Tag: Sabbath

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I’m sharing 7 Books that helped me craft my spiritual practice

Being called to integrate spiritual practice into your life can be challenging if you do not follow any one traditional spiritual path. Sometimes I yearned for the certainty of an atheist, but despite growing up in an unchurched family, I knew through experience there was something greater than myself before I was five. After decades of searching and trying to fit my beliefs into the ‘too small’ boxes of traditional paths, I gave up and decided to craft my own. Below are 7 books I used to help design my practice.

Everyday Spiritual Practice: Simple Pathways for Enriching Your Life edited by Scott W. Alexander. Learn how to make every day more sacred.

Learning to Dance Inside: Getting to the Heart of Meditation by George Fowler. Discover the benefits of meditation.

Writing to Wake the Soul: Opening the Sacred Conversation Within by Karen Hering. Awaken the ‘still, small voice within’.

Relig-ish: Soulful Living in a Spiritual-But-Not-Religious World by Rachelle Mee-Chapman. Creating your set of eclectic spiritual practices is a way to respond to an expanding world.

Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in our Busy Lives by Wayne Muller. Learn to create your own Sabbath.

Create Your Personal Sacred Text: Develop and Celebrate Your Spiritual Life by Bobbi L. Parish. A step-by-step guide to writing your own scripture using selections from major sacred tests, secular sources, and your own words.

Forty Days to Begin a Spiritual Life: Today’s Most Inspiring Teachers Help You on Your Way by Maura Shaw and the editors at Skylight Paths. Set your own course of self-examination, reflection, and spiritual transformation.

These aren’t the only books I used, but the most impactful. If you, like me, don’t fit neatly into a prescribed path but feel called, perhaps they can help you start crafting your spiritual practice.

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The One Question That Forced Me to Transform My Life

Are you afraid to rest? Feel as if you have too much to do, but somehow diligently accomplish everything? Feel responsible for making sure everything goes right, for everyone, everywhere? Experience guilt if you sleep in, go to bed early, or take a nap?

That was me until about six months ago. After having a major health scare, largely brought on by stress, and being forced to resign from many of my commitments, I had to find a healthier way to move forward. After telling my therapist that I felt responsible for letting so many people down, she asked me, “What is your responsibility to yourself?”

I was stunned, as no one (including myself) had ever asked me that question before. That one question forced me to re-evaluate my life in light of all that I still want to accomplish. I decided everything I want to do with the rest of my life depends on me having a healthy heart and physical health.

Steps I have taken

Scheduling Free Time – My therapist challenged me to a 1:2 ratio with 1 part work and contribution and 2 parts free time for other pursuits. I’m working toward that. I’m about 1:1. I calendar my free time.

Being mindful– When I am doing a task, including chopping vegetables or washing the dishes, I stay present in the moment.

Keeping Sabbath – The word Sabbath comes from a Hebrew word meaning “day of rest”. I do my best to keep one day free to rest, read for fun, or just noodling around.

Daily Journaling – I do morning pages every day, but I also keep a second journal for daily observations. There, I write about my guilt and regrets, and every day I begin by writing the question, “What is my responsibility to myself?”

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Are you a workaholic? Tips to organize your way to less stress and more peace

Are you trying to ease your work stress while still being productive? I’m sharing some things I’m doing that have helped.

Non-stop work has been my only vice for my entire life. I often worked 7 days a week. I was proud of this until a few months ago. I had a major health scare and ended up in the Emergency Room. The doctor gave it to me straight – get rid of the stress and learn to relax, or I was likely to die sooner rather than later.

With that incentive, I looked at my life to figure out how and where to make effective changes. I worked to create a system that I could (and would) follow.

Here are the changes I have made:

Quitting time: I end my days at 3 pm or earlier every day. I have insomnia and start work when I get up for the day, sometimes as early as 2 am.

Take all breaks: I used to sit for hours without a break. Now, I use the Pomodoro Method and take breaks after 25 minutes.

Walk regularly: I diligently try to walk at least 5 minutes out of every 30 minutes. Basically, after each Pomodoro Break.

Sabbath Day: It’s not just for Christians. We all need a weekly day of rest.

Artist’s Date: This comes from author Julia Cameron, who advises taking an Artist’s Date each week. Rules are: be alone, for at least an hour, doing anything that sparks your curiosity.

Practice Heart-Centered Breathing: I do this at least 3x each day for at least 3 minutes.

Done List: I write down every task as I finish it on a sticky note on my computer.

Daily Wrap-up: At the end of every day, in a designated notebook, I note all my finished tasks for the day. I then write what went well, what could have gone better, and what I want to do next time, or the next day. This puts a nice successful period on the end of my day.

There are a few more things I do daily, but I find these are key. I’m still tweaking my system, but I’ve noticed a definite difference in my blood pressure and how I feel. You will too.