[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Thank you to those who shared their spiritual practices with us last week. Here are your responses:
Do you engage in anything that you would consider a spiritual practice? What does it look like? What obstacles get in your way?
- Beach walks!
- Being outdoors. Smoke has been a problem….
- Being outside walking and riding.
- Daily reading before meditation. Zoom with UU.
- “Daily: Meditative Journaling
- Daily Photo: Something each day that makes that day stand out from the rest.”
- Exercising and meditating. The exercising may consist of one or more of these: walking; time on the elliptical; cardio, floor and weight workout, kayaking, paddle boarding. The meditation looks like an inconsistent 10 minutes which I like but allow to be misplaced by other things.
- Getting in my infrared sauna and reading or meditating. Since it’s in the same room as the kids homeschooling now, it makes it a little harder to concentrate. LOL
- I do not. I am not religious, when in-church services were happening, that was my only practice.
- I do some yoga and am working on breathing as a response to stress.
- “I get and read a daily contemplation from Fr. Richard Rohr. I am reading and working on improving myself from what I am learning through the Enneagram. Through Wellspring I have been introduced to Parker Palmer and he is really speaking to my condition. And I try to spend some time before bed meditating.
- Distractions and a difficulty focusing are obstacles.”
- I have numerous Buddhist spiritual empowerment’s and training in an assortment of meditation practices. I also walk, bicycle and cook. The main obstacle is distraction. Distraction comes in so many forms, it can be a constant struggle.
- I meditate daily
- I read different devotionals
- I try to do a gratitude journal every day. Life gets in the way.
- Journaling, gardening mostly. Journaling-not much, I’m pretty consistent. Gardening-winter is kind of an impediment…
- Meditated for 15 min. Wish I did this early every morning.
- Meditation, prayer, journaling, inspirational reading …. routine is important to maintaining these habits.
- My ‘monkey’ mind always gets in the way, but I still use the beads I was given at church. They hang from my reading lamp which I turn on each morning. I push all the beads down to the bottom and move them up one by one as I sit with intentionality in sending healing thoughts or whatever the person’s needs may be. There is sometimes follow up, like a call, donation to a cause, a card or a visit. It’s a wonderfully simple practice that gets my mind and heart moving in those ever larger circles.
- My stretching routine. My left brain is occupied with counting out the seconds and moving from one position to the next, and my right brain is free to contemplate, dream, and listen for the still, small voice
- No
- Not really right now. Music has always been my go to for relieving stress and connecting. I made a meditative playlist on Spotify the other day- “Calm the $#@& down” I called it. It truly does help me relax as I work or wind down at the end of the day😁
- Nothing specific to report. I like to focus on gratitude I feel For the support of friends and community, And particularly How much my membership in the foothills Community has enriched that.
- Reading Richard Rohr Blog every day. Painting. Writing. Being outdoors.
- Simple living/conscious management of finances
- Stretching exercises twice a day. It is my calm, breathing, feeling my body, me time.
- The closest I get to a spiritual practice is just getting away from anything man-made. Time, daily obligations, and just plain old energy levels are my obstacles.
- Trying hard to improve my family relationships, by fixing myself and my inner spirit. Frustrations and anger impede this …
- Yes meditating at least once today
- “Yes! Yoga, breath/ centering, gardening, cooking.
- Family and work demands can get in there way if I don’t prioritize time for self care.”
- Yes, yoga, time and network downtime
- I practice Buddism with sangha in FoCo.
- Yoga
- “Yoga is great for me. Lack of time sometimes interferes.
- Riding my bike is another.”
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]