Fr Antunes

The spiritual practices I’ve chosen to include in Spiritual Practices 1 are forgiveness, deep breathing, becoming centered, mindfulness, and serenity. I learned most of these principles through daily meditation.

Early in my recovery which began in 1976, I was deeply influenced by a 13th century monk, Brother Lawrence. His book is titled “Practice in the Presence of God”. I loved the concept of practicing in the presence which told me that I never had to worry about being perfect. That,in fact, I would never graduate on this earth from the practice. What a wonderful gift this 13th century monk gave me. Thank you, Brother Lawrence.

If you, the reader, has other spiritual practices you would like to see included–write your own lenses. You will love the experience and feel a deep sense of joy to be sharing yourself with the world.

To introduce each of the spiritual practices I have chosen, I will be using definitions for each of the spiritual practices from one my favorite amazing resource, Wikipedia.

(1) Deep Breathing

The following definition is from Wikipedia–

“Diaphragmatic breathing, or deep breathing is the act of breathing deep into your lungs by flexing your diaphragm rather than breathing shallowly by flexing your rib cage.

This deep breathing is marked by expansion of the stomach (abdomen) rather than the chest when breathing. It is generally considered a healthier and fuller way to ingest oxygen, and is often used as a therapy for hyperventilation and anxiety disorders.

Performing diaphragmatic breathing can be therapeutic, and with enough practice, can become your standard way of breathing.

To breathe diaphragmatically, or with the diaphragm, one must draw air into the lungs in a way which will expand the stomach and not the chest. It is best to perform these breaths as long, slow intakes of air – allowing the body to absorb all of the inhaled oxygen while simultaneously relaxing the breather. To do this comfortably, it is often best to loosen tight-fitting pants/belts/skirts as these can interfere with the body’s ability to intake air.

While at first one may not feel comfortable not expanding the chest during breathing, diaphragmatic breathing actually fills up the majority of the lungs with oxygen, much more than chest-breathing or shallow breathing.

According to http://www.swamij.com/diaphragmatic-breathing.htm, in diaphragmatic breathing abdomen does NOT move.”

By Alasdir Middleton

To gain inner peace for greatest stability, do the following visualization to strengthen your intuition. Begin with deep breathing. In a comfortable sitting or standing position, expel the air from deep in your lungs. Repeat the deep breathing several times. When you feel energized, you are ready to begin the exercise.

• Lie down on the floor or on the ground and turn over to lie on your stomach. Brooke Medicine Eagle suggests lying there for 15 minutes while picturing a golden cord running from your belly into the heart of the Earth. Afterward, turn over on your back for the same period of time and experience the wind and sunshine passing through your belly.

• While on your stomach, you may reconnect with the feeling of being supported by the Earth. While on your back, you may recall your relationship to the Eternal. If you practice these on a weekly basis, you will feel a need to recommit to preserving your ecosystem.

• Basic warm-up for getting in touch with your intuition: Sit in a chair with your feet on the floor and with your eyes closed. As you breathe, let all thoughts drop away. Concentrate on your breathing to shut down the mind chatter. Notice how your chest expands as the air flows in and out of your diaphragm. Count the inhaling and the exhaling as one cycle. Notice how the different parts of your body react as you relax and shut down. To keep your mind in the now, practice counting the breaths. If you aren’t relaxed at the end of a goal of 50-100 breaths, make the goal longer each time until you reach your optimum length of breaths.

• The inner pilot: Choose a problem that has been bothering you lately. Choose one that is of a minor nature. Write a simple statement that describes the problem. Choose a room that is quiet and has little direct light or sun. If necessary, lie on a blanket on the floor. Don’t wear anything that might be restrictive such as a watch, eyeglasses, shoes, or socks. Lie face up and shut your eyes. Focus on the problem that you’ve selected.

Run through all the arguments pro and con. Examine them in all their possible dimensions. Consider all the nuances of the problem and mentally follow through the possible consequences of every solution. Go into the basic warm up and allow all directed thought to slip away. Concentrate on your breathing and pay close attention to how you feel as images come into your mind.

HaPe Gera

While doing the research for the 50+ books I selected for the Changemaker Library, I realized that I love writing about good books. I have been reading for 60 years so I have a long history of what books can influence lives.

I don’t do book reviews. Instead, I give the book title, the author, the ISBN number and a link to Amazon to buy it. I also include excerpts from the book chosen so that a reader can decide if this book is a good match for him/her.

Ordinary People as Monks and Mystics: Lifestyles for Self-Discovery

Marsha Sinetar

ISBN 0-8091-2773-3

Amazon link

From the introduction:

“My bias is this: ordinary, everyday people can and do become whole. They can and do live in ways that express their highest and most cherished values—values which also happen to be those most prized universally and collectively throughout human history. People who become whole are the ones who find completeness by consciously integrating inner and outer realities. This is a book about such persons, and about the way in which they manage to merge their inner truths with the demands of everyday living. It is for them, and for all who long for their own wholeness, that this book is written and dedicated.”

“It has been said that the inception of real personality health occurs when an individual stops trying to get the world to meet his needs and wants, and begins seeking out ways to perform some needed and meaningful service for others. That seems like a good and practice starting point for the discussion at hand, since it allows us to view wholeness through an inner/outer filter of how people conduct their life in relationship to others.”

From advancement to wholeness:

“Wholeness exists to the extent an individual is conscious of and receptive to his innermost self. The more aware and accepting a person becomes of his inner images and motivations, the more he becomes healed.”

“Paul Tillich’s phrase, “the courage to be”, is insightfully descriptive of what is required of one who would be whole. In his book of the same title, he reminds us that the self-affirming life requires will: the will to have more life, to surpass ourselves. This sort of courage banishes everything cowardly; it is the opposite of submissiveness to external gods. Rather it affirms that which really is alive within, and is the will which compels the individual to take on difficult, but perfectly natural, life battles. It allows him to tackle the kind of small deaths which open him up to a larger life.”

From the mystic type along the way:

“A key difference between mystics and all others is that their spiritual eyes have been opened, and they have “seen”. From the chaos of their early inner confusion, mystics awaken to an illumined posture of Being. They are in a state of Being rather than—like most others—

seeking to become. They possess such a high degree of interior richness that with little effort—or so it may seem to others—they develop their latent powers of transcending ordinary reality.”

From Dr. Lee Sannella who has researched the physical experiences or alterations to his/her physical state:

“Spiritual rebirth has become…a well-defined entity…It is not simply an altered state of consciousness, but an ongoing process lasting from several months to many years, during which the person passes in and out of different stages of consciousness…(This) can be described as an evolutionary process taking place in the nervous system.”

From Swami Paramananda, one of the first Hindu teachers to impact the United States,:

“The deep things do no come suddenly. Let us be patient—with ourselves. We may recognize many defects in our natures…it can all be removed. Go on working silently. Silence and patience go together. Silence has wonderful creative power. Make a study of the lives of great men. They conceive an idea but they do not go out and shout it before the world; they think silently and work quietly until they realize their ideal.”

From solitude and silence in the development of wholeness:

“Selected meditative and solitary practices help develop personality because the still-point of being, the innermost core of self, can—at first—only be reached indirectly: through dreams, through a flash of insight, through feelings or symbols, through stilling the mind.”

From psychiatrist William Glasser, a discipline must meet six requirements if it is to help people grow:

• It should be non-competitive and be done, for the most part, alone.
• It should be a practice which is not dependent on others for execution.
• It should be easy to do, should not require much mental effort (e.g., straining to make the mind blank turns people away from meditation despite their sound intentions).
• It should be a practice which is done regularly, about one hour per day (or twice a day in equal amounts of time).
• It should be something that the doer believes will improve his mental/physical state. He must see his own improvements, without needing an “expert” or guru to tell him he’s getting better—in other words, in every respect it should build self-sufficiency rather than dependence upon another.
• It should be something which can be done without inordinate self-criticism or comparison to someone else’s progress. The individual hurts himself, and his developmental progress, when he thinks, “I’m not running as fast, as far or gracefully as John,” or when he cruelly ridicules himself for the form or manner in which he sees himself doing the practice.

oedipusphinx

Learning to do a body scan is from “Body Awareness” in The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook. This chapter discusses how the mind and body interact, how to recognize tension in your body, and exercises to recognize and let go of tension in your body.

The body scan is explained on page 16:  “Close your eyes. Starting with your toes and moving up your body, ask yourself, “Where am I tense?”

Wherever you discover a tense area, exaggerate it slightly so you become aware of it. Be aware of the muscles in your body that are tense.

Then, for example, say to yourself, “I am tensing my neck muscles….I am hurting myself. I am creating tension in my body.”

Note that all muscular tension is self-produced. At this point, be aware of any life situation that may be causing the tension in your body and what you can do to change it.

On pages 42-43, the authors offer the following inner exploration to open each part of your body:

1) Begin by becoming aware of the rising and falling of your breath in your chest and belly. You can ride the waves of your breath and let it begin to anchor you to the present moment.

2) Bring your attention to the soles of your feet. Notice any sensation that is present there. Without judging or trying to make it different, simply be present with the sensation. After a few moments imagine that your breath is flowing into the soles of your feet. As you breath in and out you might experience an opening or softening and a release of tension. Just simply observe with no expectations.

3) Now bring your attention to the rest of your feet, up to your ankles. Become aware of any sensation in this part of your body. After a few moments imagine that your breath, instead of stopping at the diaphragm, flows all the way down to your feet. Breath into and out of your feet, simply noticing the sensations.

4) Proceed up your body in this manner with all parts of your body—lower legs, knees, upper legs, pelvis, hips and buttocks, lower back, upper back, chest and belly, upper shoulders, neck, head, and face. Take your time as you really feel each body part and notice whatever sensations are present, without forcing them or trying to make them be different, then breath into the body part and let go of it as you move on to the next body part.

5) Go back to your neck and shoulders or any place that has pain, tension, or discomfort. Simply be with the sensations in a nonjudging way. As you breathe, imagine the breath opening up any tight muscles or painful areas and creating more spaciousness. As you breathe out imagine the tension or pain flowing away.

6) When you reach the top of your body, scan your body one last time for any areas of tension or discomfort. Then imagine that you have a breath hole at the top of your head, much like that of a whale or dolphin. Breathe in from the top of your head, bringing the breath all the way down to the soles of your feet and up again. Allow your breath to wash away tension or uncomfortable sensations.

7) Allow 20-30 minutes for a body scan.

Book: The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook: Fifth Edition. Authors: Martha David, Elizabeth Eshelman, and Matthew McKay. ISBN: 1-57224-214-0

Gustty

When I began my journey of recovery from alcoholism, I became interested in studying all types of spiritual principles. I am a Christian and I believe that there is one God. And I also believe there are many roads to one God. The God I know isn’t judgmental or punishing. Life is tough enough without having God against you, too.

I know God is always available to anyone–regardless of the level of perceived separation on our part. We were created to be joined to the God who gave free choice. Love is like a boomerang–send it out and it will return to you.

The first meditation technique I learned was learning to center myself. When you begin to meditation, find a quiet spot and practice breathing. With your eyes closed, think each breathe you take in. Say or think one thing for the intake breath like “Heal me” and something else on the breathe you expel like “Heal others”. With this practice you learn to breath deeper and fuller. Many believe that this proper breathing helps our bodies in countless benefits.

Deep breathing methods are generally similar. From one of the books in the Changemaker Library, Stress Control for Peace of Mind, deep breathing is included to bring on the relaxation response. Practicing deep breathing helps to make this response automatic when stress occurs. The author, Linda Wasmer Andrews, suggests the following steps:

1. Sit in a comfortable position.
2. Close your eyes. Place one hand on your belly, just below the navel.
3. Take a long, deep breath in. Try to make your hand rise slightly as you inhale.
4. Let the breath out slowly. Try to feel your hand fall slightly as you exhale.
5. Keep taking slow, deep, even breaths for a few minutes. Focus on the steady rising and falling of your hand.

She also adds, “If you have trouble getting the hang of belly breathing at the outset, try lying down and placing a book (instead of your hand) on your belly. Then concentrate on making the book move up and down with your breathing. Many people find that the visual cue helps at first. Once you’ve mastered deep breathing, you’ll be able to do it anytime, anywhere, in any position.”

Amazon link for Stress Control for Peace of Mind.

Per Ola Wiberg-Powi

When writing about spirituality, I much prefer to write about the fruits of the spirit than the subject of spirituality itself. I believe that each person’s spirituality is totally unique for each of us. Yet however we practice our spirituality, the fruits of the spirit will be reflected in our personality. If there are no fruits revealed, I question if the person is surrendering his/her will and life to the care of a God of his/her understanding.

One of the guiding principles of AA is that each member is taught to “not take someone else’s inventory”. In other words, The AA member is taught to take his/her own “inventory”. In continuing to blame others for our behavior, we are not checking our own motives. So, if we are truly committed to being changed, we begin the long road to self-discovery by learning to keep our side of the road clean. (In a side note to this, I have to confess that my favorite T-shirt of all times was for sale at an AA convention, and the slogan was: “Go ahead and take my inventory because I’ve already taken yours.”)

The fruits of the spirit are the heart of human change by a relationship with the God of his/her experience. From bible-knowledge.com, the fruits are listed:

Here are the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit listed one right after the other in a bullet point format:

• Love
• Joy
• Peace
• Longsuffering
• Kindness
• Goodness
• Faithfulness
• Gentleness
• Self-control

Now here is the specific verse from Scripture where these 9 fruits are being given to us by the Lord:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)

From Spirithome.com--

• Paul Describes the Spirit’s Fruit (with links to specific fruit)
• Other Passages Which Bear Fruit
• What Is the Fruit of the Spirit?
• Reconciliation and Unity
• Recap

Therefore, I want to continue focusing on the uplifting qulities that spirituality produces. 

The first quality I want to provide links for is creativity. I believe creativity to be the source for being joyful and happy. It is the place where we get to “play” and is the source of “flow” as I understand it to be.

Clipper Stad Amsterdam by Ebroh

Having been in AA since 1976, I have heard a lot of people comment on the spiritual “part” of AA. They generally say that they have a “problem” with the spiritual part. I always want to ask which part is the spiritual part. I believe that all 12 steps are spiritual and that we need a power greater than ourselves to help us to accept our need for change and growth.

Many of Bill Wilson’s (the co-founder of AA) early influences were by people who believed spirituality to be the foundation. Two of those people were Carl Jung and William James. I have included the thoughts of these two men below.

William James is considered the founder of psychology.

These articles about William James and AA show the influence James had on helping to mold the early addiction recovery ideas that Bill Wilson had.

The Religious Roots of Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve Steps

William James and Alcoholics Anonymous

History of Alcoholics Anonymous

Big Book Theology: “We Agnostics” and William James

The  Varieties of Religious Experience

Bill Wilson’s Letter to Dr. Carl Jung, Jan. 23, 1961

Spirituality as a cure for alcoholism–the following three paragraphs are included from Wikipedia and contain other links in the article:

“Jung recommended spirituality as a cure for alcoholism and he is considered to have had an indirect role in establishing Alcoholics Anonymous.^[57] Jung once treated an American patient (Rowland Hazard III), suffering from chronic alcoholism. After working with the patient for some time and achieving no significant progress, Jung told the man that his alcoholic condition was near to hopeless, save only the possibility of a spiritual experience. Jung noted that occasionally such experiences had been known to reform alcoholics where all else had failed.”

“Rowland took Jung’s advice seriously and set about seeking a personal spiritual experience. He returned home to the United States and joined a Christian evangelical Re-Armament movement known as the Oxford Group. He also told other alcoholics what Jung had told him about the importance of a spiritual experience. One of the alcoholics he brought into the Oxford Group was Ebby Thacher, a long-time friend and drinking buddy of Bill Wilson, later co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Thacher told Wilson about the Oxford Group, and through them Wilson became aware of Hazard’s experience with Jung. The influence of Jung thus indirectly found its way into the formation of Alcoholics Anonymous, the original twelve-step program, and from there into the whole twelve-step recovery movement, although AA as a whole is not Jungian and Jung had no role in the formation of that approach or the twelve steps.”

“The above claims are documented in the letters of Jung and Bill W., excerpts of which can be found in Pass It On, published by Alcoholics Anonymous.^[58] Although the detail of this story is disputed by some historians, Jung himself made reference to its substance — including the Oxford Group participation of the individual in question — in a talk that was issued privately in 1954 as a transcript from shorthand taken by an attender (Jung reportedly approved the transcript), later recorded in Volume 18 of his Collected Works, The Symbolic Life (“For instance, when a member of the Oxford Group comes to me in order to get treatment, I say, ‘You are in the Oxford Group; so long as you are there, you settle your affair with the Oxford Group. I can’t do it better than Jesus.’” Jung goes on to state that he has seen similar cures among Roman Catholics.^[59])”

Unmistakably lost and without a care by notsogoodphotgraphy

I have been collecting links for over 10 years. I have organized them by topic in individual folders. Needless to say, this is a clumsy and time-consuming hobby. So I started a few years ago to look for other methods. What I do works for me. I put them on “my team” and rotate publishing them on my main blog, High Energy Life in 12 Weeks .  I will publishing  “my teams”. For today, this is “my mysticism team”.

Books « The Website of Unknowing

Christian Mystics

Discombobula

Hermitary: the hermit, hermits, eremitism, solitude, silence, anchorites, recluses, simplicity

Home

Julie Unplugged

List of Christian Mystics – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monastic Mumblings, a Friar’s Journey

mysticism.nl

Mystics « The Website of Unknowing

Philosophers and mystics on the Mystical Site

The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory (BSG)

The Four Precepts Web Portal & Spiritual Search Page

The Mercy Site – Contemplative Prayer for Christians

TheoCenTriC

The Order of Corpus Christi

The Order of Saint Luke

The Order of St. Helena

The Order of St. Luke the Physician, a Christian Healing Ministry, welcomes you!

The Rosicrucian Fellowship – An International Association of Christian Mystics

The Society of the Holy Trinity: A Lutheran Ministerium

The Way Of A Pilgrim

Unveiling…

By Jenny Downing

Spirituality and Practice is one of my favorite online sources for spiritual direction and guidance. I have taken most of the links on their site and put them into an A-Z link directory for easy reference. If you see a link from this site that you would like included, please send me email: changemaker.kathy@gmail.com.

21-Day Programs

A

Attention

Audios for Spiritual Journeys

B

Beauty

Being Present

The Blessing Path

Books for Spiritual Journeys

C

Change

Compassion

Community

Connections

Content Areas at Spirituality and Practice

How much does an E-Course cost?

Current E-Courses

D

Devotion

E

Enthusiasm

F

Faith

Forgiveness

Forum

G

Gardening as a Spiritual Practice

Grace

Gratitude Month

H

The Heart

Hope

Hospitality

I

Imagination

J

Joy Month

Justine

K

Kindness

L

Listening

Living Spiritual Teachers Project

Love Month

M

Meaning

The Monastic Life

N

Free Newsletter

Nurturing

O

On-Demand E-Courses

Online Retreats on Classic Spiritual Practices and Sacred Texts

Openness

P

Peace

Play

Sacred Poetry

Q

Questing

R

Remembering Spiritual Masters Project

Reverence

A Celebration of Rumi

S

Advanced Searches at S&P

Set Up Your Own Group E-Course

Shadow

Silence

Spiritual Literacy Blog

Spiritual Literacy DVDs

Spiritual RX Prescriptions Chart

Spirituality and Practices Community

T

Teachers

Teaching as a Spiritual Practice

Transformation

Transformation Month

U

Unity

V

Vision

W

Ways to Use the Spiritual Literacy DVDs

Wonder

X

X-The Mystery

Y

Yearning

You

Z

Zeal