Carl Jung Red Book Mandala
We like to believe that working and tending our homes and families is enough. Truly, it is a monumental and life’s work.
But if you don’t tend to yourself, your family, work & home will suffer.
Yoga teacher Shiva Rea speaks of the Practice as the dance with your Soul.
Only you can meditate, only you can practice your yoga, only you can create your artwork, only you can make your music, only you can sing your songs, dance your dance, knit, quilt, sew – whatever your Practice is. This is not something that you “have to do,” that you drag your feet as you approach the Practice – it is something that will uplift you and give you more than you offer it.
It is your very Soul, and the opportunity to dance with that place of G-d within you.
I don’t care what your practice is. It might be balancing a spoon on your nose, it might be time spent with your dog. But it’s not just “time alone,” it needs to be something that builds upon itself, that has the potential to spiral up into skill and mastery. If it is time spent with your dog, how does that deepen and grow? (hint: the daily walk is a chore and possibly an escape – unless you add the element of Practice to it) I used to train dogs, and the time spent training them was good for me, too – we both learned and grew. So your Practice is not just sitting with a cup of tea in the afternoon – unless you are striving to make that tea time better in quality with each session.
Let’s say that a cup of tea in the afternoon is your Practice. Can you bless the tea or give thanks, meditate on the people who made this tea possible for you, before you start steeping? How clean is the water? Feel the connection between the water and your own body. Exactly how hot is the water? Are the boiling bubbles “shrimp eyes” (for green tea) or “fish eyes” (for black)? What do you do while the tea is steeping? Is this a time to check in with your body, take a deep breath and let go of your thoughts? Perhaps you want to spend this time in your heart centre, cherishing the things that you love, and opening and expanding to forgiveness, kindness, and love. (hint: this is not a time for thinking-thinking-thinking or problem solving – those are just rumination, and you don’t need to Practice that!) Okay, your tea is steeped – have you blessed the cup which will contain the tea? Do you bless yourself as you take the tea in? How about some gratitude for this moment in time, this simple and nourishing thing? Tea can be a rich and deep spiritual practice, if you open yourself to the Mindfulness of the moment.
This turns your daily cuppa into a Daily Practice, and as you gain mastery, a Daily Ceremony. As you Practice your tea, the quality of the practice and the time spent with your soul will reward you.
The reason we Practice is threefold.
- First, to demonstrate our commitment to dancing with our Soul.
- Second, to actually dance with our Soul, and
- Third, to learn and grow as the soul teaches us through the Practice.
I don’t care what your Practice is, but your Soul wants to communicate with you. Are you giving it the opportunity?
Perhaps your practice can be incorporated in the tending of your life – the way you cook a meal, or expressing gratitude (Grace) before eating. Maybe your practice is something carved out just for you and your Soul – like juggling, balancing spoons on your nose, arts & crafts, yoga, tai chi, sitting meditation – or a daily cup of tea! The simplest of Practices – like just sitting and listening to a piece of music – not doing anything but listening – can reap great inner rewards. Regardless of what your Practice is, it is essential to your Growth as a Human Being.
What daily practice will you commit to? At first, make a small commitment: I will do this for a week. A week is long enough to start seeing the benefits. What about a month? What about every possible day for the rest of your life? There are exceptions, this isn’t about austerity, it’s about the pleasure of Dancing with your Soul.
What daily practice will you commit to?