Spirituality in the Moment

Inspirational Articles

By Kathy Ryndak and Gord Riddell

Many people with an interest in Spirituality set out and read all the books, take lots of classes and talk to many people as they grapple with the numerous concepts in a very vast field. Our intellect can into to overdrive pulling apart theories and other peoples’ ideas as to what it should and should not be. Even defining Spirituality begins to create limitations for others as it is a highly personal experience. Defining Spirituality and then declaring there is only one pathway and/or one encompassing theory diminishes the divine and human experience as well as the potential for each individual to embrace the sacred in their own way.

Spirituality can be very intellectual but essentially it is a lived experience. The human mind is very limited in its ability to define such experiences. It is not unlike the intellect attempting to grasp our emotional mind and what feelings are. It is very hard to describe joy or sadness without having had those feelings and, even then, words can fail to adequately describe it. Our need to define and label everything, whether emotional or spiritual, creates limitations on our ability to fully live the overall experience. The key here is that spirituality is a personal lived experience. It is lived in the moment, and on a daily basis. It need not be elaborate, complicated or ritualistic. Even the smallest actions and thoughts reinforce how we choose to experience our spiritual nature and therefore our life in this world.

Living our Spirituality is to enhance our time on this planet. It is how we treat others and our self. It is to live with an inner sense of a connection to the world around us. It re-enforces that we are not alone on this journey, though at times, it may feel that way. To live consciously is not easy. It is much easier to go back into our habitual thoughts and actions than it is to live with awareness. Each day, especially in the beginning, requires us to make the decision as to how this day will be. Will it be lived consciously or from our habitual patterns that usually do nothing more than keeps us in the same place, experiencing the same things.

In The Moment

Here are some simple things we can do to live our Spirituality in the Moment.

Each Morning make a conscious decision as to how you want your day to be. Decide to come from your heart and embrace today’s adventure.
Smile at people, as is appropriate. Don’t let others’ bad moods wreck your day. You will be surprised at the mileage you get from a simple smile and the world needs a lot more smiles these days.
At times put others needs ahead of your own. They entire notion of ensuring your needs are always met is more ego centric than spiritual. At times other people need to be taken of and helped out along the way, which is living your spirituality.
Live from a place of gratitude. Be aware of all you have and stop focusing on what you do not have. Our world is full of blessings. Our job is to identify them and express gratitude for them. Universal energy bestows on us that which we direct our energy towards. The more you focus on what you do not have in your life the more you will keep attracting the same. If positive attracts positive then the opposite will be true that negative will attract negative.
Each day connect to the greater universal energy through meditation, prayer, contemplation or anything that resonates with you. If you need to, do it again later in the day to re-enforce your connection. It only takes a few minutes to do this.
Spend more time in Nature and the outdoors. Walk around your neighbourhood and admire peoples’ gardens. Walk instead of drive if possible. Enjoy the abundance of beauty available in your own backyard.
Live more in the moment and less in the past and future. Living in the Now is one of the surest ways to stay centered and calm on the inside.
Slow down. Everyone appears to be in such a hurry, rushing here and there. No wonder so many people have trouble with a simple smile when they are probably so agitated on the inside. Life is not a race.

Spirituality is not an exercise in theories and concepts. Spirituality is life in action. We need to do our spirituality, not think about it. The entire list above is far from comprehensive but these very easy, non time consuming activities as well as attitudes will enhance your life. Attitude plays a big role in our ability to make things happen for our self. We need to want to do these things. Some times it feels safer to just carry on and leave things as they are but then if we do nothing then nothing will ever change. Our physical, emotional and mental health is enhanced by living our Spirituality. Our sense of inner peace and calm lowers our blood pressure and heart rate, calms our digestion and makes sleep much easier. Now imagine if we all did this everyday so that each and every one of us left our home each morning calm and centered and maintained the inner sense throughout the day. The world truly would change for the better.