Make time for your spirit
Making time for your spirit could also be described as making time for your mental health.
Regardless of the terms we use, going within and tending to our internal landscape is important — something to prioritize daily. This is what I’m realizing more and more for myself.
We know we need to brush our teeth and wash our bodies. Whether we actually exercise or not, we also know physical activity is crucial for long-term health and wellbeing. Our internal hygiene, though, is often neglected. That takes a toll.
When we’re less absorbed in the musings of our minds and rooted in some kind of spiritual practice, everything we’re up to works better. Our relationships have a healthier flow. Our focus improves. Our health often does, too. We’re less in our own way.
Author and meditation evangelist Dan Harris says his adapting a regular practice made him about 10 percent happier (thus his book, podcast, and meditation app all carry that name). I’d say that my life overall works a little better when I’m accountable to my own inner work. It’s subtle, but I’m less bogged down by my panic thoughts. I’m slightly more likely to be fun and playful. I might apologize sooner. Or back off and choose another path mid-lashing out.
A spiritual practice can be something religious, or it could be entirely secular. This can take many different forms. The main idea is to periodically disengage from typical mental chatter. For me, that’s the same as making time for my spirit, but the bottom line is getting out of our heads.
When we really step back and pay attention, the narrator in our brains goes and goes and goes. It judges, ruminates and sends us down winding and destructive rabbit holes. Sure, sometimes the voice is useful and productive, but it’s also wildly unstable and unreliable. It can make us nuts.
So, having some sort of system in place where we regularly step back and try to tap into something deeper, can go a very long way.
I have a spiritual path that speaks to me, and the possibilities here are vast. You might use Spotify or Youtube to listen to meditations. You could try out the free ones (or try mini-meditation Monday sessions offered weekly) here.
Or maybe prayer speaks to you more. Perhaps you commit to a daily prayer regimen, ideally in some manner of a routinized way. I know some people combine spiritual reading and contemplation. Some people consider journaling to be a way of clearing their heads and accessing deeper insight. Whatever speaks to you, the point is to actually do it. Consistently. Devotedly.
James Clear, author of Atomic Habits says, “Most people need consistency more than they need intensity.”
In the intensity column, he puts things like running a marathon, writing a book in 30 days, and silent meditation retreats. On the consistency side: not missing a workout for two years, writing every week and daily silence.
His goes on: “Intensity makes a good story. Consistency makes progress.”
I think a lot of us let a daily practice fall by the wayside because we overvalue intensity. But if we prioritize being consistent and allotting even just a few minutes per day to tuning in, progress will come.
Progress can take the form of more peace of mind and bottom line well-being. Stuff we want.
So, start small and maybe even stay small, but let’s make this regular. Every day. Commit to doing something to support your internal hygiene, mental health and spirit – your life!
