Why Do We Have to Practice Being Spiritual?
Have you ever wondered why we those of us on a spiritual path are told to have a "practice"? Imagine if we all joined a spiritual team and got together every day for practice. What would we do? Would we run prayer sprints? Would we stretch our beliefs? Would we scrimmage different religions? Truth be told, practice is just as important to becoming a spiritual person as it is to becoming a great soccer player, swimmer or baseball player.
A spiritual practice is much like an athletic practice except the focus lies on becoming more spiritual more open to spiritual experiences, to connecting with our Higher Self or God, to tapping into the flow of Divine Energy rather than on becoming a better athlete. just as the physical athlete must stretch and strengthen his muscles, spiritual athletes must stretch and strengthen their ability to quiet their minds, open to their spiritual nature, sense the part of themselves that is connected to the Divine, and experience a unity with All That Is. While some people have a spiritual or mystical experience without trying, the vast majority of people must exert effort daily to get just a little bit closer to feeling even a vague sense of something that might be called "spiritual."
What Does Spiritual Practice Look Like?
So, just like our friends who are in search of the ultimate peak physical experience, we spiritual seekers are forced to practice, practice, practice so we might actually have a peak spiritual experience. What does that practice really look like? For some, it involves daily prayer sessions. For others, it means meditating every day. For others, it might mean doing good deeds for others. And for yet others, it means performing God's commandments, walking in nature, having a conversation with the Divine, journaling, using Tarot cards or a pendulum, or gazing at the ocean. No matter what practice they choose, it almost always involves doing whatever it is they do at least once a day.
Why Is The Repetition So Important?
Why does spiritual practice have to happen so often? The answer comes down to habit formation. When our spiritual practice becomes a habit, we can relax and allow it to be part of who we are and what we do. It becomes part of our life. In addition, when we can do what we do without thinking because it is a habit we allow in something other than our thoughts about what we are doing. What we are doing takes no thought. And when we don't have to think about what we are doing, we open our minds to focus upon something else. We open our experience to something else. We stop doing and start being. And since our being stems from the Divine Being, we begin moving closer to unity with the Divine. We move closer to having a spiritual experience.
Additionally, when we form a habit an action that requires little or no thought to accomplish we can then take what might seem empty, rote action and instill it with meaning. We can think about why we are doing that action what symbolism it has or what significance it holds for us personally and the empty action becomes full of meaning or meaning-full. If we also infuse that action with faith and belief, we fill that action with spirit, and it becomes spirit-full.
What To Do When Practice Feels Like A Struggle
I've struggled with having a spiritual practice. often I'm too tired to get up early enough or to stay up late enough to spend time meditating and praying. Or I simply don't have the time for journaling, going inward, or going to a religious service.
For those of us too busy for a lengthy spiritual practice, I recommend small spiritual practices. Try 10 minute of prayer or meditation in the morning. Or light a candle and burn some incense when you get up and offer a prayer of gratitude. just before you begin your work day, light a candle on your desk, quiet your mind, and ask that your work be karma yoga holy work. Or set your wrist watch to sound an alarm once an hour; when it rings, stop for even 30 seconds and clear your mind and allow yourself to be in the moment since God is in the moment.
Make these, or other short simple actions, your spiritual practices. You'll find your day and your life significantly enriched, and the experience will motivate you to find time for longer spiritual practices. Or you, if you like these short practice periods, you can add in more of them: a five minute meditation during your lunch break, a 10 minute journaling time before bed or a blessing before and after meals. In this way, your day will become one spiritual practice after another.
Making Your Whole Day a Spiritual Practice
The ultimate goal of a spiritual practice revolves around having your whole day (week, month, year, life) feel like a spiritual practice or, at least, like an extension of your spiritual practice. I believe that is the idea behind the enormous number of mitzvot, or commandments, Jews are asked to remember and to act upon each day. If you try to observe even five or 10 of them each day, you find that your actions are tied into a spiritual practice on an almost constant basis. You praise God for your body working correctly when you awake. You offer gratitude for a multitude of events each morning. You bless the food you eat, acknowledging that it comes form a Higher Source. You raise your hands after washing them and ask that they be used in God's service. As you go to sleep at night, you ask that your transgressions and those of others be forgiven. Mitzvot are actually connectors; each time one commandment is performed, it connects the person to a Higher Source. The action reminds them of God.
If you can't find time every day for spiritual practice, commit to having a practice every week. For Jews and even for non-Jews I recommend taking on the Friday night Sabbath candle lighting as a spiritual practice. Along with this, try giving yourself a sanctuary in time 24 hours that are sacred, a real Sabbath. You can then build on this by developing a daily hour of spiritual practice when you do something you feel represents a spiritual practice.
To a great extent, spiritual practice involves remembering God on a minute-by-minute basis. When we remember our Divine Source we allow ourselves to be aware of that Source. And when we are aware of Divinity, we can experience it. Without a spiritual practice, we go through each day or each week without awareness of God, and the lack of awareness makes it almost impossibly for us to experience anything other than our own physical reality let alone our own spirit or the Spirit of the Universe.
Nina Amir, an acclaimed journalist, motivational speaker and Kabbalistic conscious creation coach, currently is writing Setting a Place for God, A Womans guide to Creating Sacred Space and Inviting the Divine to Dwell Within It. She also is the author of a booklet, called Abracadabra! The Kabbalah of conscious Creation. For information on Amirs books, teleseminars and classes, visit http://www.purespiritcreations.com or call 408-353-1943.
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Understanding the Different Types of Yoga
yoga is becoming a more and more popular activity in the Western world today. The number of places holding yoga classes is on the increase and there is a plethora of different types of yoga. With a choice of Hatha yoga, ashtanga yoga, power yoga, Iyengar yoga, Bikram yoga, Vinyasa yoga and many more it can be easy to get confused
The article will help you to understand the difference between the most popular types of yoga so you can choose which type is right for you.
Hatha yoga - in sanskrit (an ancient classical language of India) Ha means sun and tha means moon. This type of yoga is relatively slow paced, gentle type of yoga and is a good place to start if you are completely new to yoga and don't know any of the asanas (poses). Like all types of yoga, Hatha yoga aims to unite the mind, body and spirit.
Ashtanga yoga - this is the type of yoga that I practice on a regular basis and means eight limbs in sanskrit. It's a fast moving, intense style of yoga practice and is based on a progressive set sequence of asanas, synchronized with the breath. Ashtanga yoga can be quite physically demanding as you constantly move from one asana in the sequence to the next, so you'll find that it will improve your stamina as well as your flexibility and strength..
power yoga - this is a western interpretation of yoga and is based on Ashtanga yoga. A power yoga class may not necessarily stick to the exact sequence of poses like Ashtanga yoga does, but it does involve practicing a series of poses without stopping and starting.
Iyengar yoga - This type of yoga is based on teachings by B.K.S Igengar and concentrates on the correct alignment and form of the body. Unlike Ashtanga yoga, there is an emphasis on holding each pose for a long period of time rather than moving constantly from one pose to the next. Iyengar yoga uses props such as blocks and straps to help align the body into the different poses.
Vinyasa yoga - Vinyasa means breath synchronized movement and is another fast paced type of yoga, with an emphasis on breathing. A practice typically starts with sun salutations and moves on to more intense stretching. Throughout the practice each pose is balanced with a counter pose.
Bikram yoga - otherwise known as Hot Yoga, is practiced in a room heated to 105 degrees, with a humidity of around 40%. Generally a sequence of 26 different poses is practiced during a Bikram yoga class and the hot temperature helps to loosen muscles. Due to the high temperature most people sweat a lot during the class and this helps to cleanse the body of toxins.
If you're just starting out or have never done any yoga before, I recommend trying a few different types of yoga to find out what you like best.
Remember, there's no rule that says you have to stick to one type of yoga. I like Ashtanga yoga best, but I also go to occasional Iyengar and Hatha yoga classes for a bit of variety.
To find out more about the different types of yoga visit the Free online Yoga Guide
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Nanny Cams. A Toy for the Voyeur, or a Necessity for Every Parent?
John and Melissa were enjoying their dinner at a local restaurant. It was the first time in six months that they had gone anywhere without their newborn baby.
Melissa spoke up, "I hope we did the right thing, leaving our baby alone with the new nanny". In a calm voice John replied, "Honey, it's been a long sleepless six months. We deserve this night out. And besides, I'm sure our nanny is qualified to take care of our little girl for one night".
"You're right" Melissa said, "let's just enjoy this dinner". But a few moments later Melissa's cell phone rang; in a panicked voice Melissa said to John "WE HAVE TO GO NOW! SOMETHINGS HAPPENED TO OUR BABY! without hesitation, they flagged down the waiter, paid their bill and headed for home as fast as they could.
When they arrived home, their nanny explained that the baby had rolled off the couch and hit her head on an end table. She seemed O.K. but I called the doctor anyway, said the nanny. Hes on his way over here right now.
With suspicion running through her mind, and not knowing what to believe, Melissa immediately went to her bedroom and turned on the monitor to her DVR (Digital video Recorder). Weeks earlier, Melissa had purchased a hidden nanny cam disguised as a teddy bear, after hearing a story in the news about an abusive babysitter. In a few seconds she had her answer, the baby did just roll off the couch. That didnt make it ok, but Melissa wanted to trust her new nanny and now she felt a little more certain that she could.
It is always difficult for a parent to turn over the care of a child to someone else, and every parent who does so has concerns. Hidden cameras are one way of alleviating some of that worry.
Nanny Cams are just another name for hidden cameras. They are usually disguised as part of the dcor in a room. These days, technology allows us to create cameras that are small enough to fit into many everyday items, such as stuffed animals, flowerpots, and even kitchen appliances.
Nanny cams have become very popular in recent years for good reason. With the rise in domestic violence against children, you dont have to be paranoid to want to keep an eye on things while youre away. There have been many news stories centered on hidden cameras that have recorded a caregiver in the act of abusing a child.
Nanny cams are not only small and discreet, but they are also becoming more affordable than ever before, so you can purchase more than one to maintain surveillance in multiple rooms of your home.
With a DVR (Digital video Recording) system, youll be able to monitor and record all of your hidden cameras from one central location.
Experts say it is generally legal to use a hidden camera that records video without the consent of the nanny. However, the laws vary from state to state on whether you can record audio. Before taping conversation without consent from your nanny, check the laws in your state.
To protect your nannys privacy, and to make the best use of your nanny cams, only place hidden cameras where she will be interacting with your child. Never place nanny cams in bathrooms or private bedrooms. This would be considered as voyeurism and in most states you could be charged with of invasion of privacy.
Nanny cams have many uses other than just monitoring nannies or caregivers.
Nanny cams can also be used for watching over your child while they are sleeping, monitoring them while they are playing alone or monitoring your older teenager while they are home alone with friends.
Hidden cameras have also been used to catch cheating spouses in the act, and they are very popular with private investigators and law enforcement agencies that use them for covert operations.
Even if you do not suspect any type of abuse or misconduct from your child, nanny or spouse, the peace of mind in knowing there is not a problem is well worth the cost of the camera.
Steven Rubin is the owner of North American Security Products, LLC. A company dedicated to providing you with the means to protect and defend yourself against crime.
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