While facilitating a sacred circle one day a participant who was navigating like many of us through rocky times began emoting while sharing her story. As is pretty common, for women especially, she apologized for crying and for not being very “spiritual.” I asked her what she meant by not being very “spiritual” and she replied, “You know, not holy or peaceful.” This led to a beautiful sharing by everyone on what it really means to be spiritual.
It’s not all hands folded in prayer, head bowed over beads. That’s lovely and it’s so much more.
One misconception we tend to hold is that we’re not spiritual unless we’re feeling happy, grateful or at peace.
Another one is that to be spiritual one has to engage in certain practices like meditation at the crack of dawn.
I’d like to turn these upside down right here and now for you.
So what does it mean to be spiritual?
As you read each line, notice how your body is responding.
To Be Spiritual Is…
To feel connected to your Self and others,
To know your purpose and be following it,
To not have a clue about your purpose, and to keep asking the question,
To feel everything from your numbness to your aliveness,
To get down and dirty in the muck of your life, not deterred by the mess,
To look with wonder at both a sunset and a hill of ants,
To sit out in a rainstorm, tears and raindrops intermingling,
To dance naked under the moonlight,
To honor your shyness around nudity,
To feel the singing of your groins all the way to your heart,
To make sweet delicious love to your beloved or to yourself,
To stand up for justice even when it feels there’s no hope for change,
To sit side by side with sisters, while tears wash down your cheeks and snot runs from your nose,
To cloak your vulnerable heart at certain times and hold it out in the palm of your hand at other times,
To move your body in its own chaotic rhythm like flames of fire even when others are watching,
To collapse in the arms of a trusted loved one when the world has beaten you down,
To create from a pull so deep within, you can only surrender to Her directions, Her colors, Her voice,
To yearn, to long for, to desire,
To smell a flower that has no scent,
To reach a hand to a moon so full you imagine you could touch it,
To sink teeth into a ripe, sweet peach, letting the juices run down your throat,
To walk barefoot so much you realize too late you forgot shoes for driving,
To roll back over in bed, pulling covers over tight, overcome by a dawn of grief,
To meet a stranger’s eye, a homeless man with a smile and a nod,
To flirt with the cute cashier at the grocery,
To belt out your loudest roar of rage to no one but yourself,
To claim, “I don’t know”, to ask for help, to plea with God/Goddess,
To carve messages in the sand, trusting someone behind you may need it as much as you.
Did any of the above cause your body to contract?
Where did you feel expansion?
Just observations to be curious about.
Now, what does it mean to YOU to be SPIRITUAL?
What would it feel like to claim out loud, “I AM SPIRITUAL”?
We’re meant to weave the spiritual into our everyday lives, merging the physical with the spiritual, earth with the heavens, the sacred into the daily grind. Here’s where the magic lies!
And it can be very beneficial to engage regularly in those practices that feel purely “spiritual” to you, as long as those practices don’t feel like a “should” or “supposed to”.
The trick I’ve found is to be in flow and stay open, listening to what feels best on any particular day. Then to carry what you’ve received with you throughout the rest of your day, allowing the mystery to work you.
If you’d like to bring more magic and sacredness into your everyday, I’d love to have a chat with you so you can better understand how. Schedule a Discovery Call here.
Original article posted on Medium.com
Featured image by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash