What does spiritual practice mean to you?

[Jim]

For people who are spiritual or religious the word, spiritual practice often comes up.
But what does it mean to you? What is the part of the practice? What is it you are practicing?

To me, spiritual practice means the cultivation of body and mind, to heighten the morality, speaking truth, being benevolent and show compassion toward others.
But it is the part of purifying thoughts, actions and spoken word that is the cultivation, then meditation and if the path one follows have exercised one work on perfecting the moment and doing them correctly.
So it is not a practice that is over when meditation is finished, or when the exercise of movements is done. cultivation of mind and body is actually a 24/7 cultivation, even in sleep.

But I am curious to hear what others see as the practice within the path/teaching they follow.

One way I think of my practice is learning to follow my spiritual teachers. Another way is practicing and promoting spiritual growth and community service as ways of helping to improve the lives of all people everywhere and helping to improve the world for future generations. Spiritual growth for me includes nurturing warm feelings and friendly intentions towards all of nature including all people everywhere. Community service includes helping with the spiritual education and training of children; and self-development that is consciously and specifically aimed at helping to improve the lives of all people everywhere and helping to improve the world for future generations.

 

[arthra]

For people who are spiritual or religious the word, spiritual practice often comes up.
But what does it mean to you? What is the part of the practice? What is it you are practicing?

Well in my life there are daily and regular actions that take place...

Daily prayer for me is reciting the obligatory prayer after ablutions and facing the Holy Land;

Reciting a prayer on rising in the morning and before resting in the evening...

Bahá’í Prayers

Exploring the Writings and sometimes composing responses;

Bahá'í Library Online

During the Fast praying during the time I would normally eat...around noon.

The Bahá'í Fast

Attending Feasts and Holy Days in my community and neighboring communities having fellowship and praying with them;

Baha'i Feasts and Holy Days

My daughter's marriage a few years ago was a "spiritual practice" as it was held on a lofty height among trees and friends;

Marriages, Preserving Bahá'í

One of the practices of a lifetime was going on pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Home · Bahá’í Pilgrimage

I think attending a Baha'i memorial service was a "spiritual practice" for me when a friend passed on in the last year:

Burial, Baha'i

Passing from this life to the next would be a spiritual practice.

 

[Martin]

For people who are spiritual or religious the word, spiritual practice often comes up.
But what does it mean to you? What is the part of the practice? What is it you are practicing?

To me, spiritual practice means the cultivation of body and mind, to heighten the morality, speaking truth, being benevolent and show compassion toward others.
But it is the part of purifying thoughts, actions and spoken word that is the cultivation, then meditation and if the path one follows have exercised one work on perfecting the moment and doing them correctly.
So it is not a practice that is over when meditation is finished, or when the exercise of movements is done. cultivation of mind and body is actually a 24/7 cultivation, even in sleep.

But I am curious to hear what others see as the practice within the path/teaching they follow.

For me it's about looking at things in a different way. Or trying to understand what's really there.

 

[SalixIncendium]

For people who are spiritual or religious the word, spiritual practice often comes up.
But what does it mean to you? What is the part of the practice? What is it you are practicing?

To me, spiritual practice means the cultivation of body and mind, to heighten the morality, speaking truth, being benevolent and show compassion toward others.
But it is the part of purifying thoughts, actions and spoken word that is the cultivation, then meditation and if the path one follows have exercised one work on perfecting the moment and doing them correctly.
So it is not a practice that is over when meditation is finished, or when the exercise of movements is done. cultivation of mind and body is actually a 24/7 cultivation, even in sleep.

But I am curious to hear what others see as the practice within the path/teaching they follow.

For me, the focus on the expression 'neti neti' in meditation has been quite an effective practice.

 

[SalixIncendium]

We have to be in alignment with all forms of yoga to be in a state of balance continually, and then consciously aware of the dimensions to live within them...

Who is "we?"

 

[PearlSeeker]

The classical trio: prayer, fast and charity.

 

[Trailblazer]

For me it's about looking at things in a different way. Or trying to understand what's really there.

For me it is trying to understand why we are here, the purpose of this life.

 

[MonkeyFire]

Since I was 6 maybe younger I had transient wisdom as a very powerful angel called FAITH with the power to tell nature has hope, and of the morality of the people wishing to receive it.

 

[osgart]

It is my conviction that one does not change for the better if they are not willful to change. There is positive will, which is the desire. There is negative will, which is usually guilt.

A sincere love of the change for the better enables a genuine spiritual practice.

One must experience the meaning to embrace it. If I have no example, then I defer to imagining the meaning in action.

Words are merely keys to bring attention to the concepts and meanings one desires for one's self.

I keep a personal dictionary of key concepts and what they mean according to situations that could come up.

There are easy situations and difficult situations to be sure.

Understanding precedes acceptance. How can one attain to things without the understanding of them.

Spiritual practice is putting your faith to action. Immediate gain and reward is not the goal. The fulfillment comes from actualizing your desire for the virtuous life. The fulfillment is in being the virtue on some level.

When I truly desire peace and joy and fulfillment for others then I see my selfless motivations in action.

When I desire these things for myself they are not in conflict with selfless motives.

Usually the focus is on necessity of existence. When I am free of necessity I can focus on higher planes of spirituality.

There is the necessary input , the processing of inputs, and then there is the manifestation of what I expose myself to. Being mindful of this I can locate my troubles and begin to strike balances. Eliminate bad inputs, rectify how I process things.

Instead of racing to the ideal goal it is best to embrace where you are at in relation to where you want to be.

Having a room in my house that is there for the sole purpose of self expression is key for me. I can run the gamut of feelings I have and just release all the emotions.

That to me is spiritual practice.

 

[1213]

For people who are spiritual or religious the word, spiritual practice often comes up.
But what does it mean to you? What is the part of the practice? What is it you are practicing?

To me it means for example this:

Pure religion [religious worship] and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
James 1:27