[Podcast] 12 Spiritual Habits For Daily Life

Every day can be a profound spiritual experience. When we incorporate spiritual habits into our daily lives, we ascend to a higher level of awareness and see through new eyes.
As our level of consciousness raises with daily spiritual habits, our entire life experience becomes illumined with grace.
What does it really mean to live a spiritual life?
Listen, and transform your every day into a miracle.
Recorded with Love.

Transcript

What are the spiritual habits that can change our lives? What does it really mean to live a spiritual life? How would our lives be if we were constantly aware of ourselves as spiritual beings having a human experience? How can we incorporate spiritual habits into our everyday and ascend in our consciousness, Awaken and create and live beautiful, Divine lives? Is it really possible? Can we do that in this world? We're going to explore this today and we welcome you with all of our hearts to this discussion on spiritual habits and spiritual lifestyle. This is Arielle. I'm here with our host Michael McIntosh and it is an honor to share and be with you today. Welcome. What a joy, Such a joy. So we are spiritual beings, Beings of divine light. And we're going to be talking today about some of the main ways of being or habits, Things that we can do every day from the moment we wake up until the moment we fall into a deep sleep at night. So there are many different types of habits. You know, We could do a talk on how to have health habits, You know, Exercise and food and supplements. We can do one on how to have business and success, Financial success habits. What would you need to do for your wealth and income, Right? There's different habits for different things. But this is more fundamental. These are like the deeper consciousness, Higher awareness behind everything. This is the essence of everything. So what would it be like if we were fully awake, Spiritually illuminated and enlightened and coming from that space? So as we go through these things, We have 12 habits here and we might add some extra ones in between if we feel like it. And as you listen to this today, Just imagine yourself doing these things. And if you already do any of these things, Then give yourself a pat on the back. And if you don't, Then you can consider what would it feel like if you did start practicing these things? And you don't need to do all of them at once. You can be very, Very, Very gentle, Compassionate, Just gentle, Gentle one thing at a time. So let's just jump into this, Dive into this and imagine this is your life. So the first spiritual habit is when we wake up. So imagine yourself waking up in the morning, You open your eyes and you remember the first thought of the day is, I am an incorporeal spiritual being, Being of late, Immortal being. And I have incarnated into this body for a temporary period to perform an elevated task. Can you imagine that waking up and this is your first thought, I am not this body, I'm this beautiful being of late. So I've come here as a guest into this world for a short time to do divine things. Yeah, What a different feeling. Yeah, Instead of, Oh my God, I'm late for work. Yeah, So we want to start with really, Really beautiful consciousness. First thing, Very light, Very light. Anyone can practice this. This completely changes your day because whatever your first thoughts are of the day, It affects everything. And with this powerful awareness to say good morning to God, To the divine, Good morning, I love you. To feel that connection with the supreme, With the source immediately. And the more we practice this and it can take some retraining when we first wake up, That window between our conscious and subconscious mind is open. So even if your first thoughts aren't this, Come back to this. I am an incorporeal divine soul. Good morning. I love you. Good morning to the divine. And then set your thoughts in this direction. Continue creating beautiful thoughts in this direction. And what's fascinating about the early morning, Our first thoughts is that the more we have these beautiful thoughts, This drops into our subconscious. And then you might find you start having these beautiful thoughts spontaneously throughout the day. So the morning sets the tone. It's a way of setting our thoughts, Our mind in a spiritual direction for the day. That's so beautiful. So if you start off like this and if you like you can make a little note and put it next to your bed to remind you if you forget these things. You could even listen to some inspiring music that puts you in a good space when you wake up. You can just press a button, Not your cell phone by the way, Something else. So you're waking up with that, That awareness. And that's just setting you up for ease and grace and a higher consciousness right from the very moment you open your eyes. The next spiritual habit, Which is actually a physical habit, But it can help a lot, Is to get yourself woken up by having a shower or splashing water on your face to prepare you for the next habit, Which is meditation. Because if you are awake, Then your meditation is going to be much better. If you haven't got time to have a shower or you're going to do exercise afterwards, Then just make sure that you turn the lights on, Splash water on your face, Freshen yourself up so that you're awake, You know, It's really important to actually kind of move beyond that energy of sleep. Exactly. And then there are more things too you can do to wake yourself up, Come back into this physical world. So you might light a candle with a beautiful center. Some people like incense, Essential oils that can kind of gently start to wake you up, Listening to music, Playing beautiful music that can also start to bring you present here and help prepare you for lovely meditation. So the next habit is meditation, Beautiful meditation. And we talk a lot about this, So we're not going to give you any specific suggestions here today because we have lots of other episodes and guided meditations on meditation. But the meditation you have, Ideally it's something that really comes from your heart and really gives you a charge. You should feel truly inspired after your meditation. If you're not feeling charged, Then it's time to upgrade your meditation to something different. And God is the source of power, Spiritual power. So we want to be able to receive divine light, Divine bliss, Divine peace from the divine, From the source. Right? So meditation, It's meant to give us divine power that we otherwise wouldn't have. So, What kind of meditation can you do? Or what guided meditation can you listen to? What's going to hit the spot so you're really feeling like you have been recharged? Just like we charge our computers and phones and things. After your meditation, You should feel like it's gone all the way to the green, You know, The green little battery thing. It goes red and then yellow and then green. So we want to be fully charged to the top. So after your meditation, You're like, Yes, I'm inspired to get on with my life and I feel charged up. And we have a lot of information about how to do this, Which we can share in other sessions and we already have. So we're not going to go into this in too much detail, But just consider what can you do? What can be the meditation and the practice that's going to leave you feeling fully, Fully charged? And the title of this podcast is Spiritual Recharge. So the whole focus for this type of meditation is to recharge spiritually, To spiritually connect. And it's a relationship with that divine presence, The beloved. And so you can listen to our guided meditations. You can also listen to more talks we have on meditation and the essence is this is about your link, The link of yourself, The soul with the supreme soul, Highest being. And that that link is like an invisible stream of energy. And that energy is the highest vibration in all of existence, The energy of the source. And when you focus your mind upon that being, You are absorbing and taking in that frequency, That vibration, That nourishment, That deepest nourishment that you can only get from the supreme power, Supreme source, Beloved. And so it's very much a practice of receiving, Of connecting, Of having this relationship, Feeling supported and recharged in your life. You may also have other meditation practices you do and there are, There's value in all meditation practices, Mindfulness, Relaxation, And also keep in mind always have a component of this spiritual recharge. Yes. So if you do these things, Then so far you've woken up feeling liberated. You've freshened yourself up so you're awake. You've had a powerful meditation that's very nourishing and charged you all the way up. And just those three things will set the tone for a successful day. Whatever you do will be much, Much better with that in place. And then the fourth spiritual habit is to eat sattvic food with mindfulness. It has been said that 50% of our state of consciousness comes from our food and drink. 50%. So half of how you feel every day, Whether you feel joyful or you feel stressed or anxious, Or blissful, Calm, Peaceful, What the state is, Half of the reason we feel the way we feel is our food. So as spiritual beings, We realize that this universe is made up of energy. And that means that when we eat food, That food has energy in it. So there's the physical thing, Let's say you're having a banana. One is the actual physical banana. Then there is the energy that the banana has within it. And then there is the spiritual energy that has been pulled into that banana through the thoughts and consciousness of everyone involved in getting that to your house and how you are eating it, What state you're eating it. So there's the food itself, And then there's the energy that we've projected on it, And then there's the way that we eat it. And most people don't think about any of these things, They just think about, Oh, What is it? So even if we eat healthy food, So-called healthy food, But if we eat it in a stressed out way, Unconsciousness, Eating it without really tuning into what we're doing, Not chewing properly, Not being aware of it. And if that food was prepared in a state of stress, Then it has negative effects on us. We don't eat at restaurants because we don't know what's going on in the kitchen. And I know what's going on in the kitchen. I used to work in a kitchen when I was a teenager, And I heard stories from my friends working in kitchens, And they used to kick the meat around on the floor in the kitchen, Kick it around, And then they'd wash it off, Stick it back on the plate. I don't mean to bring this up on our podcast, But I'm just saying, You don't know what you're going to get in a restaurant. Yeah, This is real stories. So one is, Is the food itself beneficial for your health? That's of course important. Sattvic food means food that has been produced without violence. So if you go on Google and you type in Sattvic food, You'll get a list of foods that have been produced without the use of violence. And violence that goes into the food, Of course, Is going to affect our mind and our heart. So let's just break this down very clearly. So there's the actual physical food, The type of food, Whether we're having fruits and vegetables or nuts and seeds or whatever it is, And then drinks as well, Right? Then there is the energy that goes into preparing the food. So let's say you're making some porridge or you're making a pancake or whatever it is. If you make that with love, With spiritual consciousness, With divine energy, Then you send that energy into the food. So that's the second stage, Is the energy that goes into it. And then let's imagine that it's already been prepared. Then when you sit down to eat it, If you eat it with mindfulness, Meaning that you're paying close attention to that food, You're not just shoveling it in without really being aware of it, Watching some TV show. But you're actually giving thanks, You're very aware, You're in a spiritual consciousness, You're thinking, I am a spiritual being and I'm feeding this wonderful body so that I can do wonderful things. And giving thanks to life for the blessing that you have this wonderful thing to eat with that gratitude. Yes, These are the three levels of food. Choosing the food, The actual physical things that you buy, Making the food in a higher consciousness and then eating it in a higher consciousness. If you do this, It will double your mood, Good mood. You'll be twice as happy, Twice as peaceful, Twice as relaxed. Mm, Such a beautiful topic. And if you'd like a bonus extra credit tip, You can offer your food to God, To the divine. There are many ways to do this. Of course, You can bless your food, Take a moment before you eat it to bless it, Put your hands over it, Shower it with good vibrations. You can also, Like we have a little container, You can take a little bit of the food, Place it, Have a few moments of meditation, Offer it to the divine, Fill it with those pure vibrations and then add that small amount to the rest of the food. So you can make your food, Your eating, A spiritual practice. And we all have lives that are full and can use the word busy at times. So see what you can do. You know, And when you do have the time, Maybe you take a little bit more time to have this spiritual practice with your food, Gratitude, Appreciation and love. Yeah, This actually saves time because you get into a much better state of mind so that everything you do during the day is much, Much, Much more smooth, More relaxed. So each of these things doesn't really take that long to do, But it can make a huge difference to how effective you are and it saves a lot of problems. A lot of things we do in life, When we're stressed out, We make mistakes and then we do things to cope with our mistakes. So when we look after ourselves, Eat the right foods, Have a higher consciousness, We avoid so many mistakes, So much stress, So we have all this extra time. So we could have a whole session just on the food because that's a big topic. The fifth thing, So let's just imagine you've woken up in high state, You've had a shower working yourself up, You've done meditation, You've had a beautiful breakfast, You're feeling great, Inspired, It's the best ever. You know, Of course if you wanted to exercise and things like that you can, But we're not talking about those things today. And then we move into number five, Which is creating a list of what you want to do for your day, Having Trikaldarshi vision. Trikaldarshi vision. What does it mean? Trikaldarshi is a Sanskrit word which means the knower of the three aspects of time. It means that you become somebody who can see into the future and you can anticipate what is going to occur from the things that you're considering doing. So what normally happens for a lot of people is they wake up in the morning and they run around all day long without considering what the consequence of their behavior is going to be in the future. You know, It's kind of like reactive automatic pilot. So much more spiritual way of doing it is to step back and say, What would I like to do today? Write it down. We have a program called Awaken Work where it helps people to go through everything they need to do and think about it from a higher space and figure all these things out. Takes a few minutes. But what you do is you get a very clear sense of, Is the thing that I have in mind, The things that I'm planning on doing, What is the consequence of me doing them? Is this really the best use of my time today? What's the best order of doing things? Because oftentimes if you did one thing first and another thing afterwards, Or you swap them round, You can save a lot of time and stress. So many people, They do the things that matter most at the end of the day when they're drained. Or those things don't even get done, It's more likely what happens. Yeah, They sometimes don't get done at all. So the things that matter most either don't happen or they happen when we haven't got any energy left. And the things that don't matter seem to take precedence and spend the whole time running around. So trical darshy is where you figure out what is really important for your life. What is your great mission? And then you put it in the right order so that you do the things that matter most when you have the most energy and you consider in advance everything that you're going to do. And you might even decide to not do things at all that you thought you needed to do. Many many times, Like for example we don't use the internet very much, If we have the internet in our house, I guarantee you I will end up buying some stuff I don't need sooner or later. I guarantee it. I'll sit here and I'll think, You know what, I really need one of those things. And I'll go on there and I'll click click click click click, Right? And then boxes come in the post and I'm like, You know what, I don't actually need this thing. But because it's available. So when we're offline, I might think these things but then I realise actually I don't need it at all. So it saves a lot of time, A lot of money, A lot of repackaging things, Sending them back to me. It was just such a hassle. So trikul darshy means giving ourselves an opportunity to think things through in the morning before we do anything else. Come up with a plan, Assess our plan. This doesn't take very long, By the way, And it becomes an essential part of our life. And then we end up doing the things in the right order. So we get way more done with way less stress and in way less time. Trikul darshy involves this vision of seeing the implications of what you're doing now. So it's aware of what needs to be done. And also it's far sighted, Seeing far into the future. What are the implications of doing this? Could there be another way of doing it that would lead to a better result long term? So it's taking time before we act to see it through, To tune into it. And also to bless it, To shower whatever we're doing with light and good wishes. The kind of common way of doing things is not to think about it and regret it afterwards because it was not approached with trikul darshy vision. So to really tune in with it, Stay with things maybe a little longer before acting. We want to avoid the modern techie, Everything now, Now, Now compulsiveness, You know, That our modern world is kind of based off of. And instead do things from a higher place as much as possible. So each of these things could easily be a whole episode in itself. I'll just give another example of this. We, Like we said, We go offline specifically so we can think about these things. You know, It encourages a much more long term thinking pattern when you can't do things immediately. And what we found is that previously we have had an idea and not thought it through and then told our team to implement something which costs us money and time and takes energy from everyone. And then we realized we didn't actually need to do it and there was a better way of doing it. But because of not thinking it through properly, It causes all these problems. And most of the issues in the world is because people are doing things much too quickly. The politics is happening. People just want to push these things into law, Force everything to happen now, Now, Now. No one's really stepping back and thinking, Hang on a minute, What's going on here? Yeah, What are the long term effects? What's the long term effect of printing trillions and trillions of dollars? So people don't think long term nowadays. They're just thinking short term. So we have to practice this in our own life. Number six is love and blessings. Love and blessings. So by this point you figured out what you're going to do with your day and now you're getting on with it. Love and blessings and good wishes for all around you. So there are lots of people in our life in one way or another. And having good wishes and pure feelings for others is extremely important because it purifies our own heart and it improves our relationships. If I think, Oh these stupid people, What are they doing, You know, Because it can easily happen, Because there are a lot of crazy things happening, How do I feel? How do you feel? If you think negatively about someone, If you look at the news and you think, Oh my God, Look at all this stuff, We can get in a bad way pretty quickly with negative thoughts and judgment around other people. The solution to this is to have a very, Very conscious practice of sending good wishes. So for example, May you be relaxed, May you be at peace, May you feel divine love, May your life be successful, May you think clearly for the highest good. You know, Whatever it is, Blessing from the heart, That may this person or these people, May they have wonderful things. One of the most beautiful practices is to receive blessings and give blessings. And notice that receive is first. So on a deeper level, And it very well may not be apparent on the surface level, It could really not be apparent on the surface level, Deeper level, Everyone is an incorporeal divine soul giving you blessings. Everyone loves you. And to receive their blessings, Feel yourself receiving all of the blessings and light from all of your relations and connections. Feel everyone loves me. I love everyone and create that beautiful feeling of love in your heart. And remember to receive blessings and give blessings. That's right. And good wishes, Good wishes means that we are sending those well wishes and pure feelings means that there's no negativity. And what we have to remember here is that this is actually a selfish practice ironically because while other people will benefit from it, You personally will get the most benefit from this. If we send out negative vibrations to anyone, Whether they're family or friends or colleagues or political people or whatever it is, Sports people, There's all sorts of people, We suffer immediately because negativity that comes through us, From us, Affects our own health first and foremost and our own heart. So we're the ones who immediately curse ourselves. But when you give blessings, You are immediately blessing yourself indirectly first and foremost because the good vibrations come through you. So this is a wonderful practice. And we're going to go through these other ones fairly swiftly. I don't mean to overwhelm anyone. We're just giving you an overview. Giving you an overview here. You can just imagine, We can talk about these in more detail, But just imagine yourself. How would you feel if you were giving blessings to everyone during the day? And receiving blessings because on a deeper level, Everyone's a spiritual being and they're all sending you love. The seventh spiritual practice is what is called Karma Yoga. Karma Yoga. What does it mean? It means having remembrance, Having divine connection, That spiritual recharge, That higher consciousness with the divine while you're doing karma, While you're doing action. So as we're doing this podcast, We're staying in remembrance, Remembering that we're spiritual beings and we're having that awareness. It's quite easy to do it when we're doing something like this, Talking about these things, But we can also practice it when we're washing the dishes or when we're taking care of, You know, The garden or tidying up around the house and things like this. It's a little bit more difficult when we're doing very focused work using our mind, Then it becomes a bit difficult. But a lot of things we can have that higher consciousness while we're working. Right. So Karma Yoga that we're doing action, Karma, While in yoga union with the divine, With the supreme, That we're receiving that light and we're coming back to that link again and again if we're forgetting or we're maintaining it as much as, As much as we can. And the next one we've mentioned somewhat on this podcast is smiling. Simply by smiling we create happy chemistry in our brain, Nourishing our body, Brings happiness to others who see our face. And it overall can just lift us up simply by smiling. Yeah, Smiling away, Simple thing. Any one of these will make a big difference in your life. So ultimately we'll do all of these things every day and it actually doesn't take away, Gives back far more than the effort we put in. The ninth spiritual practice, Spiritual habit is what can be called traffic control, Controlling the thoughts. It's like taking a break, Taking a break in between things. One of the reasons that we get tired during the day is that we try and work, Work, Work, Work, Work without taking a genuine break. So as spiritual beings it's really important that when you're doing something to put your heart and soul into it, Do it mindfully, Do it consciously. But then once you finish something, Take a break. Like after we did this podcast today, What we do is we stop everything and we take a break. If we don't and we just try and do more and more and more and more, Then we get tired. So you can normally take a five minute break, Ten minute break. A lot of people work from home, So you definitely can take a break. And during that time you can have meditation, You can take a nap, But really unplug, Go for a walk, Look into the sky, Look at the clouds, Do something that's unlimited, Right brain, Higher awareness, And you'll feel very refreshed. If you do it again and again, If you do it every hour, It's been recommended that every hour to spend one minute or even five minutes practicing having spiritual connection every hour and then you don't actually get tired. You feel very, Very inspired by the end of the day. The next thing, Number 10, Is conscious internet use. We talk about this quite a lot because it's a major problem. And connected to what we were just sharing about connecting regularly, Taking breaks, Steering a screen, Anything to do with a screen scrolling is not really a break. You're still inundating your mind with a lot of information and stimulation. And I, You know, I know that's kind of a common thing in our culture. I think people will just kind of mindlessly stare at the screen when they want to break social media or watch television or a movie, But realize that it's not really a break because you are taking in a lot of information into your self-conscious and then you have to process that. And so mindfully removing yourself from technology for your breaks. And this next one is about conscious internet use, Just being aware that it's not a neutral experience. There are a lot, Many, Many millions of bits of information entering your psyche when you are engaging on the devices. Yeah. This one thing here, If you can just turn that stuff off, Especially in the evening and in the morning, Magically improve your life. I talk to lots of our students in our trainings and only occasionally do I ever hear someone who says, Oh, I hardly ever use the internet. Most people say, Yeah, I spend way too long scrolling social media. I spend way too long fiddling around. As soon as I feel anxious, I look at my phone, But they all say that they want to stop doing it and that it's a genuine addiction. So as spiritual beings, We're not here to be giving our precious free time to Silicon Valley companies so they can make millions and billions of dollars. That's not what we came down here for. So in between your work, Try and turn that stuff off and actually experience being alive. Go for a walk, Go into the sun. This is a huge improvement for many, Many people. And so this is a spiritual practice is to be free. Number 11 is that by the end of the day, If you've done all these things, You'll feel fantastic. You'll feel inspired. You would have done great work. You would have been in a high state. And then along comes the evening. So the number 11 is the evening wind down, The slowing down, Reflection. So try and finish your work and the things you need to do, You know, Around five o'clock, Six o'clock if possible. And have a nice evening practice. Go for a walk, Put some candles on, Put some essential oils on, Turn the internet off, Turn the cell phone off. It's called a digital sunset. Just turn it all off. And then you can spend some time doing meditation, Maybe reading something, Reflection, Reflecting on your day so that you can clear the day out of your consciousness. One of the reasons people don't sleep well is because they haven't cleared a day out of their head and their heart. So it lingers about and keeps them awake at night. So when we clean it all out, Clean it all out in the evening, Then you'll be able to have a wonderful sleep. So really tune into it. How can you have a more improved evening practice? We went to Colorado up into the mountains in Telluride about a month ago. And one thing that happened is we came back and we turned on a heater and the kettle at the same time in this Airbnb. It's an epic place with these big windows. And it knocked out the electricity because we had too many things going on at the same time. We didn't know how to flip the switch because it wasn't our spot. It was like an off-grid place on 35 acres. And so it wasn't like your typical electrical setup. It was kind of a sensitive, Sensitive integration there. And it was a blessing though. Yeah. So we were in the middle of nowhere, 35 acres, But we didn't have any electricity. It knocked out the power. So there we were in the middle of nowhere with no electricity. But they had a candle. So we turned the candle on and we were both thinking, This is so much nicer. I mean, Maybe you've experienced it where the power goes off. I mean, If you're in one of these countries where it goes off all the time, Then it can be a bit of a tedious thing. But in Western countries where the power is normally consistently reliable, When it does go off because of lightning strikes or something else, Then it's such a relief. Like, Ah, Yes. So we had the candle on and we could see the stars and we thought, This is so much nicer. And we both had a wonderful rest, Woke up feeling fresh because there wasn't all this electricity and all this stuff in the evening. So you might want to try that some nights. Just turn everything off and just have candles and contemplate, Look at the stars, Think about your life, Do meditation, Get yourself in a very relaxed space. And that's a beautiful way to wind down so that you can go back to the light. And then the final thing, Number 12, Is to go to sleep in the light to go back home. So just like we woke up as incarnated spiritual beings, And we have the consciousness, I've come down here from the light, In the evening, We imagine going back home, Back to the Supreme Being, Back to the source, Back to our home, The spiritual home of late. Just imagine leaving the body and going into the grace, To the love, To the peace, Completely free, You've got nothing to do, And no responsibilities and you're completely liberated. So to go to sleep in the arms of the divine, Feel connected deeply to the one from beyond to your spiritual home and your spiritual awareness, Clear the day, Can have a heart to heart conversation with the divine and let go of everything that happened, Surrender it. You might journal some about any clarity you've had. If you feel confused, You might ask for clarity to understand better something that happened to, May I see it through your eyes, Through the divine's eyes. And so set intentions like this, Clear your day, Cleanse your consciousness before you go to sleep. Otherwise, You'll be processing things at night and still in the mornings. You want to clear the day and allow yourself to feel held in divine arms. You might say, Good night, I love you. And to sleep with this peace in your heart, You might even listen to a guided meditation. We have quite a few for sleep, To sleep in spiritual awareness, So that you drift into that sleep state in the light in a higher state of awareness. So we've planted seeds. These are all seeds, Each of these things that has been planted into your awareness and very slowly those seeds can grow, So they become part of your natural life. And as they do, You'll feel that spiritual awakening, That spiritual awareness again and again throughout your day, So that we are really spiritual beings having a human experience and feeling a sacred, Sacred life, Sacred life. When we practice these things, Life really does feel sacred and magical and meaningful. So pick one thing, One thing. We've told you lots of things, But just think which is the one thing that touched your heart, That inspired you today? And how could you do that? Just a little bit, Just a little bit, Starting today or tomorrow. We are including a list of these things written out with the description to go with this podcast. Incorporate one at a time. Be gentle. Remember if you've listened to our podcasts on habits, Small habits, Start small. Make it easy, Build from there and enjoy your spiritual life. Life can be so beautiful when it is illumined with divine peace and spiritual awareness. So thank you for your beautiful presence, For being here, For listening, For being a great soul. Much love, Thank you for your beautiful presence and talk to you soon. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.