A spiritual practice is the most important of all the practices we’ve looked at so far. Why is it so important? It is both the foundation and goal of all our practices. It is about striving for our fullest potential. We can’t reach our fullest potential as a leader without reaching for our fullest expression as a human. The two are interrelated.
The great wisdom traditions and religions of the world have all recognized this longing, this human desire. It’s been called by names such as awakening, salvation, enlightenment, or Self-realization. The great psychologist Albert Maslow wrote that greater than self-actualization is the desire for self-transcendence.
Man cannot approach the divine by reaching beyond the human; he can approach Him through becoming human. To become human is what he, this individual man, has been created for. ~ Martin Buber
Most importantly, knowing our truest self is about looking within. What all the wisdom traditions reveal is that spirit is not only ‘out there’ but ‘in here,’ and it’s ‘revealed within to the open heart and mind,’ as Ken Wilber wrote.
Roger Walsh, in his book Essential Spirituality: The 7 Central Practices to Awaken Heart and Mind shares probably the most important discovery that is common to all the great religions of the world:
All the great religions, throughout history, have expressed this core message in different ways but sharing a common theme:
“The kingdom of heaven is within you.” – Christianity
“Those who know themselves know their Lord” – Islam
“He is in all and all is in Him” – Judaism
“Those who know completely their own nature, know heaven.” – Confucianism
“In the depths of the soul, one sees the Divine, the One – The Chinese Book of Changes
“Atman [individual consciousness] and Brahman [universal consciousness] are one” – Hinduism
“Look within, you are the Budha” – Buddhism
It’s a bit awe-inspiring and humbling to learn that as humans we have a ‘transcendent awareness.’ This may be called by different names by the wisdom traditions – soul, spirit, consciousness, mind or Self – but it points in the same direction. But this leads to some difficult questions: How do we get there? And how do we recognize this? The answer lies in acquiring new skills through practice.
The lesson of spiritual teachers is that although anyone can be graced with a spontaneous experience of spirt it takes significant practice to sustain our view of our sacred depths. You will recall earlier I noted, quoting Thomas Sterner, that a practice has to be deliberate and intentional to differentiate between passively learning something. What applies to the body, mind and emotions applies to the spirit as well.
Again, the great religions and wisdom traditions show us the way. There is a faith-neutral way to way to grow spiritually that honors all spiritual paths, including secular ones. Roger Walsh does a great job of highlighting the ‘highest common denominator’ of all the great religions’ practices. Here are the 7 central practices:
- Transform your motivation – reduce craving and find your soul’s desire
- Cultivate emotional wisdom- heal your heart and learn to love
- Live ethically – feel good by doing good
- Concentrate and calm your mind
- Awaken your spiritual vision – see clearly and recognize the sacred in all things
- Cultivate spiritual intelligence – develop wisdom and understand life
- Express spirit in action – embrace generosity and the joy of service
It’s a bit awe-inspiring and humbling to learn that as humans we have a ‘transcendent awareness.’ This may be called by different names by the wisdom traditions – soul, spirit, consciousness, mind or Self – but it points in the same direction. But this leads to some difficult questions: How do we get there? And how do we recognize this? The answer lies in acquiring new skills through practice.
The lesson of spiritual teachers is that although anyone can be graced with a spontaneous experience of spirt it takes significant practice to sustain our view of our sacred depths. You will recall earlier I noted, quoting Thomas Sterner, that a practice has to be deliberate and intentional to differentiate between passively learning something. What applies to the body, mind and emotions applies to the spirit as well.
Again, the great religions and wisdom traditions show us the way. There is a faith-neutral way to way to grow spiritually that honors all spiritual paths, including secular ones. Roger Walsh does a great job of highlighting the ‘highest common denominator’ of all the great religions’ practices. Here are the 7 central practices:
- Transform your motivation – reduce craving and find your soul’s desire
- Cultivate emotional wisdom- heal your heart and learn to love
- Live ethically – feel good by doing good
- Concentrate and calm your mind
- Awaken your spiritual vision – see clearly and recognize the sacred in all things
- Cultivate spiritual intelligence – develop wisdom and understand life
- Express spirit in action – embrace generosity and the joy of service
Cindy Wigglesworth, author of SQ 21: The Twenty-One Skills of Spiritual Intelligence, echoes this same theme of the centrality of practice. She highlights the importance of spiritual intelligence.
“Spiritual intelligence comes down to this essential question: Who is driving your life? Is the calmer, wiser “Higher Self” in charge or are you driven by an immature, short sighted ego and/or beliefs and ideals of others?”
And how do you shift from ego to your Higher Self? Wigglesworth talks of “spiritual weightlifting.” We need to be willing to work for our spiritual development by learning to listen to and act on the advice of our Higher Self.
I find there are two main venues to do the work of spiritual weightlifting: in the stillness of solitude and the busyness of everyday life.
Prayer is not something we do to God but to ourselves.
It is not a position but a disposition.
It is not flattery but a sense of oneness.
It is not asking but knowing.
It is not words but feeling.
It is not will but willingness.
~ Eric Butterworth
We each experience so much noise on a daily basis that we risk getting distracted from being all that we can be. The eastern traditions speak of our ‘wandering mind’ or our ‘monkey mind.’ However you think of it, we all have challenges to quiet our active minds.
One of the most central spiritual practices to address this challenge is meditation. Also known as contemplative prayer or mindfulness, this practice is used to train our attention to help foster our growth.
And what are the benefits of a meditation practice?
Ancient wisdom traditions and modern practitioners all agree that a calm mind or stillness offers a “clear mirror to which to look at ourselves and our world.” Roger Walsh explains that as a result we are “…less compelled by compulsive needs, less troubled by painful emotions, less perturbed by ethical lapses, and less disturbed by wandering attention.”
Modern day business yogi and hip hop mogul Russell Simmons writes that “stillness is the fertile soil in which imagination is nourished, and ideas can grow to incredible heights. The stillness inside of us is a field of dreams from which we can reap our most abundant harvests.”
And the Benedictine monk Br. David Steindl-Rast encourages us to push through the crust of religious behavior that can be ‘doctrinaire,’ ‘moralistic,’ and ‘ritualistic,’ to get at the heart of mysticism..
That brings us to topic of how do you meditate.
If you are like me you have probably thought at onetime – what are the actual steps of this ‘mysterious’ practice? What do I have to do to get these great benefits?
There are lots of books, courses and spiritual instruction on this important practice. And as a novice, I’m in no position to provide expert advice. I will share with you that my research and experience shows that there are two common elements across all traditions, east and west, ancient and modern:
- Choose a focus for your attention. This can be your breath, an image, a prayer or a sacred word or sound.
- When your attention wanders, you gently return to your focus. Again and again!
Like any important skill at first glance this appears simple but not easy. Progress on this path takes time, practice and patience. My simple advice? Study the various practice methods and incorporate it into your daily routine.
Make no mistake, developing proficiency at meditation will take work. The mystics and saints before us have shown the discipline and dedication needed to master this area. At the end of this e-book I’ll show you some simple practices to help your growth in this area.
Quiet moments in your day are a great opportunity to develop your spiritual ‘muscles.’ But let’s be realistic, as striving leaders your days will often be quite hectic. During the busyness of your daily life you will need another arrow in your spiritual quiver to rely on. Here is an approach I find helpful from Cindy Wigglesworth. She has developed a process to put this into everyday practice, summarized by the acronym SOUL:
S – Stop – interrupt the old habit pattern. Ask Higher Self for help or pray.
O – Observe what is going on – step back
U – Understand there is more here than habitual understanding
L – Find a loving (compassionate/wise) response, even if it is “I’ll get back to you.”
Next time you are in a challenging situation or difficult conversation try these steps: Stop, Observe, Understand and find a Loving response. It’s a great way of acting ‘spiritual’ as you serve and lead in the chaos of your working day.
