Devotional Self-Care

I live in a very secular city. The notion of entering into a house of worship isn’t necessarily frowned upon, but it certainly isn’t encouraged. I truly believe this subtle contempt is only made out of a place of ignorance and fear. We are a passive group who like to go about our days without stepping on the toes of others, and bringing up the taboo topic of divinity is sure to maim, so we navigate our cordial greetings wide of the subject.

Spirituality has become a great commodity these days. We sense that there might really be something there, but we find a few sticking points when it comes to religion that checks off our rejection box and we turn away. Deciding on how you want to meet God through Jesus, Buddha, and Allah are rather unappealing at first, I get it. But, the real question you might ask yourself about all of these basics of faith is if you believe in your heart of hearts that all these people can be wrong? Would every single one of these millions up millions of people be wrong about their beliefs? The varied range of the followers is vast remember.

My relationship with the divine has evolved at a molasses pace, infuriatingly slow. In the first few years of my seeking journey to help pacify my confusion on the topic of God, I found myself latching on to the beliefs of others. This actually does work, but maybe only for a few days or weeks and you hit a wall and are left feeling even more disconnected.

I’m more comfortable with my shallow roots of understanding in my spiritual connection because I have rubbed shoulders with some spiritual giants in my own community who have been at it for 30 or 40 years and still seeking to better understand God. It is an imperfect process that I am probably not qualified to speak on because I may be truly wrong in the path I selected. The fact the path to the divine is winding and narrow at times, but you always arrive at another checkpoint as long as you persist in your seeking process. More will be revealed. You don’t need to know whether you’ve chosen the perfect path to God, it will be revealed to you on a personal level whether you have or not.

The most obvious Biblical reference to more being revealed to him is the man who is attributed with writing a huge portion of the New Testament, Paul(Saul). He dedicated his life to Judaism and adhered to the laws with zeal, to the point where he would chase after believers of Jesus like a wicked hunt – capture and destroy, and he reveled in it. Then one day he had another spiritual awakening where God revealed Himself to Paul in a big way, and the rest is history.

This isn’t a sales pitch for you to join my walk as a fellow Christain, the point for you to recognize is that Paul could have never in his wildest dreams thought he would find a new spiritual path to follow, but he did. I try to keep that same open-mindedness to my own spiritual path and trust that God will reveal to me what I need to hear and think when the time is right.

I have been blessed with this great capacity to get overwhelmed very easily, so I need basic steps if I am to succeed at anything. Practicing pragmaticism on my journey into the divine has helped me tremendously.

To help others who might be starting on their own spiritual path, I thought I would break up the massive elephant that is seeking God into smaller digestible pieces. The chief activator that I have witnessed for my mini breakthroughs comes not only from my decision to seek the divine but also from devotion to the NOW – the present moment.

In the book The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz breaks down one practical step in which will help you become more comfortable with slowing the mind down and placing yourself in the present moment.

“ I make everything a ritual, and I always do my best. Taking a shower is a ritual for me, and with that action I tell my body how much I love it. I feel and enjoy the water on my body. I do my best to fulfill the needs of my body. I do my best to give to my body and to receive what my body gives to me.”

This simple process of being aware of the water cascading over the body can be viewed as an act of gratitude, and a simple way you gently align yourself with the present, and then hopefully the spirit.

Remember to be gentle on yourself. You can’t be perfect at this process, as much as your mind might be telling you otherwise. Eventually, you too will come to realize that more is being revealed the more you become intentional about your very own spiritual walk.

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