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"Nothing is more important than feeling good" 

"Everything is unfolding perfectly according to a divine plan, even when we can't see it."

Spiritual Growth in a Busy World
by Deborah Lindsey

How does one make time for a spiritual practice in a busy world?

Most people fit God into a few hours on Sunday morning, if they find time at all. We rush off to our neighborhood church or temple or synagogue, children in tow, with the best of intentions. We listen to what is being said, sing a few songs, chant a few declarations, and pray a few prayers all in the hope of salvaging our eternal souls and doing our spiritual best. But once the service is over, the tug-of-war of life sets back in and our spiritual work quickly falls back into the ethers.

Lets face it…life can be overwhelming. Between jobs, families, and the dishes who has time for God?

Practically every spiritual book on the market recommends daily meditations or daily reflections or daily reading. But how does one do that? Between the TV blaring in the background, the kids yelling, and the telephone ringing even a few minutes of silence during a routine trip to the bathroom can be manna from heaven itself.  

So here’s the good news. You don’t have to “make time” for a spiritual practice because your LIFE is a spiritual practice. It is inherent in your very existence. Remember, you are a spiritual being having a physical experience NOT a physical being seeking a spiritual experience. By understanding this basic premise, you understand that ALL of your time is already dedicated to your spiritual practice, whether or not that is at the forefront of your mind. That’s why you’re here. The issue now is not “how do I fit spirituality into my life?”  but rather “how do I choose to live my life as a spiritual being?” 

How do I live my life as a spiritual practice?

Your spiritual practice begins with the most basic of all human gifts…free will, otherwise known as choice. In each moment, you have the option to choose. You can make choices that feel good or choices that feel bad. You can choose compassion over judgment, forgiveness over retaliation, love over hate, courage over fear. This is the essence of spirituality itself and these are the choices that define your life.

The simple decision to be kind and loving is as powerful as any spiritual or religious practice that anyone can undertake. By choosing to live these ideals, the major impediments to spiritual progress and growth simply fade away and the essence of the divine is revealed. 

So what about those people who are choosing hate over love or judgment over compassion?

The good news is that this too is a spiritual practice! Remember that all paths ultimately lead to God. Notably, many of the religious practices today will tell you that if you make mistakes you are committing a “sin” and that God will punish you. And yet, the “rules” are contradictory and unclear so it is impossible to avoid mistakes. 

But what if there are no rules? What if God is really all-loving and all forgiving? What if the path of mistakes is just another way to discover God? Think about it. Aren’t mistakes life’s greatest teachers? And would an all-loving, all forgiving God forsake those s/he loves unconditionally by condemning them to eternal punishment? Wouldn’t this same God have at least a shred of patience and understanding?

 How do I put this into practice?

Ultimately, the conscious pursuit of a spiritual practice is the result of choice and decision, requiring only the willingness to perceive your life as a spiritual practice and to do your best to make loving, forgiving choices in each moment. Simply love. Love yourself unconditionally and love others unconditionally. And when that doesn’t work, forgive. Forgive yourself and forgive others. And then try loving again.

"It's about Joy!" 

"Thoughts become things....Choose the good ones!"

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