DR SANJAY TEOTIA suggests practical ways to increase your connection with the divine and to imbibe spiritual qualities in your daily life
A spiritual practice or spiritual discipline is the regular or full-time performance of spiritual exercises or a series of activities undertaken to induce spiritual experiences and to cultivate spiritual development within the Self. Spiritual practices may include prayer, meditation, chanting, breathing exercises, besides ceremonies or rituals.
Spirituality includes your daily interactions with other people. A daily spiritual practice could refer to any ritual that we perform daily to nurture our deep, inner being. A spiritual practice quietens the mind and brings us into a state of peace or harmony within. A daily spiritual practice is not about dogma or worship, but about tuning into your own sense of spirit.
There are three types of spiritual practices: reflection, relationships and faith rituals. There are various ways to practise spirituality like meditation and prayer. Prayer is usually done when we ask for help from the Supreme Being or from a deity to solve our problems. Also develop a gratitude practice.
Along with your spiritual practices, take care of your body, breathe and surrender. Spiritual wellness involves one’s values, beliefs and purpose and can be achieved in several ways both physically and mentally by exploring your spiritual core, and looking for deeper meaning to life. You can also try yoga, think positively and of course, meditate. A spiritual lifestyle in general includes a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves and it typically involves a search for meaning in life. Like your sense of purpose, your personal definition of spirituality may change throughout your life, adapting to your own experiences and relationships.
Five characteristics of spirituality include meaning; value; transcendence; connecting with oneself, others, God or supreme power and the environment; and becoming the growth and progress in life of one’s own self. Being a spiritual person is synonymous with being a person whose highest priority is to love yourself and others. A spiritual person cares about people, animals and the planet. A spiritual person knows that we are all one and consciously attempts to honour this oneness. A spiritual person is a kind person.
The Bhagavad Gita explores three different kinds of lives: one of inaction, no goals and no achievements; one of constant business and never-ending action; and one that’s not just about acquiring achievement and status for ourselves but a life of goodness and connection to others.
According to Krishna, it’s best to do the work we love and if it seems impossible to love what we are doing, we can still continue by being detached from the results. This doesn’t mean that we should avoid doing a good job but rather feeling pride and joy in the process itself. One always has control over doing our respective duty, but one has no control or claim over the results. This is among the key lessons of the Bhagavad Gita – that the fruits of work should not be our motive, but we shouldn’t be inactive either. While you should always have an outcome or result in mind, being detached from it, not defining ourselves by success or failure, will make you all the more effective. In other words, we are more than our resumes and to-do lists. Small, everyday rituals can bring comfort, create better lifestyle habits and set positive intentions while also gradually uncover a deeper purpose.
Start the day with a short meditation or prayer, adopt a practice of walking meditation, take short spiritual breaks throughout the day, and count your blessings. Establishing a daily spiritual practice helps to reinforce our awareness of spirit and God, and the universe – whatever you choose to call it in our day-to-day lives. These practices facilitate a purposeful, conscious reconnection with the truth of our being, our infinite divine nature, and the essence of our being.
Dr Sanjay Teotia is a senior consultant eye surgeon and Chief Medical Superintendent of District Hospital, Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. He is a prolific spiritual writer and his articles appear regularly in Navbharat Times and in Times of India, apart from YoursPositively
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