Crafting A Daily Spiritual Practice

In this interview, I delve into the art of crafting a daily spiritual practice that seamlessly integrates with your unique lifestyle. Discover valuable insights and practical tips on how to cultivate a sense of connection and inner peace amidst the hustle and bustle of modern life. Whether you have a demanding career, a busy family life, or both, this interview will guide you in designing a spiritual routine that harmonizes with your daily rhythms and obligations. From simple mindfulness exercises to heartfelt rituals, explore a diverse range of techniques tailored to accommodate even the busiest schedules. Embrace the transformative power of regular spiritual practice and unlock a profound sense of well-being, nourishing your soul and enhancing your overall quality of life.

Transcript

Hi everyone, I'm Pasquale. I'm Dr. Tracey. And we are here today to talk about daily spiritual practice. Someone had left us a comment on how do you create a daily spiritual practice and what do you do to keep it going? And I thought this was a great segue into our next topic. And so we thought we'd introduce it and start talking about it today. Yeah, So for you, What are the most important, As a spiritual coach, What are the most important pieces of the daily practice? You know, I will tell you, For me, The number one thing that I always recommend to people is, Is like when you're starting your spiritual practice, Start it like you're going to an appointment. Set a time and that's the appointment time. And always show up for that appointment. And it could be throughout the day. I typically recommend for people that are first starting, Make it a transitional period. So a time when you're in between something, Right? So you're leaving, You're off of work, But getting ready for dinner. I just finished dinner and I'm getting ready to go out. I'm done with watching TV and I'm ready to go to bed. Those are great times to kind of add your spiritual practice because anytime there's a transition, There's a natural kind of like rhythm to kind of making things happen. Yeah, I can understand that. With me, What I do for myself and for most clients, I recommend the easiest times being like right before you even get out of bed in the morning. You know, Like with meditation and stuff too, I've recommended that. And then, Or, And also like when we go to bed at night and it's like when we're just like laying there trying to sleep. And a lot of times those, Whatever is part of that routine can usually get us, Get our mind ready for bed. Like if it is a meditation or, You know, And we can talk about specifics of what to include. But usually that kind of prepares your mind too and relaxes your mind to like let go. So like I have a little like morning routine for myself and an evening, I don't even want to say routine because it's just one of the biggest, One of the biggest things that the person had, That asked was how do you actually fit this into your day-to-day life? You know, Especially when it's not like your job, Like, You know, Which is even harder. So, But before I go into it, Like before we go into our particular spiritual practice, What would you recommend for people to include as like the absolute bare necessity and then maybe like the optional stuff that they, As they get going, They can. To add to their daily practice. I mean, So I always say like the one, The one thing for me that's a non-negotiable is meditation. Whether that's a 30 second meditation, Whether that's a three minute meditation or a 30 minute meditation. I think starting with a meditation is a great way to kind of create that sense, Right? Some of the things that I typically would add on are gratitude, I think is an amazing practice. I have it in my daily practice every single day. Releasing energy for us empaths out there, Just getting to that point before you even start to meditate, Let go of what you've collected. Release that energy from the day. I also, One of the things I do also like to do is, Is I do like to kind of spend some time turning on my light, Right? Being a spiritual person, I kind of hate myself. Does your light turn off? It turns off, Trust me, It turns off, Ask my kids. Okay, So what does that mean and what does that look like? So like for me, When it comes to turning on your light, It's really just kind of in that meditation process, Right? It's kind of connecting with my higher self and allowing that light from my higher self, From like that source light to come through and kind of fill every space in my body. So that, You know, You bend an arm and there's probably somewhere over here that there's a little shadow sitting, Right? And so you kind of use that time to spend the light and kind of shifting it through your body, Coursing it to kind of raise that vibe. Would that be similar to how, I'll say, You know, Doing a breathing technique when you're relaxing to get into a meditative state? And I'll say, Scan your body and if you feel any discomfort anywhere, Send the breath to that body to kind of like calm it and relax it? Very similar. So, But you would be doing that like with just the, With the visualization of the light, Not the actual body? Exactly. Kind of just turning it on and then allowing myself to connect, Right? Connect with my higher self, Connect with source, Allow my team to kind of come in. And so that's a step in many processes you can take. So would that be the goal of a daily practice to connect? In the beginning, My recommendation is make the daily practice simple, Right? And one of the things you touched on that I think is super important is don't make it a task. It is not a task, Right? Dinner is not a task. Lunch is not a task. Sleeping is not a task. Although for some of us, I'm sure it is. It's not a task, Right? You're supposed to do it. It's not a task. It's more of an appointment, Right? A time in the day where you dedicate, Whether it's 90 seconds to 30 minutes to you just letting go. It's more a part of your lifestyle. Exactly. If you say appointment, That seems like task. And then we get a little bit resistant to that. True, True. You don't want to do it, Right? And so maybe, Because I tell people when they're trying to make lifestyle changes of adding maybe eating better or working out to make it a permanent lifestyle change, To make it a part of your life and to be all accepting of that as just a normal daily part of your life. True, True. And then it does something. It's almost that, It can battle that resistance that we'll get in our mind of wanting to rebel against it. It's so true. And the reason I say appointment is, Let me kind of step back. When I first started on this journey and I started to kind of create my practice or what my spiritual practice started to look like, Right? The number one thing was you have to meditate. You have to meditate. You have to meditate. And I was like, Ah, Meditate. And I would try. And I will tell you. Can you do that again? Ah! Because it was, That's how I felt. My energy was just like, I am not going to sit there. And what I found is, Is that, You know, Someone was like, Would you do it right when you wake up? It's so easy right when you wake up. If you're not a morning person, It is not easy to do it when you wake up, Okay? I will tell you. See, I find it is because my brain is already pretty dead. And so it's already like void of thought. And so it's very, It's a lot easier for me to keep thoughts out of my mind because there's really nothing going on up there in the morning. That's a subject for another time. What I found was, I'll be super honest. Like when I first started this whole spiritual journey, It was like, It was like college, First year of college. And I was like, Okay, Do it right when you wake up. And I fell asleep. I literally fell back asleep. And so like, It was tough for me. And so I had to kind of figure out what my rhythm was. Some people are morning people and they're like, Boom, Five o'clock a. M. And their eyes are up and they're ready to go. Not me. And to this day, Still not me. But you have to kind of find your rhythm, Right? So for a little while, I used to do it at lunchtime, Right, Like between classes. And I would go and I would find this place we used to call the ashtray. It's just a gathering place at college, Don't mind it. And you would sit there and I would sit there and I would go out there and I would start meditating. And that was when I would do it was in the afternoon. But then as life kind of like started ramping up and things started getting busier, I actually found that nighttime was my best. Like before going out, But after dinner, Because I always have dinner, Trust me. And then you'd have to do something after dinner. So I always found that like 30 minutes in between there to go, All right, Just go meditate. And I think that's the first step in creating the practices before you start adding on gratitude and connecting and talking and downloading, Just start with meditating. Because the goal is that it's daily, Right? So like, You wanna hit as many days as possible. So what I used to do is I literally used to make an appointment. And back then there weren't cell phones. So it was like the little scheduler. And I would have like my class schedules and then I would have this period, I'd be like, Meditate. And I would always make sure I did that. I have all of those dailies on a little whiteboard in my room. And meditate is like the biggest one right in the middle. And then I have other little things like that too. You know, Relax, Come from a place of love. Like, You know. I love that. So you are obviously like, This is what you do. And like you're, So I would imagine like your practices could be more intense or longer than like the average person's. I mean, I think anyone, I think it's based on you, Right? For me, I work with people all day, As you do, Right? And so what I find is, Is like I will actually wake up and I will not meditate first thing in the morning. I will get a cup of coffee. I will figure out my day. I will talk to the children. Kind of get things kind of set up and organized like a cruise director. And then once everyone's in direction, I would come into my office before going to the gym and I would just spend some time just releasing, Right? And so my first thing in the morning practice is I'm just gonna ground, Connect with the earth and just kind of set my intention for the day, Right? Oh, I love that. Yeah, It's what I do every morning without fail with minor exceptions. Vacation doesn't happen every morning. But most of the time, Like this is my day-to-day I'm at home practice, Even when I travel. And then what happens is throughout the day, As the day continues, I'll go to the gym, Kind of do some things. When I get back from the gym, I always do my Course in Miracles. So I spend an hour just kind of studying the Course in Miracles, Like connecting with the daily lesson, Kind of doing that meditation from that day. And then I go on, Do some clients and then I ground. And then after each client, I always make it a point to ground. And then at the end of the day, I do a complete release where I just let go of everything from the day, Let go of anything I've collected, Kind of recenter myself and then join the family. And then I really kind of hit my major practice at night before bed. Okay, So that's probably, That's a lot for, I think, The average person, Right? Totally too much. But this is what you do, Right? This is what I do. So let me, I'll share mine. And you can kind of tell me how well this is. But so in the morning, I will usually just, It could be a quick just visualization. I'll do, I'll ground myself, Just some calming breaths to just ground my energy, Calm my muscles and my mind. And then I do, Like I visualize myself surrounded by white, Brilliant light, Like a shield of protection. I just say, Please Lord, Protect me in the light of your love. And it can be that quick, Like literally. And sometimes I will even do that, Like as I'm getting ready. You know what I mean? I try to do it like before I even get up out of bed, But sometimes it's not even like a meditation. I literally, When I'm like doing my makeup or my hair or something like that, And I will just like do some breathing and I will do that visualization. And it's about, Cause it's about just, I don't want to do it at all. So it's like, That's better than nothing. And some people, You know, We, That all or nothing is a big trap, You know? And so I think it's for people, It's good for people to just start doing it, You know? And then at night I do, I cut cords, Which I'm not sure if anybody's not familiar with what cords are. We call them, I'd call them Aka cords, But do you just call them cords? Aka cords, Cords, Cords. Cords that bind us. What those are is like each, Like we, Like anytime you think about somebody or they think about you or you're in contact with them, You know, We, We have this, Like, It's like this invisible, Like umbilical cord, Almost like that, Or like just kind of sucking energy from each other. And you just want to like, You, So I visualize all of those cords being pulled, You know, From me. And then I just, In my mind, I take either my hand, A sword, A knife, Or whatever. Sometimes I'll imagine myself like diving into a pool of water and like ridding, Ridding them of them. And I'm cutting all of those cords. And then I like, And I try to feel what it feels like for it to have them released and to feel that relief and that freedom, That like weight off of you. And then I'll say, And then I'll say, Please release all energy that doesn't belong to me. I think actually you taught me that one. Yeah. I think so, Right? Yeah. And, And then I will imagine these little, Like all the little energy molecules that don't belong to me that are like taking up space. You want to visualize like them leaving you. Yeah. And two, If there's like a specific person or a situation that is, That you find is kind of like obsessing in your thoughts, Like you can't stop thinking about it or feeling of them, Or you, You can actually visualize them, Their face and like leaving you, You know, Like cutting that cord that is attached. And then like, Just like going off into the distance. Yeah. I love that. And feeling that. And so, And that's pretty much it for me. And then of course, And that's the, Just the day-to-day. And like I said, I've done that when I'm driving. I've done, Don't, Don't meditate when you're driving. Do not meditate when you drive. Full disclosure, It will not go well. I'm talking about like the quick visualization or like if I'm at a light or, You know, Wherever I am, If I'm like walking downstairs or I'm sitting, Waiting in between a client, But you know, And so. I've actually told clients, Like, If your day in life is so busy, You always drive somewhere, Right? Most people drive to work. And I'm always like, When you get to work, Just meditate right in the parking lot. Turn on some music, Close your eyes and just let go for a minute, Right? Or even at the end of the day, Cars are the best place as long as they're not in motion. Yeah. Right? The motion piece is the one, Unless you're not driving. If you're not the driver, Meditate whenever. But if you're the driver, Maybe don't do it then. You need to have like a disclaimer on the bottom. There's a little disclaimer right down there. Pasquale and Tracy said. We did not say that. The baby does not drive when she's meditating. Focus on the driving. You know, One of the things that, It's great that you said that. I will tell you another thing that I always tell people is, If you have a hard time with the sitting and you're starting to create your practice, Everyone showers at least once a day. Oh, I always shower too. Just envision the shower being that light that's just kind of releasing. And just breathe as you sit in the shower and just let it like fall through you and just let go and breathe with it. It's a great way to start your practice. It's a great way to get yourself into meditating. Even, That's really perfect because it doesn't even have to look like anything that we said. Like even just taking a moment to close your eyes and feel like the mindfulness of the shower and just like taking a deep breath. That's meditation. Even just like taking your coffee in the morning and sitting outside instead of like on the go while you're getting ready. And just like, Just sitting for a minute, 30 seconds. In nature. And just taking a breath. Or like going outside in the evening and just watching the sunset or listening to the birds or whatever. The stars. Yeah. Looking at the stars. I think that's a great thing. I mean, I think when it comes down to it, To start, It's just finding that moment, Right? Where you can just say, I am going to unplug from the world and turn inside. And in that moment of serenity, I'm just gonna let go. Yeah. I love that. And I think that's kind of where you start. In any place, Right? Pick a time. Make it constant. And some of the things I always tell people that are on the intuitive side, You're connecting with God, You're connecting with loved ones, You're connecting is, If you start showing up at the same time every day, They start showing up with you. And because they know that that's your time and they know that you're available and open, Right? So it's always good to kind of pick that same time. It helps create the habit, But it also helps you just move further along in your practice. Yeah. And of course this is, And I think this is what's good of what you and I doing this together because we come at things from such different ways and yours would be like the ideal and what we want to strive to. But on some days if that doesn't work, That's okay. And that's kind of where mine comes in on like any time, Anywhere, Sitting on the toilet, You're on stoplight, You're in the shower, You're wherever you are. Like, You know, Even we have the mini donkey thing, Right? And even like surprisingly, Like even when you're like scooping up her poop, You know, I mean, There is something therapeutic about, Especially early in the morning at like 6 a. M. When it's like all quiet out and the sun's, It's not really hot yet. It is so incredibly peaceful. Yes. I will tell you another secret. Living the dream. I'm always the one to volunteer to wash dishes after any type of dinner, Whether it's like a huge holiday dinner with like 40 people or just the four of us. And I will tell you, Once that craziness is over and I'm sitting in front of the sink, I am literally not there. I am like wiping them down, Putting them in the dishwasher, But you can tell that there are no thoughts going through my mind. It is so meditative. It's like the most spiritual moment I have in my day. And it's crazy. That's awesome. But like, I can just let go right there. You can find that peace. Yes. Even in the midst of whatever you're doing or not doing. In anything. And that's really, That's really the key, Right? And that's ultimately what we want to learn. And it's just about taking that short time, Like you said, 30 seconds or 30 minutes to just let go and center and just be, Just be within ourselves without any intention, Without any to-do list, Without any thought, You know. Yeah, I think it really is. It's about that moment. It's like, You know, Ideally in the perfect world where life doesn't happen and it's just like easy, Right? Cause we all have that. Like for me, It's like finding any moment to just take a second and just internalize and kind of release and have like some type of gratitude or just a notice, Right? Yeah. Like anything, You know, When I go to the gym, Not that I'm this big, Avid, Like workout bodybuilder in no way. But when I go to the gym, One of the things, It's not bad. One of the things I always do is like, I'll do my whatever, My routine, Right? Kind of like a cheer routine. I'll do my routine at the gym. And then afterwards I go stretch. And in that moment of stretching, I honestly take it as a moment of me just like centering. And like, I'm always like, You know what? I'm so grateful for my perfect health and my perfect body. And I just kind of feel it like kind of move, Right? That's just a moment, Right? But that one moment, That's a spiritual practice. Right. You know, It's that one moment. That's all that matters. Yeah. So we've kind of been, We've given like a lot of different examples and a lot of different options. But just to review, At its most basic, It's just finding a moment, Right? Of grounding, Calming the energy and releasing and letting go. Right? At its most basic. And then everybody figures out the time when that's best to do and how they want to do that. And through different talks that we're having, We are going to go through specifics of, Like we have the talk on meditation and then we will also do talks on gratitude or intention setting to go into each one of these things or like the cutting cords and, Or chakras and things like that. Just all the pieces for your spiritual practice. I think we're going to cover quite a few different like avenues that you can go. But ultimately it's like school, Right? You take one class and that one class is meditation, Right? It's just getting centered, Finding that inner peace, Right? And then you build on it. Yeah. And I think you build on it based on what you're looking for. Right. Right. I love that. I'm glad you said that because one of the biggest things with spirituality too is that there are no rules, Right? And one of the greatest, One of my favorite phrases is chaos magic. Yes. And I learned from a shaman actually in Sedona and I was like, What is that? I was like, That sounds amazing. And it's like, There are no rules. And I really, That obviously really spoke to like, You know, You and I. And it's like, It's go to what you're being drawn to. You know what I mean? So you might be, You'll hear something or see something and you're like, Ooh, You know, What's that about? And follow that intuition. That's our intuition gradually brings us to what we need. Yes. Right? Yes. So. I think the key, And I love that because I totally agree. Like, I don't think there's a rule. I don't think there's the right way to do it. There is no wrong way to do it. Like, It's just do it, Right? Yeah. And find your own way to do it because it doesn't have to be, It doesn't have to be a checklist. It doesn't have to look like Pasquale's. It doesn't have to look like mine. You find your own way that works for you. And it could be different day to day. Like we've been saying, We do it in different ways each day and that's the beauty of it. And I know that I have like, For, I try to be in therapy. I try to be like, Give these step by steps and like really break it down because people sometimes don't like or they get a little overwhelmed when there's too many options. And it's like, No, Tell me what to do. And so, But it's like part of it too is opening yourself up and listening. It's not about us telling you what to do. It's open your heart, Listen from within because your soul, Your heart, Your higher self, Whatever it is, Will guide you to what you need. So just get all the, Just start to be curious. You know, To me, That's kind of the gift that comes inside the box of meditation is that once you start to meditate and fully start to connect, You open the box and that jewel is kind of that intuitive connection that starts to guide you. And you'll find that the more you do it, The more your intuition grows, The more you feel connected, The more you feel that life just begins to flow. Yeah, Well then you begin to trust yourself, Which is key to like having some peace in life. 100%. And that's really what a daily practice is all about too. It's finding that peace, Right? So that we can carry it with us throughout the day. Yes, It's letting go of everything and just living. Love that, Thank you. You're welcome.

Reviews

Great suggestions! I think that anyone starting a spiritual practice should listen to this. Anyone already in a spiritual practice should also listen. Great tips!