 Responses to the survey question "What are your current spiritual practices?" For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been collecting responses for a Spiritual Practices survey that ask you what your current spiritual practices are, what practices you’re interested in learning, what motivates you to have a spiritual practice, and what is the biggest barrier for you in your spiritual practices. (If you’d like to take the survey, click here.) Do you want to know what the vast majority said was the biggest barrier to their spiritual practices? Time. Finding the time to do it. Making time for it. Designating time. Getting too busy. These are actual responses. But is time really the biggest barrier to your spiritual practices? I saw a quote on Facebook recently where someone posted, “If you have time for Facebook, you have time to meditate.” It’s not like people don’t realize the benefits of spiritual practice. For the survey question “What motivates you to have a spiritual practice?”, here are some of the responses:
So if time isn’t the real barrier, then what is? Is it priorities? Discipline? Commitment? I have my own theory of what the real barrier is. If you’re someone who believes that spiritual practices enhance your life and yet you say that time is your biggest barrier, then I have a bit of tough love for you.  Time isn’t your barrier. What stops you from committing to a regular practice is that you get to hide out and stay in your comfort zone.
Whenever I hear someone wants to change a habit but has difficulty doing so, it means that the person still has some investment in the old behaviors. The person is benefitting in some way in these old patterns. I get it. Change isn’t always easy. It takes effort and focus to embrace new behaviors and ways of being. But guess what? Not changing your behaviors also has its costs. What do you give up by staying in your comfort zone? Are you giving up more peace, more centeredness, more joy? This isn’t a reprimand or a lecture. You get to choose how you live your life. You are the architect of your life choices. But if you know that spiritual practices help you to live a more fulfilling and meaningful life, why not make the choice to engage them more? Imagine what your life could feel like if you felt more grounded, more confident, and more at ease. Spiritual practices help with that. With that, here’s your coaching assignment for the week:
If you decide to engage in more regular spiritual practices, be gentle with yourself. Changing behaviors and building habits need space and loving energy. Be conscious of how your spiritual practices make you feel (physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually). I’m a big advocate of having regular spiritual practices. What’s great is that spiritual practices include more than just meditation. There are so many spiritual practices you can choose. If you need help picking one, go to the survey and see the list of possibilities. And here’s one last bit of insight I’d like to share with you about time and spiritual practices. There may come a time in your spiritual practice where you feel like you’ve transcended time. A 10-minute meditation might seem like a few seconds, or it might seem like 5 hours. Time itself becomes an illusion. That’s when you know you’ve broken barriers. Peace and Abundant Blessings. I’d love to hear your thoughts about spiritual practices. Do you have a practice? If so, what practices do you do and what motivates you to do them? If not, what stops you? Please leave a comment below. This past Sunday, I spoke at the Global Truth Center and shared why my New Year's intention is to be healthy. If you'd like, you can click on the picture below to watch the video below to hear my talk (near the 9:50 mark).  << Click to watch my talk on my New Year's intention to be healthy >> Here's what I shared. A few months ago I made a decision to better my health. I created a Vision Board where I envisioned myself with a fit, muscular body. Right in the center of my board, I pasted a magazine cut-out photo of a man running with the intensity and focus that I wanted to experience in my own body.  My Vision Board (dated September 2015) I'm a firm believer that when you set your intention and make a declaration to the Universe (in this case, a visual declaration in the form of a Vision Board), you create an opening for the Divine Universal Presence to present you with opportunities that bring you into greater alignment with your vision. In other words, when you speak your Word, things start showing up. Within a few days of creating my Vision Board, I saw a Facebook post by my friend and spiritual practitioner Erin Fall Haskell, inviting people to join her in a 30-Day Challenge. The point of the challenge was to create a new habit by doing something repeatedly every day for 30 days. Looking at my Vision Board and my intention for a more healthy body, I decided to join the 30-Day Challenge. For my personal challenge, I decided to give up processed sugar. For those of you who may not know this, I'm a big lover of sweets. Chocolate croissants. Carrot cake. Pecan pie. You know, all things sugary and delicious. Giving up processed sugar was a big deal for me. But I had set my intention for health and I now sealed it with this commitment. Something interesting happened, though. A couple weeks into the 30-Day Challenge, I visited my doctor for my annual physical. After some tests, my doctor diagnosed me as pre-diabetic. I was shocked! Shocked because I had already started a 30-day practice of giving up processed sugar. Shocked because every day I affirmed my mantra, "I am healthy." Shocked because I envisioned my body as a perfect circulation of vibrant energy. Unfortunately, the picture of perfect health didn't match the reality I was experiencing. Why, oh why, Universe, are you doing this to me? After a few minutes of my pity party, I calmed down and asked myself what I truly believe. That's when my words came back to me..."When you set your intention and make a declaration to the Universe, you create an opening for the Divine Universal Presence to present you with opportunities that bring you into greater alignment with your vision." This pre-diabetic diagnosis presented me with an opportunity to make a choice to live into my intention and into this vision. In that moment, I decided to do whatever it takes to let go of this pre-diabetic diagnosis. Since the 30-Day Challenge in October and the diagnosis, I have continued to give up processed sugar. I'm eating lots more fruits and vegetables, and eating less simple carbs. I'm exercising more. Within three months, I've lost 10 pounds. So in this New Year, I'm keeping up this intention for my health. And I'm adding a couple other intentions as well. In a couple weeks, I'll be leading another Vision Board workshop and creating a new set of visual declarations for 2016. If you're interested in attending the workshop, click on the button below for more info. For your coaching assignment for this week, here's what I'd like to invite you to do:
As you set your declaration and commit to this vision, watch how this loving and giving Universe responds. Be open and aware to possibilities that bring you into greater alignment with this vision. And when those opportunities present themselves to you, trust that you'll know and respond in your own right to living the highest Vision for your life. I'd love to hear what intentions you've set for the New Year. Please share by leaving a comment below. Know that whether you make this public or keep it in your heart, I wholeheartedly support you in living into the vision in your heart. Abundant Blessings.  Joselito Laudencia helps people bridge the spiritual and practical path to career and financial freedom. He is the creator of "Re-Write Your Money Story" and "Finding Your Right Work." He is a spiritual life coach and Centers for Spiritual Living Practitioner. If you're feeling unfulfilled and stuck in the areas of career or money, you don't have to figure it out by yourself. You can schedule a 30-minute Free Clarity Session with Prayer and get clear on what's stopping you from living the life that you love. Click here to schedule your 30-minute Free Clarity Session with Prayer.
We're now a few days into the New Year. If you're like most people, you're thinking about one or two things that you'd like to see change in your life for this year.
I'd love to hear where in your life you're looking to see the most change. Will you help me out by answering the poll below? (It's a 24-hour twitter poll, so I'll be posting these a couple different times and see if we see a pattern to the responses.)
Here's a little trick that you probably didn't realize. By simply answering the poll, you actually get to set an intention for where you'd like to experience transformation in your life this year. Congratulations! I'll be leading a workshop called "Create & Energize Your Vision Board" in the Los Angeles area on Saturday, January 30, 2016. If you're in the area or know of anyone who might be, I'd love it if you check out the event. Click here to learn more: Create & Energize Your Vision Board for 2016 workshop Thanks for participating in the poll! If for some reason the poll is closed, feel free to leave a comment below with the area you'd like to see the most transformation. Abundant Blessings! |
About JoselitoJoselito is a spiritual life coach helping people create a purposeful, spiritual path to career and financial freedom. Popular Blog Articles Beware (Be Aware of) these 5 Unhelpful Money Stories How my body told me to quit my job How I was offered an all-expenses paid cruise after making my Vision Board Today I choose to live my GREATNESS You are not your stories. You are the story-teller. Your job is not your Source. Archives
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