Spiritual Practices

Are there other kinds of practices that you consider important or helpful to spiritual growth?

Sri Gurudev said that “The aim of all spiritual practice is to know your real Self, to know the Knower. Spiritual practices are done, essentially, to help clean your mind so that you can realize your spiritual truth—to realize the divine in you. ...In spiritual practice, there is no only way or highest way. If you like a particular practice, enjoy it, but don’t think that everyone has to do the same thing.” While I appreciate Swami Satchidananda’s concept, mine is a bit more expansive than his.

I define a spiritual practice as something one can do which draws us deeper into our souls and connects us with our highest self, the Holy, or even the community or world, if it elevates us, betters the world, is done for the greater good, or furthers spiritual growth. It can be, but isn’t only, a daily practice, and it can be, but isn’t only, very spiritually focused. These aren’t rigid requirements. The diverse variety of things which can be considered spiritual practices are so numerous that they cannot be listed exhaustively and completely.

I am in agreement with www.spiritualityandpractice.com, which lists “more than 260 classic and informal spiritual practices” and goes on to explain that “The first thing that you will notice when scanning these lists is that there are many things here that you already do. That's because you are more spiritual than you probably think you are. Spiritual practices are not activities to add to your busy schedule or crowded “to do” list. They are not confined to a special place or time. They are what you do every day. They are how you wake up and come alive to the spiritual reality all around you. Practice is the path we travel on our spiritual journey, so everything we do can be a practice.”

Spirituality is experienced differently by individual people. Some words that I associate with my personal spirituality are meaningful, purposeful, awareness/mindful/attentive/intentional, experiential, values-based,
 healing, love, alive, soul/soulful, integrity, G!d, Divine, sacred, depth, energy/vibrations, interconnected, life/life-giving, nurturing, clarity, journey/quest, potential, mysterious/Great Mystery/the unknown, presence, open-hearted, transformation, unfolding, joyful, compassion, wisdom, teshuvah.

Any practice which enhances or increases these things, I consider to be a spiritual practice, an ongoing activity with the intention of cultivating certain heart/mind/awareness states and bringing my inner soul and the outside world into greater alignment, increasingly seeing the holy and sacred in every moment. Spiritual practice does not guarantee spiritual experiences, but it helps me live a more genuine, mindful, positive, and responsive life.

In terms of core Jewish spiritual practices, many traditional and non-traditional activities could be included. My personal focus is on tefillah, talmud Torah (learning of a wide range of texts including mystically-oriented texts), mindfulness meditation with an emphasis on Hebrew/Jewish methods (such as focusing on the alef-bet), embodied practices (such as alef-bet yoga, but this is now limited due to physical challenges), observing mitzvot, and singing and chanting Hebrew prayers.

The mitzvot provide a system of spiritual practices whose aim is to lead me to the realization of constant divine presence. The Maggid of Mezritch teaches that there are not only 613 mitzvot, but infinite mitzvot, as every action can fulfill the commandment to “know G!d in all your ways” (Proverbs 3:6). This transforms the mitzvot into a series of practices to bring me to the awareness of the divinity of all experiences. As Maimonides describes them, they are a practice of constant focus on the Divine. As with any ritual, prayer, or spiritual practice, mitzvot can be done with kevah, what Abraham Joshua Heschel terms religious behaviorism; or with kavana, to fulfill their purpose

Some mitzvot, or some aspects of them, may no longer fulfill that purpose. Understanding the deeper goal of mitzvot gives me a ground from which to transform and evolve my observance of Halachah, to ensure that its practice continues to meet that purpose and increase my spiritual growth. Rabbi Lawrence Kushner has suggested that perhaps a better translation of mitzvah than “commandment” is “response.” If the purpose of the mitzvot is to increase my awareness of the Divine in all things at all times, then my study and observance of them with kavana, (with great intention and attention) is a response, not an act that is performed with keva (by rote) because of being commanded to do it.

Torah, the mitzvot, and all of our cherished Jewish and other sacred texts are to be studied in dialogue within my life and my experience. Torah itself is a dialogue. In recognition of this, the rabbinic sages taught that the Torah has seventy faces. So to say that one face is the only face, that one interpretative approach is the only right, true, and authentic approach, discounts the very heart and core of Judaism and what it means to be a G!d-wrestling Jew.

Additionally, some things I have found personally helpful and meaningful in my own spiritual growth over the past 60 years have been journaling, meditation, prayer beads, fasting, peace circles and study groups, soul friendship, various kinds of music and chanting, art forms and painting, clay sculpting, giving away smiles at the store, body movement and chair yoga, teaching and studying Hebrew, learning and teaching Trope, retreats, reading, studying, writing, practicing random acts of kindness, drumming, praying with Sacred Pipe, observing Shabbat, attending intentionally to the High Holy Days, spending time in nature, star gazing, caring for and snuggling my pets, crafting, knitting, dream work, communal worship, Torah study, spiritual guidance, study with my chav’rutah, Mussar, studying and observing mitzvot, silence, laughing, breath work, writing and sharing my gratitude list, eating mindfully, sitting close to the ocean, spending quiet time in the library or a bookstore, walking a labyrinth or a medicine wheel, sitting quietly in a holy or meditative space, and more. Some were more meaningful to me in the past than they are now, as I grow and evolve.

My spiritual practices are, in essence, everything I do that I consider to be prayer, as already shared, which brings me closer to the Soul of the Universe– G!d –and elevates me spiritually, and enables tikkun hanefesh v’tikkun olam and gathering the fragments.