When I refer to spiritual practices, I mean developing those practices that connect you to inner wisdom. They might require discipline at first, if we aren’t in the habit of using a practice to reconnect us with our inner wisdom, or our life-affirming values, or the divine. Over time, they hopefully become habitual—ways that we rehearse connection to the point that we intuitively turn to a practice when we most need to recenter or recalibrate.

Under this umbrella, I include classic spiritual practices of meditation, prayer, yoga, solitude, and so on. I also include getting into counseling, meeting with an AA sponsor, having a coach, and slowing the pace of your life down so that you can reflect on your experience. I’m also talking about having eating, sleeping, and exercise practices that are nourishing. All of these things have impact and/or give you access to your inner life.

Anything that helps you connect with your inner wisdom can be engaged as a spiritual practice. And also, if you aren’t using a practice to connect more intentionally with your inner wisdom, or the divine, or your life affirming values—it isn’t a spiritual practice. Even prayer or meditation can be empty and unhelpful if we aren’t allowing those practices to connect us with those things that matter most deeply to us. By bringing all of who we are into our practices, they become infused with spiritual vitality.

Spiritual practices have something in common with anything else we want to be really good at. They take time and repetition. Some young athletes try to emulate their professional superstar heroes and fall short because they only see the cumulative result of hours and hours that professional athlete spent exercising and drilling and… practicing. 

When I was a younger pianist, I would hear an amazing performance of a beautiful piece of music, and I wanted to duplicate it the first time I sat down to sightread the piece. No matter how good I might be at sightreading, any confident, impeccable performance is preceded by many hours of practice. We don’t do anything by impromptu, spur of the moment brilliance. Why would we expect spirituality to be any different?  

It’s also worth naming that spiritual practices aren’t ends in and of themselves. Far too often, we might do something like ritualistically set aside half an hour in the mornings because we have a vague sense that this is “the right thing to do.” Maybe we believe that just engaging in a particular practice brings wholeness. When we see a practice as an end unto itself rather than a tool to help us connect with our inner wisdom or the divine, we fall into the traps of checklists and busyness. We might even get the illusion of enlightenment and forward motion without actually yielding any growth within ourselves. Once we recognize that spiritual practices are a means and not an end, they become a powerful tool for transformation.

So, when you engaged in Sunday’s reflection questions about vision casting, how did you become aware of where you are in current reality and what compelling vision awaits on the other side of the gap? The landscape of that gap might offer insight into what spiritual practices could be useful. 

Once you’ve determined what specific vision of shalom is inviting you forward, consider what practices would be the most helpful. Are you seeking peace? Consider cultivating a regular practice of stillness and solitude. Do you struggle with shame? Try meditating on the meaning of inherent worth or connecting to a coach or a counselor who can provide a safe listening space. Are you lacking joy? Try regularly engaging in an activity that makes you feel fully alive—art, music, athletics, cooking. 

The important thing to remember is that any given practice is only effective insofar as it helps you to connect—with the divine, with your inner wisdom, with your life-affirming values. And through that connection, we find a way to live in the gap and maybe inch a little closer toward a vision of shalom.

Share this post: