Spiritual Practice
We 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.
