Practices

I want to live a life of spiritual expansiveness, connection, love and joy. What practices will support such a life? Is there an ecology of beneficial practices that I can dip into, practices that will give my life more of these qualities?

Here are my current life practices, constantly being updated, whittled, evolved.

Core Practice: Connecting with true nature. This is fundamental to all the other practices. Seeking to reconnect with true nature when I get swept away in anxieties, is the main practice of my life.

Journaling. Freeform journaling through morning pages helps foster a sense of self-honesty. Structured questions are helpful too: they are to attention what a laser pointer is to a cat. Journaling with prompts such as these or these are useful to tune the radio antenna of attention to a beneficial channel.

Handstands. Lately I’ve been doing a handstand every day, and finding myself spontaneously smiling immediately afterwards.

Affirmations in nature. Hug a tree and say:

I am a positive, dynamic person. I think joyful thoughts. I feel joy in the present moment. The joy is in my consciousness and my body. I am a positive, joyful, and loving person. My life is overflowing with abundant good.

This practice asks me to tune my mind to the positive things, that are happening in the present moment. Credit: Medicine Walk by Laurie Lacey, page 5.

Give good vibes. In medicine, there’s a saying that if you think about doing a lumbar puncture, you should do it. I’m not sure about that, but I believe that if you think about giving, you should do it. A great thing to give is handwritten cards. But giving anything is good: flowers, food, socks, compliments, waves, pets to a cat. Spreading good vibes is good for you and good for the world. “Be selfish, help others,” as the Dalai Llama said. Credit: Brian Cornell and Play Your Way Sane.

Micro phone detoxes. I have a tendency to get addicted to my phone. Putting it in “focus mode” or hiding it is a good way to do a micro-detox, break the cycles of compulsive text checking. Credit: Siena Baldi.

Symbols. Keeping symbols around is a fun way to bring the mind back to things you want to embody or remember.

Intuitive walking. Walk with no plan. Go wherever your true nature takes you. Credit: Corey Muscara. Related: intuitive movement, eating.

Tea Ceremony. This is a deep practice of non-doing, holding space for what is alive, here and now. Credit: Wu De.

Tuning to the spheres. Commemorating celestial events (solstices, full moons, etc.) is a great way to remember that we are little ants on a pale blue dot. Credit: Brian Cornell, Ethan Maurice, Alex Chmeil.

Extended time with friends. Scheduling trips with friends is a good way to get deeper. Credit: David Perell.

(Bi) annual review. Taking time to reflect on the past year, or past six months, and set your “North Stars” for the future is a good way to stay intentional in life. Credit: Tiago Forte / David Perell / Dan Pink.

Boundaries. Still learning about this one, but boundaries are expectations that keep you safe and happy in relationships. They should be explicitly communicated. Source: Set Boundaries, Find Peace.

Sacred conduct. There are five Buddhist guidelines for sacred conduct in life. “Treat the small as large” says the Tao Te Ching. These guidelines can be practiced on a very micro-scale.

• Life is sacred. What happens when you tenderize your heart to all living beings?
• Not taking what isn’t given. It’s very often that an energy comes to me that says, “I’m going to just sneak this. No one will notice.” Be aware of this urge and let it go.
• Sacred sexual conduct. Know my own and the other person’s motivations; both people should be OK with these motivations.
• Avoid using intoxicants as a way to dissociate from experience. Intoxicants can be anything (blame, reading a book, and yes, substances).
• Refrain from speaking untruths. Uphold a commitment to honesty within yourself, regardless of the results. This is especially important and difficult when committing to honesty would mean losing certain benefits.

Write stuff down. All productivity / organization methods boil down to this. Keep things in apps (notion, evernote, google calendar) rather than memory.

Shabbat, a day of rest. We fetishize productivity in our culture, meaning we place undo importance on it. Life is not solely about productivity. Remember to rest after the work is done.

Magazines for news. When I was a kid I got my news from Time and Newsweek, which I would read from cover to cover every week. After being overwhelmed by the 24-hour news cycle, I just resubscribed to Time. Hopefully this will keep me informed but not constantly flooded by disturbing info.

Photography. Taking a photo-a-day of something I see that I find beautiful, to inspire me to tune into the beauty around me.

Credit to The Stoa for the term “ecology of practices.”