What is a spiritual practice? It's an opportunity to connect and commune with yourself and with whatever force (whether you call it God, the Universe, Spirit, or the pages of your journal) guides your life. Many have a spiritual practice without even realizing they do, and for good reason. There's so much beauty in a spiritual practice: They are grounding, they are supportive, they are the foundation for a healthy and conscious life.
And yet, like anything, it's all too easy for them to become rote, mechanical, stale. Soon, a spiritual practice can feel like one more "to-do" on an already too long list. But with mindfulness and creativity, it's easy to refresh your practice and your spiritual connection. While there is a long list of ways to recharge your spiritual battery, these are three of my favorites:
- Find comfort in community.
A spiritual practice can often feel like a very solitary experience — you meditate, pray, or take long walks by yourself. And that can be wonderful! But there is great comfort and connection in a spiritual community, too. This doesn't have to be church, though that's a common option. You might also join a drum circle, take a class on intuition, or spend time at a concert with like-minded friends where the music truly moves you. Finding and spending time with a community of people who support and align with your spiritual beliefs is one of the easiest ways to reignite your own spiritual connection — and to give you the accountability that ensures you don't lose that spark again.
- Take a personal retreat.
Sometimes — OK, most times — reconnecting with your spiritual practice simply requires reconnecting with yourself. This can take as much (or as little) time and money as you have to allot to it. Simply carve out some space in your schedule — whether it's one hour or three days — to spend alone, reconnecting with your spiritual practice. Make a light agenda for yourself: Will you pray, meditate, journal, take a long bath, catch up on sleep? All of the above?
The purpose of this retreat is to give yourself a dedicated time and space within which to reconnect with yourself and with your spiritual practice, or to try something totally new that might reinvigorate your spiritual connection. By removing yourself from your "everyday," you'll be better equipped to see what's missing and fill your spirit with exactly what it needs to come back to that "everyday" refreshed and renewed.
- Practice spreading love.
When it comes right down to it, a spiritual practice is about remembering love; it's about remembering that we (and every other human on this planet) are love and are loved. And one of the best ways you can remember this is by sharing that love with other people. Of course, you can (and should) spread love to your friends and family — you might send a "thinking of you" note in the mail or leave an "I love you" on the bathroom mirror for your partner — but almost more importantly, you can recharge your own spiritual battery by starting a practice of spreading love to even those you don't know.
Send love to the person who cuts you off on the freeway. Send love to the receptionist at your doctor's office. Send love to the stranger in front of you at the coffee shop. You might actually tell this person of the love you're sharing with them, or you might send it through your heart. Either way, it will reach its designated destination — and it will reinvigorate your own connection to love and spirit. You can practice spreading this love to yourself, too.
Whenever you find yourself feeling down, practice reminding yourself that you are love and you are loved, and open up to receiving all the love that is undoubtedly being sent your way, too. There is no greater spiritual practice than that.
Recharging your spiritual battery doesn't have to be hard; you simply need to make the decision to reconnect and take one step in that direction. I hope the tips above will help you get back on your spiritual path.