thoughts that distrct our minds and connects us to the present moment (the "Now"). Importantly, it connects us immediately to our body. 

Gratefulness

From there, we would usually move to RECALLING (by the fact that we can still breath) that we've been given the GIFT OF LIFE. I always invited you to be grateful first and foremost for life. From there, we would move to consciously being GRATEFUL (to God/to the universe) for everything and everyone that come along with the gift of life: LOVE, Friendship, our family and extended clan, our friends, the beauty of nature, our beautiful experiences, the people who take care of us and help us when we're in need, etc. 

Listening to the Wisdom of Tradition

After that we would READ (or RECALL) or LISTEN to a piece from the wisdom-spiritual traditions we're part of. That usually meant something from our Christian or Buddhist traditions. You know my favourites: nuggets of wisdom from the Bible, from our church's YouTube channel, from Thich Nhat Hanh, and other sources. Of course, you don't have to be limited to those. You can find wisdom-spirituality practically everywhere! You'll have your own sources which--you'll know--nourish your spirit well. Make use of them!

Reflect (Meditate) and Pray

After we've read or listened to wisdom passages, we paused and took time to THINK and REFLECT on what we heard. And then we would PRAY: for ourselves, for our loved ones, for the world. 

The Main Point

"Just Do It" Regularly!

This is only one way (among many others) by which we can do spirit-nourishing. It means a lot to me because we used to do it regularly: you and I. I learned the basics of this back in that boarding school in my teens. I still follow pretty much the same structure during my regular quiet time now. Whenever you do this yourself or with others, recall that I'll always be there with you --- even though I may no longer be physically present in this world. 

The main point is that it is good to have a concrete practice (your "method") for spirit-nourishing that you will do regularly ... whether you feel like it or not! Only regular practice will make a difference. It's better to have just a few minutes but done regularly, than a long one but done only infrequently. Believe me: regular spirit-nourishing IS one of the most important keys to keep you at peace, grounded, and truly happy. It will change you for the better and help you to make the world a better place.

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