I believe there are things we all do that draw us closer to our spiritual selves, just as much as I believe there are things we all do that draw us away from that as well. Recently, I asked someone I’ve been helping in recovery from addiction to do an exercise that wrote down both, knowing it would aid his spiritual journey. I liked the exercise so much I decided to do it myself for today’s entry. So here goes…
The Things I Do That Draw Me Closer To My Spiritual Self:
- Praying each morning upon waking and each night before going to bed.
- Meditating for 40 minutes in silence on my meditation bench.
- Listening to 20-minute 11-11-K audio attunement from my spiritual teacher.
- Verbalizing each of my 25 affirmations/mantras three times.
- Writing an entry for my www.thetwelfthstep.com blog.
- Grounding myself to Mother Earth each morning barefoot in the yard.
- Talking with each of my sponsees in recovery.
- Attending a recovery meeting for AA.
- Attending my hospital commitment.
- Attending a recovery meeting for SAA/SLAA.
- Watching uplifting shows on television.
- Telling someone randomly something loving.
- Eating healthy.
- Attending my MKP I-Group.
- Spending time with my cat petting her and listening to her purr.
- Working outside around the house.
- Sitting on the edge of Lake Erie in silence and staring out into its expanse.
- Surprising my partner with unconditional acts of love.
- Talking to my sponsors in recovery and my spiritual teacher.
- Giving hugs to people.
The Things I Do That Draw Me Away From My Spiritual Self:
- Overeating anything, especially dark chocolate.
- Gossiping.
- Judging others.
- Making sexual innuendos and/or flirting with anyone other than my partner.
- Being resentful towards another.
- Worrying what others think of me.
- Controlling others.
- Doubting God or myself.
- Beating myself up when I make a mistake.
- Giving a guilt trip to someone.
After finishing these two lists, I’m quite thankful to say that I see a major difference between them. With the first, I’m doing these things on a regular basis, most being every single day. With the second, I’m rarely doing any of them on a regular basis, most being only once in a while. Even so, I know there’s still plenty of work for me to do in life so that I don’t do any of those things on the 2nd list at all. Regardless, I’m glad I did this exercise, as it proved to be a simple one for increasing my spiritual awareness.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson