Understanding spirituality and its benefits is difficult for most modern people right now.
On one hand, it seems to be trendy, and many people are “practicing” something. On the other hand, spiritual practices are often associated with something utterly incomprehensible and far removed from reality.
The “spiritual brotherhood” is portrayed as airy-fairy, exalted young women, yogis twisted into knots, and “brainwashed” sect members.
Perhaps in their extreme manifestations, adherents do go so far as to act strangely, baffling those around them and becoming caricatures.
But in reality, serious spiritual practices are not at all ridiculous or detached from life. On the contrary, by their very name they are:
a) strictly practical, meaning they require effort and bring tangible benefits,
b) they develop and strengthen the spirit of a person, that is, their best moral qualities, will, intuition, and compassion. They fill a person with new knowledge and reveal clarity of thought.
And, for those who understand, these practices provide an opportunity to feel and strengthen the connection with your Soul, your Higher Self, which greatly helps us in our development and in finding answers to important questions.
In this article, we will begin to look at the main types of spiritual practices and the benefits each one brings.
Spiritual Practices: Beginner Level
1. Meditation
Essence: Meditation is the practice of diving deep within yourself, concentrating on some external or internal object. This could be contemplating a candle flame, bodily sensations, or inner visual images.
The main thing is freeing yourself from extraneous thoughts and emotions during meditation, achieving purity of mind. Visual meditations are popular now, where the participant embarks on a real inner journey, with a transformational effect as a result.
Benefits: Calming and relaxing the mind and body, bringing the brain into an alpha or theta state (slower brainwaves compared to the everyday waking state). Also, developing the skill of concentrating your consciousness on what is essential, which is often necessary for responsible work.
See also “5 situations when you need meditation”
You can also take part in group meditations, whose power of effect is amplified by the energy of a large number of people.
2. Yoga, Martial Arts, and Other Body-Mind Systems
Essence: A healthy spirit in a healthy body; one doesn’t work without the other. A weak and sick organism cannot withstand increasing vibrations and energies. Besides, it’s hard to focus on success or personal growth when something hurts here, something doesn’t bend there…
Various psychophysiological systems, both ancient and modern, are designed to strengthen the spirit through the body. It is important to perform physical exercises regularly and consciously, and to listen to the instructor.
Benefits: Health, beauty, and flexibility of the body. These practices develop willpower, patience, and attentive listening to yourself, other people, and the world around you (intuition).
Masters of yoga and martial arts, at a certain level, begin to “see” the energy of people and the surrounding space, which allows them to make the right decisions in any situation.
See also The Paradoxical Cause of Excess Weight, and How to Deal with It
To continue your spiritual development and maintain your health, exercise is essential. Choose a training system that resonates with you (dance, swimming, yoga), for at least 1 hour a day and several times a week.
3. Breathwork and Energy Practices
This could have been included in the previous point, but I’m highlighting it separately. Entire schools have already formed around breathwork, and it deserves its own section.
The Essence: Breathing is the most important mechanism of life and the body’s self-regulation; the rhythm of breathing underpins the work of most of our body’s systems. The essence of breathwork practices lies in observing your breathing and controlling it. Additionally, mental images of energy moving with the breath are incorporated, which enhances the effect.
The Benefits: Controlling and managing your breathing quickly changes brain activity (slowing it down or significantly speeding it up), which affects your consciousness. As a result, a person experiences specific sensations, may see images, and can “pull out” and work through psychological traumas.
And, of course, with the right approach to practice, you can strengthen your body and even heal certain ailments (because the lungs get a good workout, the blood is better cleansed, and it reaches usually “neglected” corners of the body).
See also 10 Favorite Practices from the Keys of Mastery
Every practice conducted under my guidance begins with heart breathing. Its essence is simple: you train yourself to breathe through the center of your chest, where the spiritual heart is located.
4. Asceticism
The Essence: A voluntary vow or self-limitation aimed at achieving spiritual goals. This is a very effective and beneficial practice. But, unfortunately, due to its association with religious “mortification of the flesh,” asceticism is not as popular nowadays. Let me try to change that.
Asceticism doesn’t necessarily involve suffering and self-torture. Many mature religions, by the way, have already moved away from that.
Asceticism, in essence, is merely redirecting your energy and attention from comfort and excess towards personal growth, achieving a goal, and clarity of consciousness (“Divine grace”).
Asceticism includes:
- fasting (going without food, giving up certain foods),
- abstinence (sexual, verbal – for example, not using swear words or complete silence, giving up television),
- hermitage or solitude,
- labor (for example, restoring a temple with your own hands) and much more.
You determine the strictness, duration, and purpose of your ascetic practice yourself.
The Benefits: Your self-respect and willpower increase – because you are managing your ascetic practice, feeling your own strength and control over primitive instincts.
The freed-up energy is directed toward your goals. Test it yourself: even a small act of asceticism – for example, not watching TV for three days – immediately opens up enormous resources of energy and time for you.
A side effect can be improved health (for example, during a fast, the body undergoes physical cleansing) and mental clarity.
WARNING! It’s important that a temporary spiritual practice does not turn into a destructive spiritual vow or oath — for example, a vow of celibacy, non-possessiveness, eternal service, or self-limitation.
I haven’t told you about all spiritual practices. There are several more types, including prayer, working with places of power, mantras, rituals, and much more.
The next material in the series Types of Spiritual Practices and Their Benefits for Life. Part 2
But I think it’s already clear to you that spiritual practices are not just a “trendy hobby,” but an essential component of a lifestyle for any reasonable person.