Nuturing the Spirit

[daughter]

Might as well talk about the soul to, eh?

How do you nuture spirit? Do you attend religious services? Do you mediate/pray at home or somewhere else privately on a regular basis? Do you read inspiring literature daily? Walk through the woods behind the house each morning or Sunday afternoon to rejuvenate yourself?

What do you do to feed the internal need for balance and well-being?

And if you have become lax or recently decided you needed to address this issue, what plans have you made?

Peace,

daughter

 

[Starblayde]

As my soul is me, when i'm happy, my soul is happy...

I think my soul enjoys listening to chilled out music at 2am with all the lights off, laying on my back looking up at the ceiling with all my glow-stars up there.

My soul thinks that holding a beautiful woman close in your arms is a wondrous experience and as such so do I.

My soul doesn't need (or at least it doesn't think it needs) to pray or worship to find balance or harmony. It is content to be in harmony with the things around it, rather than anything on a higher plane...

I don't really believe in any sort of higher power or deity/deities... i like to see the world through my own eyes, rather than through other peoples beliefs that they think i should hold dear.

Does this make me a non-caring aetheist...and does that even matter?

 

[Todd-'o'-Vision]

I nuture through a variety of ways.

In the Morning I try to just read my scriptures, and pray.

In the evening I read, study and mediate on some passasage, usualy included stufy of the language, times, customs etc. to really get into what is being said.

During the night I play music and spoken verse while I sleep.

Sometimes I like to walk and walk and walk and admire the beauty of nature.

There are a lot of things I do and read, its hard to bottle it up into a formula of anysort.

 

[daughter]

I don't really believe in any sort of higher power or deity/deities... i like to see the world through my own eyes, rather than through other peoples beliefs that they think i should hold dear.

Does this make me a non-caring aetheist...and does that even matter?

Starblayde--

No, it doesn't matter. I asked what mattered to you.

Thanks.

Peace,

daughter

 

[daughter]

study and walking

Todd--

Sounds like a pattern that works for you. There's a sense of serenity and contentment in your post.

Thanks.

Peace,

daughter

 

[Todd-'o'-Vision]

Re: study and walking

Todd--

Sounds like a pattern that works for you. There's a sense of serenity and contentment in your post.

Thanks.

Peace,

daughter

Your Welcome.

Its not the same every day, just some of the things I do.

Serenity and contentment comes and goes, when it goes I seek after it. When it comes I cherish it.

Spirituality is not a quick fix or a crutch, just like life it is a life long battle of balance.

Shut up now Todd

 

[cellis]

Daughter, as always, you have asked a most thought provoking question...

Late last year, I realized that I needed to do something to feel a connectedness with the universe... In the past, I had surrounded myself with people on a similar spiritual path, exploring new ideas, learning and drawing from them, but alas, most of those people are no longer in my life...

Hearing about the "Prayer of Jabez", by Bruce Wilkenson, I picked up a copy of that book. I read a couple of paragraphs each morning before I start work, just to center myself. I try to prepare myself to accept abundance in my life... It is not enough to want abundance, or to expect it, I have to be willing to accept it...

I write and that nurtures my soul...

And I have a man in my life who nutures my soul...

 

[Fly_On_Wall]

to calm my soul. I escape into the depths of my mind. I have a world i created just for that. there I can relax and think, calmdown and whatever is bothering me goes away for awhile.

 

[CeceliaSkye]

Nurturing the Spirit

As my soul is me, when i'm happy, my soul is happy...

I really like that...

For me I nurture my spirit when I make choices that allow me to express my true self...
I also need alot of quiet time.. There was a time when I did not honor that need, and thus would get "dis-connected".
Writing does it for me as well..I journal alot. I write poetry, as well as essays on spirituality, philosophy, etc....

 

[Starblayde]

Re: Nurturing the Spirit

I really like that...

Thanks Skye, its just about the most deep and meaningful that i get... glad you picked up on it

 

[photographer]

Good for the Soul

To be in the bush, with wild animals, outstanding scenery, magical sunsets and a canopy of stars at night which defy description. ......... This feeds my soul in a way for which there are no words to describe it fully.

Although the wilderness is full of drama and passion and a hierachy that leads to a certain amount of violence - it is all nature's way, and underlying all this is a peace, a beauty and a tranquility that calms my soul on a daily basis and makes me a better person.

 

[Black_Bird]

I take long walks... listen to my music... sit in silence and think.

Also - helping out a friend in need is pretty good for the soul. Last night, my friend was bummed out because of finatial trouble... she feels like she'll never get out of the hole. I took her out, treated her to a couple games of pool (she was low on funds), and then unexpectedly met up with four of our closest friends... She needed a night out among those who loved her... she needed to vent all that stress, and I was more then happy to help her out.

 

[Cheyenne]

I'm not a big church-goer anymore, although I once was. My faith is part of my life every day. That means more to me- what I do on a daily basis to be a good person.

As a typical introvert, I get my strength from spending time alone with myself. I can be alone at home, in a group of people (shopping mall) or even here.

 

[april-wine]

Nuture my soul.....Spend time with my niece, watching how she has grown in the last four years....Sitting cross-legged on the floor,(no easy feat... ) colouring, painting, talking.......To me thats soul nuturing.........

 

[alexandraaah]

Might as well talk about the soul to, eh?

How do you nuture spirit? Do you attend religious services? Do you mediate/pray at home or somewhere else privately on a regular basis? Do you read inspiring literature daily? Walk through the woods behind the house each morning or Sunday afternoon to rejuvenate yourself?

What do you do to feed the internal need for balance and well-being?

And if you have become lax or recently decided you needed to address this issue, what plans have you made?

Peace,

daughter

I found, for me, the best way to care for my soul. I spent six weeks traveling with my dog, a tent and a lot of open road. I was more myself in those six weeks than I have been ever in my life. Back in the city, now, it's harder for me to find that place again without dreaming of going away...I suppose I could invent that place in my mind, I'm just worried nothing will compare. How do you, Daughter, nurture your spirit?

Alexandra

 

[Mae13]

I need to get much, MUCH better about nurturing my soul...perhaps I would be better at dealing with stress then, eh?

I do not attend "regular services" of any sort. I find my spiritual connection in the world around me, the things Created, not in a man-made building...

I meditate and pray on an almost daily basis. Usually small ones, here and there...sometimes I tend to chatter a bit to the Divine, hehe On occasion I take time (usually on a weekend) to do a long meditation, on occasion some journeying. I submerse myself into the entire experience...do a cleansing in the bath, burn some sage, find my Center again (hopefully!). I have found that I never pray for material things anymore. I pray for balance, for peace, for strength, for compassion and caring. I pray to enhance all those qualities I find attractive and good in people. It's kind of the silly putty for my soul I guess, when I need to put myself back together a bit better.

There is a small group of people I get together with on at least a monthly basis for good food, company, and spiritual sharing. Sometimes its crafts, sometimes formal ritual, it changes per the time of year. Although I am solitary in the majority of my soul/spirit activities, this gathering is always a good time and very refreshing.

As always Daughter, a thought-provoking and introspective thread. Thank you.

Be Well,
Mae

 

[cellis]

Oh and I forgot the fresh cut flowers every week just for me...

 

[daughter]

Past rituals

I used to meditate every morning around 6am. I'd light candles, read a favorite passage from a prayer book. I used the passage to help me focus.

Other times, I'd simply take 30minutes in the morning to sit in candle light and listen to meditative music. I'd also pray when I rose in the morning.

I have over the last couple of years, become complacent and I'm feeling the negative effects of it.

I started this thread as a part of the process of resuming my practices. Hearing how others care for themselves is re-affirming for me. Forgive me for drawing on your energy.

I used to attend services, too. I'm talking church, private group gatherings like a meditation group I belonged to and another where we discussed a particular text in detail, sharing our views and approaches to a spiritual life.

Paying attention to my body was another way I felt I was nuturing my inner life. A healthy body generates positive energy and allows me the freedom to persue things beyond the body.

I'm slowing find my way back to my path. I'm grateful that God lives within, and that I can go home whenever I choose to. The paradigm shift from God without to God within has been the single most important shift for me spiritually. I had mouthed this for years. Once I actually experienced the peace of this truth, I knew this intimacy was something I wanted to have the rest of my life.

Why I've strayed takes more keystrokes than I want to make. What prompted this thread was a desire to return to that space.

Peace,

daughter

 

[kotori]

a nice cup of tea . . .

quiet, in the morning before the rest of the house is awake . . .

in warm weather sitting outside, watching the world fill with light . . .

now, the same, from the kitchen window . . .

 

[seulreveur]

This is so important!

I only recenlty realized how important it is to nuture my spirit. I have many ways that I enjoy connecting...

I attend church weekly and spend time in prayer daily, and I enjoy reading inspirational literature. I often enjoy listening to/singing hymns when I need to feel uplifted...

Sometimes I just hug my daughter tight or sit back and really watch her playing... what a joy she is to me.

I enjoy spending time painting... time for me and only me - to create and express what I feel.

Sometimes just spending the evening with my girlfriends, talking and spending time alone, is exactly what I need to find me again.

 

[Calamity Jane]

Most important to me is time spent alone. I'm am a solitary person by nature, but my life has not allowed me much alone time. I feel the effects of that more than I would have thought possible.

Being outside brings me closer to my spirit... walking through the woods, through the pasture on a moonlit night, riding my horse down mostly forgotten trails... camping in the winter when everything is silent...

I'l rearranging a lot of things in my life right now. Hopefully some of that rearranging will yield more time and energy for nourishment of my soul.

 

[cymbidia]

Sadly, my spiritual side (and to me, that is the part of me which feels connected to the Universe, to the souls of the people around me, and to my dreams... i'm irrevocably agnostic as far as organized religion goes) has suffered some really big hits in recent years and i've closed it down, pretty much. I don't attend to it specifically so i don't feel the hurt and pain that reverberates through me, still, like the echo on the air of a great bell ringing.

Eventually, i have to begin lifting the lid of that part of my self. Without attention to my spiritual self, i can't be whole; i know that. Right now, though, when it feels so wounded, it's best left alone. I can't do anything about it, can't fix it, and can’t help it, at the moment; why would I poke at it? I'm not that much of a masochist.