Practices for Spiritual Deepening

You wouldn’t expect to learn to how to play tennis by watching videos or reading the rules of the game. Only practice teaches us how to play! Spiritual practice is the most important and rewarding kind of “play” because it enables us to to interrupt the painful constriction of difficult moments, breathe free and expand into life again. Spiritual practices bridge the gap between the suffering we want to release and the inner clarity and peace we long to experience. They renew our Awareness and Alignment with Source, allowing us to see how best to respond with positive and creative Action now.

Rev. Cat brings in-depth experience to working with the following spiritual practices. Read through. Notice if there are one or more spiritual practices that sparks your interest to explore or take deeper.

Open-hearted Listening:  Open-Hearted Listening opens the way to releasing and transforming the “stuck places” in any relationship.  Specific, simple (though not always easy!) speaking, listening and reflecting skills build mutual empathy, creating breakthroughs that renew caring and trust and lead to solutions everyone can live with. Learn how to express yourself in ways that lead to mutual understanding - without giving yourself away! This life-changing communication practice dissolves even seemingly insurmountable obstacles to connection.  One person practicing open-hearted listening begins the shift!

Mindfulness: Mindfulness practice is foundational. It stops the internal “spinning,” grounding us in the present moment and our immediate experience with simple awareness and acceptance of what is.

Prayer: “I pray not to change God, but to change myself,” said C.S. Lewis. Yes! Prayer is deeply personal A prayer that is meaningful - whether one you have long cherished or one you compose today - will bring you back into alignment with your own soul and Spirit flowing to you.

Breath Prayer: A prayer of two lines - 5 to 7 syllables that you find centering and that can be recited silently with the breath until the effect is felt. One example: Breathing In…Holy Love. Breathing Out…Holy Flow.

Breath Practice: Breath practices are powerful tools to interrupt the "fight, flight or freeze” responses triggered by stress. They bring body, mind and spirit back in sync and restore emotional balance.

Meditation: Meditation is an ancient, core practice for renewal. It returns us to the peace and stillness of our Inner Being and the felt sense of oneness with All that Is. There is no one right way to meditate! Sounds, images or a mantra can be included. Walking meditation is a practice in itself. Find the practice that works best for you.

EFT - Emotional Freedom Technique: EFT is an extremely simple, but truly transformative process for releasing the trauma and pain (both emotional and physical) originating in both the past and in the present. Pain is a part of life. Suffering doesn’t have to be. Through guided self-tapping on acupressure points on your face and body, while allowing what hurts to surface and receive your compassionate acceptance, release happens.

Enneagram: The Enneagram is a theory of personality and spiritual development that reveals our personal challenges and opportunities for growth. Enneagram study offers a deep dive and unique lens into self-understanding. Discovering which of the nine essential personality patterns you embody - and the strengths and blind spots of each - allows you to see how the world looks to you, as well as to important others in your life. It’s not the same! The Enneagram allows you to catch and “unhook” from default patterns that are not serving you and move towards integrating your gifts and living your fullest potential.

Guided Visualization: Guided visualization is a form of prayer that combines affirmation and intuitive listening. Tune in to how Sprit is inviting you forward in your own life now. Through the images that emerge, a channel is opened to your personal unconscious and the Infinite Intelligence beyond that is nudging you towards your most creative and life-giving possibilities now.

Dreamwork: All dreams come in the service of health and wholeness! Nightmares especially ask for our attention to what is most important to make conscious now. Recalling and retelling dreams is as ancient as humanity itself. Through dreams, the unconscious – both personal and collective - speaks to us, offering insights and guidance into the deeper meaning of our past and present experiences and revealing the ever-present, life-giving possibilities in the now.

Journaling: A journaling practice gives you a snapshot of yourself in the moment and a record of yourself as you evolve. Doing it can, and should, be completely personalized. To you want to speak, type or handwrite your journal? Make it an opportunity, not a task! A spontaneous spontaneous poem in free verse, a three line haiku, a daily reflection question, a handwritten “three pages a day” are just a few of the possibilities. What form of journaling lets you give yourself the gift of time to “come back home” to yourself?

Inquiry (The Work): All spiritual traditions include approaches to Inquiry – a deep questioning of the limiting power of our beliefs and a release of those that are untrue and no longer serve to protect us, as perhaps they once did. This allows us to see and live into deeper truths and new possibilities. One of the best known approaches to Inquiry today is “The Work,” a dialogue process we can engage together. Inquiry is a powerful tool for making conscious and releasing the patterned beliefs that are holding us back.

Lectio Divina: This practice, which translates as “divine reading” comes out of the Christian monastic tradition. It involves turning to a book of scripture - traditionally the Bible, but actually any sacred text that speaks to you - and intuitively choosing a passage at random, and then meditating on it. Reread the passage several times. Why did the Universe guide you here? Stay with it until the meaning of the passage for you now reveals itself.

Singing/Chanting: Singing and chanting are among the most ancient spiritual practices and are found in all the worlds religions. They take us deep into connection with Self, Source and others. Whether or not you have a community to sing and chant with - which is ideal - you can add this resource into your life by exploring online and choosing songs and chants that speak to you. Notice what happens when you learn one and stay with it until in “drops down” inside you and you incorporate it into your day

Dancing/Movement/Yoga: Finding the right movement practices for yourself, no matter your age or bodily condition, is a powerful way of connecting your physical, emotional and spiritual energies. Developing comfortable familiarity with a few simple movements - ranging from the Tai Chi Water Exercises to Chair Yoga - can refresh and reenergize you, bringing you back into self-connection.

Energy Body Renewal: When you feel drained and depleted, energy work can provide both renewal and guidance. The Aura - the “golden bubble” of the energy body surrounding your physical body - and the Chakras - key points of energy exchange with the universal energy field are real. Visualization and breath practices can enable you to connect with and utilize this resource.

Photo by gurupathi from Etsy

Grounding Your Energy: Stress and trauma can easily leave us feeling unsure of how to sense and hold our own space. Grounding practices combine breath, movement and visualization to help us feel and protect our personal space, bringing awareness to both our energetic core and edges.

Nature: Hospital patients with a window view of trees or a garden recover faster. Wherever you are, you can find renewal by connecting with the natural world. Feel the difference when you take time daily to breathe in natural beauty for at least ten minutes.

Art: Everyone is an artist, because everyone has the need and capacity for self-expression. Tell your inner critic to take a nap. Notice what mediums spark your interest or curiosity. Let yourself play.

Blythe Greene, Ph.D.

"Aim to reach the point where you speak – and do – only that with which your soul aligns. What is the life-giving choice now?” -  Rev. Cat