The Unspoken Myth of Spiritual Practice

It’s a myth. Spiritual and religious teachers convey that spiritual practices like meditation, prayer, and contemplation are easy.  While the techniques are easy, the practice can be challenging.  It’s time to bust the myth and address the realities of spiritual practice.

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It’s a common myth.  Or maybe it’s a misrepresentation.  Time and again, spiritual teachers and religious leaders make it seem as though spiritual practice is easy.  They make it sound very simple.  While the techniques are simple, that doesn’t make it easy.  Regular spiritual practice simply isn’t easy for most people to do. 

Each year, an untold number of people learn about mindfulness meditation.  That’s just one technique.  There are classes in health clubs, seminars in workplaces, a variety of books sold on mindfulness as well as YouTube videos viewed.  The technique is very simple.  To be mindful, focus your attention on what you’re doing.  That could mean sitting quietly and focusing your attention on breathing.  Or it could mean walking outside and being aware of each step you take.  Or it could mean eating a piece of fruit while being aware of each dimension of the experience of eating the fruit.  Mindfulness is very simple.  Yet, very few people actually do it. 

Let’s be honest: it’s difficult for most people to adopt a spiritual practice and incorporate it into their lives.  But that’s not because the practice itself is difficult.  None of these practices require an understanding of advanced calculus or physics.  Spiritual practices commonly done don’t require hand-stands or cart-wheels.  They also don’t take a lot of time.  Engaging in a spiritual practice for ten to twenty minutes a day makes a significant difference for most people.  Where’s the difficulty?  Why do so few people adopt a spiritual practice and incorporate it into their daily lives?

Perhaps the problem of regular spiritual practice makes sense through an analogy to something else. At the beginning of every calendar year, fitness clubs and gyms see a spike in new memberships.  A common New Year’s resolution is to work out and lose weight.  So, people join fitness clubs.  For two or three weeks, fitness clubs and gyms are crowded.  People are intent and go to do their work out.  But by mid-February, the crowds are gone and it’s business as usual in most fitness clubs.  It’s not that the workouts that most people do are very difficult.  They also don’t take a lot of time.  But changing our familiar patterns and habits can be difficult for us, even when we know it’s for our own good, for our health and well-being.

The unspoken myth of spiritual practice is that you’ll find it so easy that you’ll incorporate it into your life.  Many people do a spiritual practice for a few weeks.  They set out with the intention of incorporating a spiritual practice into their daily lives.  They even appreciate the experience of greater peace that comes when beginning a spiritual practice.  But then everything else in life takes over and it’s easy to allow a spiritual practice to fall by the wayside.

What’s the solution?

First, it helps to begin honestly with the admission that incorporating a spiritual practice into your life is a change.  You will need to both want to make that change and be deliberate about doing it.  It’s a commitment you are making to yourself.

Second:  make a plan.  Decide when and where you will engage in your spiritual practice.  If you need to, mark it on your calendar.  My core practice is first thing in the morning.  I make my cup of coffee and go to a particular chair in my study.  I sit there with my coffee, looking out the large window, and that’s where I begin.  Every day.  One of the people I work with in spiritual direction recently told me that his best time is 10:00 PM every night.  He has an appointment with himself.  Making a plan helps.

Third:  find support.  Perhaps you have friends or family members who are also engaging in spiritual practice.  Tell them what you’re doing.  Encourage each other.  Or go online and find others talking about spiritual practices.  There are groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media sites where you can discuss your spiritual practice with others.  Or even better:  work with a spiritual director.  A spiritual director will help you incorporate the practice into your life and can serve as a coach.

Remember that you are making a change in your life by incorporating a spiritual practice.  It’s for your well-being, health, and wholeness.  Take the steps to do it well so that you can assure your own growth as an individual.  Over time, it will make a difference.  And remember:  just like gym membership which will only do you any good if you use it, spiritual practice will only enhance your life and bring healing and depth if you engage in it regularly.