The idea of spiritual practices encourages individuals to take responsibility for their own spiritual development by spending time working on it, deliberating on its meaning and how best to pursue it, seeking to understand the sacred through reading and the counsel of others, and seeking to have contact with the sacred through personal reflection and prayer.
~ Robert Wuthnow, scholar of American religious history
Our purpose is to be together and connect first and foremost as members of a religious community. Second, is to examine and understand spiritual practices and find one (or more) that we can incorporate into our own lives. To look at our daily living and cultivate one or more routines into a spiritual practice.
Finding a Spiritual Practice
A spiritual practice can come from anything that makes you feel alive and to which you bring intention and mindfulness. Consider these four questions:
- What are some of the things that make you feel most alive?
- Is doing those things a spiritual practice? How so, or why not?
- What makes a practice “spiritual” and not just “emotional” or “mental”?
- What does “spiritual” mean to you?
Practices
Read the blog posts below for practices you can use. More coming soon.
Spiritual Practice – Loving Kindness
Practicing Loving Kindness- see websites in the meditation resources.
Practice By Lectio Divina
– Directions – Read the poem through once. Read it slowly and reflectively so that it sinks in. Breathe Read it a second time. Which word or phrase draws your attention? [...]
Eight Spheres of Spiritual Growth (from Rev. Erik Wikstrom)
- Personal Spiritual Practices: These are practices done alone and, perhaps, daily—such as meditation, dream work, journaling, prayer, and so on. They’re what most people think of when they hear the words “spiritual practice.”
- Communal Worship Practices: Although Unitarian Universalists affirm the uniqueness and individual nature of a person’s spiritual path, our movement is also founded on a belief that community is essential to that journey. Regular engagement with communal worship—the ongoing and collective search for truth and meaning—is one way of supporting this belief.
- Spiritual Partnerships: Spiritual development is hard work, and most faith traditions affirm the usefulness of companions on the journey. A spiritual partnership can take the form of participation in a small group, a one-on-one relationship with another congregant, spiritual guidance with a minister, or one’s own personal therapy. What matters most is the intentional relationship with another person and a mutual commitment to the journey.
- Mind Practices: Could a program of spiritual development be Unitarian Universalist without an intellectual component? This is a role of adult religious education: book studies, film discussions, lectures, adult forums, scripture studies, courses in UU history, and other RE offerings are all ways to fulfill this dimension of a “rich, integrated program.”
- Body Practices: We know that mind, body, and soul are interconnected. Doesn’t it make sense, then, that a well-rounded spiritual practice includes some kind of physical practice? It might be running, sitting, gardening, tai chi, massage, or virtually anything else that keeps us in touch with the miracle of our physical selves.
- Soul Practices: These are the practices that exercise our creative selves—drawing, painting, sculpting, music, poetry, and other creative endeavors. It has been said that the Biblical expression that humans are “made in the image of God” means that we are made to be creative.
- Life Practices: Religious traditions from around the world agree that we eventually need to take what we do in private and in our congregations and bring it out into the rest of our lives—in our relationships with our family members, in our workplaces, in our interactions with strangers.
- Justice Practices: A fully mature spirituality does not stop at the goal of transforming oneself, but must extend beyond oneself—to others—and include a vision of transforming the world.
Pick something and try it out!
Meditation Resources
NY Times – The Wirecutter: The Best Meditation Apps
All Souls NYC: Mindfulness | Meditation | Buddhism
This Loving-Kindness Meditation is a Radical Act of Love
Loving-Kindness Meditation with Sharon Salzburg
Loving-Kindness meditation: what it is, how to practice and why
UU Wellspring
UU Wellspring Session 2
As we approach session two on Sunday, Feb 9, we begin to explore the core theological foundation of our Unitarian Universalist Faith, Love. Graphic used by permission of creator: Tanya Webster (chalicedays.org) Love as a Value: Love is the [...]
UU Wellspring Session 1
A warm welcome to you as a participant of Love at the Center: UU Values and Covenants. This transformational program will explore the enduring love that is at the core of Unitarian Universalism. You will explore the related values and covenants [...]