Spiritual Practices

What are examples of spiritual practices?

Spiritual practices take many forms. Below are some examples of religious and spiritual practices that people use to develop, demonstrate, or further their spiritual growth or spiritual journey:

  • attending spiritual or religious ceremonies
  • daily prayer
  • creative endeavors
  • chanting
  • singing
  • acts of service to others
  • fasting/mindful eating 
  • asking spirit guides for guidance
  • physical exercise, yoga, etc.
  • working with singing bowls or attending a sound bath
  • communing with the angelic realm
  • creating ceremonies or rituals

Of course, there are many other spiritual practices people can choose. It is influenced by many things, including our background, personal beliefs, environment, lifestyle, and physical abilities. However, when someone elects to integrate spiritual practices into daily life, it’s about honoring their spirituality and relationship with themself and a higher power. A spiritual practice is a way in which people connect to the divine. 

It’s important to remember that spiritual practices can be inward or outward – they don’t always need to be an “activity”. As long as your practice continues to progress you on your spiritual path, it doesn’t matter if it happens within you or is something others can witness.

What is a daily spiritual practice? 

A daily spiritual practice is anything someone mindfully exercises that contributes to their spiritual journey and growth.

A good daily practice is anything that helps you be present in the now and centered. It may be setting an intention or affirmation for the day or even taking a moment to find something to be grateful for. Daily practices should shift your focus, create a higher dimension, and elevate your vibration to align with your spiritual purpose.

How can prioritizing your religious and spiritual health in your daily life impact your mental health? 

When you set an intention and focus on your spiritual health, you inherently make it a priority. You’re defining what is important to you and living your life in alignment with that. Anytime we do that and integrate what we value into our daily lives, we are positively impacting our mental health. 

By making spiritual practices part of daily life, you are increasing the connectedness you feel to yourself, others, and your higher power. This helps for many reasons, including to decrease any sense of loneliness or isolation. 

What are some reasons people spend time connecting with something bigger, like their higher power? 

When you connect with your higher power, you’re releasing your expectations. You want to let go of expectations because that is the root of a lot of anxiety. We release expectations because we often have no control over the outcome. When we release attachment to how something is going to happen, we affirm our faith in a higher power and our belief that we know everything will happen in perfect time. 

By spending time connecting with our higher power, we recognize that things are already in motion, and we trust that events will happen for our highest good. When we do that, we allow what is meant to be to enter our lives.

What are the benefits of creating spiritual traditions? 

Any tradition we practice in our lives fosters an understanding and awareness of where you’re at in life, whether it’s a religious custom, family tradition, or some other kind of tradition. Traditions are often used to honor things – holidays, significant dates, or people, change of seasons, etc.

Spiritual traditions give us rituals. They provide a sense of familiarity and ceremony to honor things that are important to us. Spiritual traditions are used in all kinds of belief systems and religions around the world. 

Many Native American tribes use sage or sweet grass to smudge during ceremonies. This is a tradition in that it is used to cleanse people and space. 

Shamanic practitioners have many traditions in their work. For instance, they may have a ceremony to mark the Vernal Equinox. 

In the Islamic religion, prayer is said five times per day. This is an important spiritual tradition that roots prayer as a constant in daily practices.

Many people are familiar with saying the Rosary Prayers. That too is a tradition that connects people in their spiritual journeys.