It’s been awhile since I last wrote an actual journal entry. I’ve been so busy with work, taking my cats to the vet, dealing with car troubles, the usual day to day stuff, that I haven’t sat down to just be. To think, to ponder, to reflect . . .
One of the thoughts I have started to ponder this week is my spiritual practices. About a year ago, I had several spiritual practices that I engaged in. At that time, we didn’t attend church or belong to some type of spiritual community so I did a lot of self-study. I had a couple inspiration/meditation books that I would read on occasion. But there were also a lot of things I did that felt like spiritual practices to me such as taking a sea salt bath or even dancing to spiritual music. Around December, when we moved and got married, there wasn’t much time to engage in any spiritual practices so I got out the swing of things, but we did start attending church..
Since we come from different religious backgrounds, my husband and I have always practiced our faith in the home. In our own home, we could find a nice common ground between his Southern Baptist upbringing and my Catholic heritage. However, when we decided to tie the knot the importance of deciding how to merge our faiths became more pending.
Unlike most couples that take months, sometimes even a couple of years, we planned our wedding in two weeks. And no, I was not pregnant, and we did not run off to Jamaica. But somehow, whether through a miracle by God or simple luck, we found a wonderful church to be married in that embraced both of our faith backgrounds. However, the downside of our church is the service length. Now that we are in the next stage in our lives, and we are trying to find our first home, we just don’t have four hours to devote to church on Sunday. Now, I know your jaw probably dropped at the sight of four hours. But that includes the roundtrip one hour driving time. Not to mention, part of the time is spent eating a potluck lunch that is after every service, which is a great way to actually discuss what went on in the service or to simply chit chat if you have the time. But even if we didn’t attend the pot luck, the actual service does run around two hours since we sing around four songs before starting the rest of the service, which is similar to Catholic mass. And while the sermons do run long, they are the best ones I have ever heard. Unlike some sermons that put you to sleep, these sermons make you think, and they also often connect with what is going on in the world around us. So all in all, it’s a good thing. But with us, hunting for houses, we haven’t been to church in over a month. And with me, being the weird person that I am, I feel the loss of this spiritual practice.
Of course, the alternative to church would be personal prayer or meditation or even the simple act of lighting a candle. But as I mentioned, I got out of the swing of things. When we started to attend church on a regular basis, I started to devote my free time to my art, which is another equally important aspect of my life.
When I first posted the question to ponder this week, I was curious to see how others would respond. Often, the word “spiritual practices” brings up traditional expressions of the word . . . church, prayer, meditation. But to me, spiritual practices can mean many different things. To me, a spiritual practice can be anything that makes you feel closer to divinity, anything that enlightens you. Honestly, I consider gardening to be a spiritual practice in certain circumstances. But keep in mind, even church is not a spiritual practice if you are not in that frame of mind.
To me, one of the most spiritually powerful acts is simply walking. However, as I have mentioned before, my husband doesn’t like the idea of me walking alone. Not to mention, no matter what time of day it is, it’s hot and humid where I live. And no, treadmills don’t count. To get the effect, I have to be outside. While this might sound funny, I feel disconnected from life if I am stuck inside a building all day. There’s just something to getting away from our technology driven lives and being able to experience nature. The funny part is that I married a techno nerd. However, it does have it’s advantages . . .
Last night when I posted the question to ponder, I decided to do a simple spiritual practice. I got out my cd player. Popped in one of my favorites . . . delerium. I lit some candles and incense. And then I took a shower. Yes, a shower and not a bath. But with the lighting, the music, it was enchanting.
Sometimes music alone is enough to send us back to a moment in time. It had been awhile since I listened to the cd. But it still conquers up feelings of being at peace, of magic and wonder. And the funny part was that my cat, Cleo, even got excited. She loves when I light candles and incense and play this cd. To her, it represents happy, magickal times.
As I was in the shower, I thought about what exactly was the common theme in my spiritual practices that called out to me. And the first thing that popped in my head was the four elements: earth, water, fire, and air.
Most of the spiritual practices that call out to me can be connected back to the four elements. When I am walking, I feel a connection to earth. When I take a bath, I feel a connection to water. And of course, fire and air represent candles and incenses.
One thing that is left out is our spiritual connections to the people around us. Engaging in church, bible study, meditation groups, all of these activities can be spirituality enlightening. While we can do a lot of self-study on our own, nothing can replace the power of human interaction. To me, there is something that can occur when you engage in a powerful conversation with another person.
