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Spiritual PracticeWe often get confused when we hear the words "spiritual practice". We think of religion. Spirituality is really different from religion. Religion is an organized group of people with similar beliefs, who may or may not be spiritual. A Catholic Nun can practice spirituality through enhancing a practice of Buddhist Meditation. A spiritual practice is anything that we do on a daily basis to practice quieting our racing thoughts - our unruly ego so that we may look inside and see what is in our hearts and in our soul. Our thoughts are usually a result of believing what we were taught as a child - that we were not enough, that we were too much, that we would be abandoned if we had feelings. Listening to those thoughts are what creates suffering in our lives. Carl Jung once wrote " People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls." A spiritual practice is nothing more than a way to learn to connect with our own souls. It can consist of many different practices. The most common practice among spiritual groups in meditation - the process of quieting the mind. There are many ways to do this. Gardening, journal writing, exercising, yoga, tai-chi, walking the dog are all different ways that one can learn to connect with your inner self - your true self. Building a Spiritual Practice is the way to creating presence in your life. Presence is an essential part of a massage practice. We must do our own work to stay present with at client who is in pain. We must be able to feel ourselves fully to witness others awakening to their feelings. Massage is really about creating feelings in bodies through touch. When we are not in touch with ourselves and our inner needs, we will end up feeling drained and burned out. The way to avoid burnout or heal burnout is to find meaning in our lives through the building of a spiritual practice.
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