Tapestry of Faith: Spirit in Practice: An Adult Program for Developing A Regular Practice of the Spirit

Taking It Home: Life Practices

The following tips can help you develop spiritual awareness in the everyday.

Celebrate what you're already doing. Look for something you're already doing that you can begin to think of as a spiritual practice, in spite of (or perhaps because of) its mundane quality.

Add gently. Don't try to make yourself conscious of spirituality 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You'll make yourself crazy! Instead, choose one thing that you do regularly and commit to using that as a practice. The aim is not changing the activity so much as changing your consciousness while doing it.

Find a reminder. The Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh suggests letting the brake lights on the car in front of you stand in for a meditation bell. Whenever you see the car in front of you brake, remember to breathe in and be thankfully aware. Anything you encounter regularly could serve the same function. You could even set an alarm to go off at regular intervals throughout the day, calling you back to awareness.