Embracing Community as a Spiritual Practice

When I first meet with clients, I ask them to tell me what their current spiritual practices are. The most common responses I hear are meditation, prayer, and journaling. The people who've been on the spiritual path a little longer will add things like walking in nature, studying spiritual books and tithing. The more self-identified advanced spiritual students will say that everything they do is a spiritual practice, including washing the dishes and doing the laundry, because they use everything as a meditative practice.

What I don't hear as often is the idea of community as a spiritual practice.

Spirituality is often perceived as an individual endeavor: How can I better my life? How can I cultivate my personal relationship with God? How can I grow spiritually? 

When you ask questions from the "I" perspective, you usually come up with "I" solutions.

But what if you change the "I" to "we"? How can we better our lives? How can we cultivate our relationship with God? How can we grow spiritually? By looking at spirituality from a lens of our interconnectedness, we open to greater possibilities for our spiritual unfoldment.

Behind the idea of community as a spiritual practice is the intention that being in community with others creates an opening to a greater awareness of how Spirit shows up in our lives. When you look for the Divine in community, you see It in the people around you. When someone gives you a hug, you feel the Divine hugging you. When someone gives you a kind word, you hear the voice of the Divine.

And guess what? If you see the Divine in other people, that means that the Divine lives, breathes and moves in and as you!

Imagine going to a party where the room is filled with all the great spiritual teachers you admire. How would you greet them? What do you think the mood of the party would be? Would there be lots of joy and laughter? Do you think these teachers would be snooty, or do you think they would be curious and authentic?

Now imagine that you are at this party and everyone sees you as a great spiritual teacher that everyone sees with great love and respect. This is how the Universe sees you!

Embracing community as a spiritual practice invites you to be in relationship with others, and to see each person underneath all the masks and the exteriors. It means being willing to show up as the truth of who you are. It calls for you to choose connection over isolation. 

In the spirit of embracing community as a spiritual practice, here is your coaching assignment for the week:

• Choose a community that you belong to. This can be a church, a spiritual center, a community center, your workplace, your family.
• Contemplate these questions: What can I do to deepen my relationships, even just a little bit? What can I do to brighten someone's day? How can I love more? How can I be more authentic?
• Choose one of the answers that come up for you, and go do it.

I'd love to hear what ways you are choosing connection and embracing community. Feel free to share by commenting below.

Ultimately, embracing community as a spiritual practice is an act of divine service and love. You serve and love because your intention in community is the well-being of all. May you find connection and love in community, as community finds connection and love in you. 

p.s. If this topic brings up any issues for you where you'd benefit from support, contact me directly. I offer a complimentary consultation as a gift to you. Click here for more info and to schedule. 

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