Buying groceries? Paying bills? Cleaning the house? Although they might sound like the most mundane of everyday tasks, you can actually make them a spiritual experience (which is a real blessing, ‘cause ain’t nobody got time to meditate for three hours a day).
Doing so will amplify the benefits of a spiritual practice, as you’ll be experiencing them multiple times a day—as opposed to only when you’re meditating, or at a yoga class, or watching the sun rise. Establishing a spiritual practice has a myriad of tangible benefits such as improved quality of life, better health, less anxiety and mental health struggles and, inevitably, more gratitude and compassion—so integrating more of it into your day can only be a good thing.
Here’s how to bring a hefty dose of spirituality into your daily life:
Take it to work
FYI, you don’t need to be a meditation teacher or yoga instructor to make work a spiritual experience. The first step is to notice that the classic workplace irritations—impossible-to-please coworkers, office gossip and unrealistic project expectations are pretty much part and parcel of every office. What’s important is to notice when these things happen, and identify small steps that can be taken to make them less all-consuming.
It could be as simple as setting aside 15 minutes of your lunch break each day to get outside (even if you work in the middle of the city—the vitamin D will do you good) or doing a breathwork exercise each time you feel that sneaky sense of overwhelm creeping up—but committing to making these changes will enhance your sense of spirituality each and every day.
You’ll know its working when your general sense of wellbeing is more positive, you feel more at ease and are infinitely less caught up in the trials and tribulations of everyday life.
Take it home again
‘Cause your relationships can all form part of your spiritual practice (and they damn well should).
Your relationships should make you feel spiritually alive through love, care and conversation that gives you a sense of being seen and heard. You can deepen the bonds with your nearest and dearest by asking probing questions and trying to engage with them on a deeper level. If someone doesn’t make you feel like your best self—whether it’s a friendship or romantic relationship, you need to remove them from your life. Doing so can feel tough at the time, but moving on from things that no longer serve you (including people) is one of the most spiritual things that you can do.
Which leads us onto…
Material things
Yup, the things that you surround yourself with in your home and how you present yourself to the world through clothing are spiritual practices within themselves. If it doesn’t feel like it’s authentically you, it doesn’t have a place in your home or your wardrobe.
Doing frequent wardrobe cleanses and maintaining a clean, tidy and fresh-feeling home is a simple way to ensure you’re putting your best, most authentic foot forward each and every day, and inhabiting a space that feels like home from the second you walk through the door.
Who said that unloading the dishwasher couldn’t be spiritual, eh?
