You May Spiritually Satisfy Yourself

Do you have a spiritual practice? Do you pray? Do you meditate? Do you have a practice that anchors you in the present? What are your natural moments of peace during your day? Here are my three areas of spiritual practice. This list is by no means the end all... it’s the beginning.

1. Practices of personal cultivation, attention and exploration.

   • Meditation, contemplation, lectio divina, centering prayer techniques - capturing your attention

   • Awareness and consciousness development   

   • Prayer - intentionally communicating with the Divine

   • Breathing techniques - breath prayer, mantras

   • Virtue techniques - loving-kindness, giving  

   • Somatic Techniques - understanding the body, its movement and flow among spirit, yoga

   • Chanting - allowing sound, vibration and energy to represent spiritual flow 

   • Self-discipline - avoidance of indulgence, fasting, vows of silence,

2. Practices of learning, understanding, absorbing

   • Reading - books, scriptures, poems, etc.

   • Listening - podcasts, talks, seminars  

   • Community - teacher, spiritual director relationships, seminars, conferences

   • Belief and or faith systems  

3. Practices of external action

   • Rituals - communion, baptisms

   • Service to community and self (helping the poor) 

   • Ethics - following a set of principles - In Buddhism, the five basic precepts are: (1) do not cause harm; (2) do not say what is untrue; (3) do not take what is not given; (4) do not engage in sexual misbehavior; (5) do not use intoxicants. Most traditions have similar instructions.

Examples of Christian spiritual practice born out of monastic practice

There is no “complete” list of spiritual practices or disciplines.

• Contemplative Practice 

• Meditation

• Prayer

• Fasting

• Simplicity

• Fellowship

• Journaling

• Chastity

• Stewardship

• Obedience

• Study

• Confession

• Solitude

• Self-Examination

• Silence

Want to know more or have questions… please call or write 619.964.0337 / jr@jrmahon.com

---

Are you interested in spiritual direction? Here’s how to get started.

Step 1. Schedule a complimentary, no-obligation consult. Do that here.

Step 2. Watch your email for questions from me. Before we hop on the phone, I’d like to know a bit about you and what you’d like to get out of spiritual direction or coaching with me.

Step 3. Hit “reply” to that email and answer the questions.

Step 4. At the scheduled time of your consult, we’ll talk! We’ll use the opportunity to make sure we’re the perfect fit.

Step 5. Then we’ll get started! If you decide to work with me, I’ll tell you the exact steps for getting started. If you decide not to work with me or if we aren’t a perfect fit, I’m happy to share other resources to help you get what you need.

Have questions? You can call me… 619.964.0337