The Spiritual Gym
11 Steps of Spiritual Practice
Our spiritual goal, whether it is a goal of Enlightenment, Awakening, or Ascension, is very similar to the goal of deadlifting 400 pounds. Except instead of training our muscles, we are training our awareness. Our time in the gym lifting weights is comparable to time going inward and meditating. Some of us reach our goals, but all of us will further ourselves by learning, growing, healing, and evolving along the way.
Whether we have a goal of deadlifting 400 pounds, or remembering our higher Self, we will need to take a series of steps as we move along our path.
1) Deciding to train:
The first step on our path is to set the intention, or to make the decision. The choice we are making is simple: we are choosing to show up for ourselves.
In the spiritual sense, this could be a decision to start on a spiritual path, or to remember yourself fully. It could also be a nonspecific goal, such as strengthening your energy system; or to learn, grow, heal, and evolve; or to be healthier.
2) Assessing ourselves honestly:
To assess ourselves, we must be a neutral observer. Where are we starting from? If we want to lift 400 pounds, how many pounds can we currently lift? What is our level of experience? Do we have the time, motivation, or room in our lives for this path?
To assess ourselves spiritually, we can ask similar questions. Where are we on our spiritual path? Are we an absolute beginner? Are we a spiritual guru? Or are we somewhere in between?
Being honest about our starting point will help us take the next steps toward our goal. If we are unable to be impartial or to observe ourselves neutrally, we may want to ask someone to read us. We might reach out to spiritual mentors in our community and ask them for a session or assessment.
Once we have our assessment, and are aware of our spiritual starting point, we may be ready to start our journey of enlightenment — just as a weight lifter would begin a course of weight training.
3) Choosing a gym/coach:
There are many different modalities to choose from, but all of them are rooted in the present moment, and we will be naturally drawn to the one that will be most beneficial to us. A quiet room in our house can serve as our place of practice.
Some may choose a self-guided approach. Maybe we have enough determination to be our own coach. Maybe we have already connected with our Self enough to gravitate to the books, videos, meditations, visualizations, or techniques that will help us take the next step on our path.
Some of us may prefer a more structured approach, such as a studio setting and a mentor to guide us along the way. We may feel more secure in a spiritual center, dojo, or yoga studio, or with a Reiki Master to help us stay on track.
4) Setting a schedule:
Setting a training schedule that is realistic to our goals and fits within our other obligations is a great place to start.
For the average person on a path of self-discovery, I recommend twenty minutes of meditation or Reiki every morning. A split schedule can work very well, too. Meditating for ten minutes in the morning can set us up for a wonderful day; and meditating for ten minutes in the evening can lead us into a good night’s sleep.
If a set schedule of meditation time is difficult, then we can try to take two-minute breaks as often as possible throughout the day. Perhaps we can ground ourselves while brushing our teeth, when stopped at red lights, or while waiting for the water to boil.
5) Learning the technique:
Lifting 400 pounds without first learning the proper technique is a recipe for injury. We must learn the technique, in whichever modality or form we are drawn to. We must practice with proper technique before increasing the weight. We must start small. In the gym we might start by lifting just the bar to get the form correct, and then we add weight.
On our spiritual path, it is similar. We cannot expect to meditate five hours at a time when first starting out. We begin with a few minutes of proper practice, and work our way up to the length of practice that matches our personal goals.
If we are first learning Reiki, for instance, ten to twenty minutes is plenty of time to learn the form. Just remember, a quality practice is always better than the quantity of practice.
6) Showing up:
We cannot lift 400 pounds by going to the gym once! We must practice! And then practice. And then practice some more!
Start by showing up for twenty-one days. This is the recommended time to build something into a habit. Once a habit is formed it feels more like fun, rather than an obligation. Getting to the gym every day then becomes much easier.
7) Gradually adding weight:
We have physical bodies and these bodies have limitations of their own. We can only practice to the point of our current ability. As our ability increases, we can lengthen our practice OR increase the intensity.
With our growing strength, we can then gradually increase the weight. This might mean lengthening the amount of time we can hold awareness of the present moment, and therefore, lengthening the time of our meditations. Or, this might mean increasing the amount of energy we are pulling into our system during our practice, such as from the Universe, God, or Source.
8) Resting and recharging:
Just like our muscles, our energy system and our consciousness need time to rest and reset. If we continually work them, they will not repair or heal themselves.
The more you work at this practice, the more you will need to rest and repair. We are not required to meditate eighteen hours a day in order to find ourselves, or to make changes in our lives. Start by “resting” as much as you are “doing”. Understand that as you “do” more you will need to “rest” more.
9) Listening to your body:
Learning to listen to what our body needs is part of following this path. As we integrate these spiritual changes we will experience changes to our body, both physical and nonphysical. With this work there are often changes in our diet, routine, modalities, sources of inspiration, and especially in our sleep schedule.
10) Looking at yourself honestly:
Let’s face it, we are not good at everything. We all have strengths and weaknesses. My superpowers might be the root chakra and the energy system, your superpowers might be the crown chakra and faith. We can work together! We can offer our strengths to others and ask for assistance from others in our weaker spots.
At the gym, a spotter or a coach can always see our form better than us. We can ask for feedback and be open to hearing their advice. It is our choice to integrate their advice, or not.
Ask for help. We all have blind spots. No one is good at everything. We can give ourselves permission to ask others for help. On the spiritual path, we can ask our friends and family for help. We can also go to yoga classes, Reiki sessions, or tai chi practice. We can find a spiritual healer to mentor us on our journey.
11) Perfectly imperfect:
This journey is not about being perfect. If anything, it is about the opposite: acknowledging that we are perfectly imperfect. This journey is about showing up. It is not about the results. We won’t always have “good” days.
We are learning something new. No one begins as an Olympic Gold Medalist or an enlightened guru. We are students. We are taking one step at a time toward a goal. We are all progressing on our unique path. We must look at the general trends we are generating, not at each individual session. This is a marathon, not a sprint. We must be patient and pace ourselves.
As a beginner it can be very easy to be discouraged because we are “not good at” this type of practice. We can give ourselves permission to “not be good at it” and keep showing up and doing the work — because that is the only way we will get better at it.
This is a practice. Your practice, my practice, our practice. Keep practicing.
💜🦄 Crystal
