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Author Topic: Reviving / Reinvigorating Your Practice  (Read 2659 times)

Aster Breo

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Reviving / Reinvigorating Your Practice
« on: January 09, 2017, 12:22:43 am »
(This topic comes up fairly regularly, but I thought I'd go ahead and post this anyway and see if anyone has any fresh insights or ideas.)

We call go through times when our connection to our god(s) feels off or wrong or distant, and our spiritual practice feels stale or rote.  I'm in that place right now.  

In my case, I think it's largely because I've been so overwhelmed with family issues and some other stuff over the last few months that I've unintentionally "unplugged" somewhat from my own spiritual life.  I'm still doing my nightly ritual (candles and prayers), but, right now, I just don't feel that deep connection with Brighid that I used to feel -- and that I cherish.

What do you do when you hit that point where your practice is mechanical and you need to rebuild or deepen your relationship with the Divine?  What kind of inspiration do you seek and where do you look for it?
"The status is not quo."  ~ Dr. Horrible

Chatelaine

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Re: Reviving / Reinvigorating Your Practice
« Reply #1 on: January 09, 2017, 04:44:55 am »
Quote from: Aster Breo;201234
What do you do when you hit that point where your practice is mechanical and you need to rebuild or deepen your relationship with the Divine?  What kind of inspiration do you seek and where do you look for it?


Christianity coined the phrase 'dark night of the soul', but definitely has no monopoly on it.

I've found that, when I'm stuck in a rut, it is important to stay with it. Such cases of the blechs are directly linked to being out of spoons in mundane life (which sounds like exactly your case), and trying to shake things up at just that moment is a lot more likely to end in giving up the practice altogether because there are no spare resources to maintain it.

So I stick with the basics, which are pretty much the same as yours. My favourite prayer book even acknowledges openly that it is possible to feel too tired to read the full Compline at night, and notes which bits can be skipped. I cling to those until things look up again. They always do, without me trying anything. The divine works in its own time. Holding on to a piece of driftwood doesn't sound as good as swimming, but it will keep you from drowning until either your strength rallies or outside help arrives.
'You created us restless, O Lord, and we find no rest until we rest in You.'
~St Augustine~
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Kylara

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Re: Reviving / Reinvigorating Your Practice
« Reply #2 on: January 09, 2017, 08:55:27 am »
Quote from: Aster Breo;201234


What do you do when you hit that point where your practice is mechanical and you need to rebuild or deepen your relationship with the Divine?  What kind of inspiration do you seek and where do you look for it?

 
When I get this way, I have to change up my routine.  I have done pretty much the same night time routine for about two decades now, and added in a morning routine a couple of years ago.  While the bones of my daily practice have remained the same, whenever I start noticing that I'm just going through the motions, I have a sit down and see which parts I'm not focusing on anymore, and then change them up somehow to be different.

For example, at night I ground/center, but I have changed how I do it many times.  I like to keep to one method for a while, as the routine helps me transition into sleep....but I also know that if I do the same thing too long, I stop really 'doing' it and end up just thinking about doing it (if that makes sense).  This is especially true where I have any practice that involves words....my brain sometimes focuses too much on just saying the words by rote and not actually feeling them or doing any associated actions.  Changing up the words (and making my brain work again instead of just spitting out a memorized thing) helps bring me back into the actions.

Sometimes I also notice that I'm just not liking part of my practice right now.  I ran into that with my affirmations, so I change out how I did them until I came up with something I liked.

If I'm feeling really stuck, I turn to outside sources for inspiration.  I'll ask about with people I know to see what they are doing and see if anything appeals to me, or I'll flip through books or read online to see how other people do things.  Sometimes I just need to try something radically different from what I normally do to shake things up (even if I then go back to doing what I was doing before, the change helped get me back on track)
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missgraceless

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Re: Reviving / Reinvigorating Your Practice
« Reply #3 on: January 09, 2017, 10:06:32 am »
Quote from: Aster Breo;201234
What do you do when you hit that point where your practice is mechanical and you need to rebuild or deepen your relationship with the Divine?  What kind of inspiration do you seek and where do you look for it?

My practice is non-existent right now. But one of my new year's resolutions is to jumpstart it again. (let's see how long it lasts this time)

So one thing I've done is with my Christmas money from family is bought a roller ball of Philosophy's* Loveswept perfume and started putting it on every day (except the days I have to work one of my jobs that doesn't allow perfumes) and keeping the bottle on my shrine. Quan Yin seems to like it and it's a reminder of my devotion to Her.

It seems like such a little thing but it's about all I can manage right now. Stress and barely-managed depression severely limit my number of emotional spoons.

*I adore Philosophy because they donate a portion of every purchase to their Hope and Grace Initiative which focuses on mental health awareness, which is really important to me and goes along with Quan Yin's embodiment of compassion.
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ehbowen

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Re: Reviving / Reinvigorating Your Practice
« Reply #4 on: January 09, 2017, 06:56:02 pm »
Quote from: Aster Breo;201234
What do you do when you hit that point where your practice is mechanical and you need to rebuild or deepen your relationship with the Divine?  What kind of inspiration do you seek and where do you look for it?

 
Quote from: Chatelaine;201245
Christianity coined the phrase 'dark night of the soul', but definitely has no monopoly on it.

 
In my own quest I have come to feel that at many of those times when I "lose sight" of my God, also at the "other end" my God may temporarily lose sight of me. Not for any lack of desire or trying, but because sometimes the enemy attacks and interference become so intense that they pose a challenge even for deity.

What helps me is to remember that my God is intently interested in my life and my actions at all times, and that I can acknowledge his presence whenever and wherever I go. The apostle Paul used the phrase "pray without ceasing" in his first epistle to the Thessalonians.

As a former sailor I know full well that when you are trying to find a ship in distress on a stormy sea, it helps immensely if they keep transmitting....
--------Eric H. Bowen
Where's the KABOOM? There was supposed to have been an Earth-shattering KABOOM!
Computers are like air conditioning. They become useless when you open Windows—Linus Torvalds.

Aster Breo

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Re: Reviving / Reinvigorating Your Practice
« Reply #5 on: January 10, 2017, 12:00:42 am »
Quote from: ehbowen;201273

As a former sailor I know full well that when you are trying to find a ship in distress on a stormy sea, it helps immensely if they keep transmitting....

 
Definitely something to think about.
"The status is not quo."  ~ Dr. Horrible

rubyred

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Re: Reviving / Reinvigorating Your Practice
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2017, 02:09:42 pm »
Quote from: Aster Breo;201234
What do you do when you hit that point where your practice is mechanical and you need to rebuild or deepen your relationship with the Divine?  What kind of inspiration do you seek and where do you look for it?


My spiritual practice is mainly doing tarot and journaling in the morning. I do this almost every morning, but I do get into slumps where I just don't feel like I have the time or energy to devote to it. I have been known to take month long breaks but I always go back to it. To encourage myself to do this I've done things like cleaning up my physical space where I do the readings (really bothers me when things are messy), lighting incense in my sacred space to sort of "reset" it, or I'll move from the place I normally do my readings and do them outside instead.

I feel like sometimes it's not necessary to have a strict spiritual practice, not all days for me anyway. Some days all I do is say thank you to the universe as I'm laying in bed for the night, and I feel like that is enough some days. Other days I devote everything I do to spirit (cleaning, cooking, work) and on those days where I feel a bigger connection, I remember that that's always my intention whether I'm consciously thinking about it or not.

I guess it depends on how you see you're spiritual practice. For me, I try to remember that anything can become a spiritual act with intention. It can be complex or just something simple.

The one thing I do know, at least for me is that if it feels like a chore then it isn't right. Maybe what feels blah today will sound awesome tomorrow. And little things like sitting outside and just breathing for a moment always brings me back to my spirituality.

MeadowRae

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Re: Reviving / Reinvigorating Your Practice
« Reply #7 on: February 23, 2017, 10:59:17 am »
Quote from: rubyred;202701


The one thing I do know, at least for me is that if it feels like a chore then it isn't right. Maybe what feels blah today will sound awesome tomorrow. And little things like sitting outside and just breathing for a moment always brings me back to my spirituality.

 
I have a similar practice (tarot and journaling) along with meditation/prayer now and then.

When I start to feel blah with this, I stop doing it. Really. I put down the beads and the cards and paper, and I go outside and just listen. Sometimes I just get to be too busy doing all these things, and I have to remember what my practice is about. My ex used to press me about what my practice was, and I told him it was 99% listening. Sometimes I have to remind myself of that.
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unveiledartist

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Re: Reviving / Reinvigorating Your Practice
« Reply #8 on: February 25, 2017, 11:19:38 pm »
Quote from: Aster Breo;201234
(This topic comes up fairly regularly, but I thought I'd go ahead and post this anyway and see if anyone has any fresh insights or ideas.)

We call go through times when our connection to our god(s) feels off or wrong or distant, and our spiritual practice feels stale or rote.  I'm in that place right now.  

In my case, I think it's largely because I've been so overwhelmed with family issues and some other stuff over the last few months that I've unintentionally "unplugged" somewhat from my own spiritual life.  I'm still doing my nightly ritual (candles and prayers), but, right now, I just don't feel that deep connection with Brighid that I used to feel -- and that I cherish.

What do you do when you hit that point where your practice is mechanical and you need to rebuild or deepen your relationship with the Divine?  What kind of inspiration do you seek and where do you look for it?

 
I'm actually in that spot too, right now. I was doing good for a good two years but then I started loosing my eye sight. I went through countless doctors and just forgot rituals all together. Now, I got my health somewhat on track and trying to get connected so when I'm not, I have something at my aid.

What I did found out (more like re-founded) is I love art: writing, drawing, and some painting, and music. So that's my passion. I incorporate my passion as or in my rituals and prayers.

So, if you have a passion or something you do everyday or mostly that you like but never considered it to be spiritual (say cooking) you can use your art(s) as a step back into that connection. Cooking, for example, the ingredients can be used for different prayers based on what you make and what you put in the food.

Mainly, finding or living your passion and starting with what you already do may help. I revere my ancestors and spirits so before ritual, I'll draw or say a silent prayer of nonsense. Do my dance ritual and go back to my writing, and that is when I feel connected. Then I can thank the sun, moon, and so have you and go from there.

My advice: start with your passion.

sevensons

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Re: Reviving / Reinvigorating Your Practice
« Reply #9 on: February 26, 2017, 01:27:54 am »
Quote from: unveiledartist;203259


Mainly, finding or living your passion and starting with what you already do may help. I revere my ancestors and spirits so before ritual, I'll draw or say a silent prayer of nonsense. Do my dance ritual and go back to my writing, and that is when I feel connected. Then I can thank the sun, moon, and so have you and go from there.

My advice: start with your passion.

 
I can see clearly each day the need for connection to be on the right side of the force my own system is to combat I have to fight magic with magic to go on stages .
Awaken myself alive and well loving to start learning today ahead a challenge set by the Gods. Haven't

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