Tag: Spiritual Practice

Recalibrating

Why is it so hard to practice spiritual self-care, especially when I know how much better I feel when I take care of myself?

Goddess Inspired

August 20, 2023
1 Comment on Recalibrating

Tagged Meditation, Quiet, Recalibrting, Spiritual Practice

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Recalibrating

For the last several months I have let my meditation practice go. Instead of meditating as soon as I finish my walk, I either start on my tasks for the day or doom-scroll the internet. I convinced myself that I didn’t have time to spend thirty minutes meditating and journaling. As a consequence, I feel blah and uninspired. I haven’t written my blog on a regular basis because I feel disconnected from Source.

What is it about my human nature that prevents me from doing the things that I know are in my best interest – the things that will make me the happiest and healthiest physically, emotionally, and spiritually? Why is it so hard to practice spiritual self-care, especially when I know how much better I feel when I take care of myself?

To me self-care, even spiritual self-care, feels like indulgence, even play. I grew up with the strict admonition that play could only come after all the work had been done. And of course the work is never done. Consequently, I feel guilty for indulging in meditation, journaling, and all those little things that are part of my mental and spiritual health routine. It then becomes very easy to let everything else get in the way of my spiritual practices. There are emails to be written, notes to be transcribed, a house to be cleaned, clothes to be washed – a never ending litany of my to-do list. Because, quite frankly, it is easier to get caught up in the to-do list than it is to just be.

Being still and quiet seems indulgent. It feels like a waste of time. It is non-productive as far as the world is concerned. It seems selfish when there are so many problems in the world. It is the antithesis of what our culture demands. But it is absolutely necessary for my inner peace. And so I am resolving once again to set aside time to spend with myself and with God/dess. For me, it is the key to wholeness.

A Still Presence

I sit in silence waiting for the still presence of the Holy One.
Like the flutter of butterfly wings, almost imperceptible, She comes.
Invisible, yet present, I feel Her in
The wind on my face, the sound of the babbling brook, the call of a bird.

She will not come uninvited.
My stillness is her invitation, my quiet heart her home.
I sit in silence awaiting what She brings to me today.
I am here; She is here.
I am open; She shows me the way.

Barbara Garland
August, 2023

When Does the Spiritual Become Political?

Clearing Out the Clutter

As I begin to clear out the clutter in my home and in my psyche, I find that there is room for deeper connections with what remains. There is more joy and more peace. And I am grateful.

Goddess Inspired

April 1, 2023

Tagged Cleaning, Clearing the Psyche, Intentionality, Spiritual Practice

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I have lived in my current home for almost fourteen years, the longest I have ever lived in one house. It is amazing to me how much clutter we have collected in those fourteen years. In the past we averaged about six years in one house. Every move was an opportunity to clear out and throw away things that were no longer useful. Each new home was an opportunity to arrange and organize the things we had kept – a place for everything and everything in its place. In each new home, everything felt fresh and new. Now it is time to look at my current home as if I were moving again.

I have been thinking that my spiritual life is a lot like living in a home. (I am speaking from a place of privilege here.) I came into this world as a fresh and innocent baby. Along the way, I collected a lot of stuff – stuff that got crammed into the nooks and crannies of my conscious and unconscious mind. Some of the stuff is useful, some beautiful, and some very necessary for living life. Some is not so useful, some is ugly, and some is downright harmful. Over time I crammed all that stuff into my psyche and then forgot it. However all that stuff continued to hum in the background causing me to act unconsciously.

As I grow older I have a desire not only to declutter my home, but also to declutter my deep self. I want to let go of the stuff that no longer serves, both in my home and in my inner life. I want to find the fresh and new within myself. I want to rearrange the furniture and throw out the accumulation of junk that piled up when I wasn’t paying attention. I want to let the good stuff be displayed and let go of the stuff that holds me back or trips me up.

It is not easy to clean out the clutter. There are memories associated with even the most mundane things. That pin belonged to my grandmother; that table belonged to his grandparents. The high school yearbook brings back memories of youth. The clutter within is even more difficult to let go of. Some of it is hidden and difficult to find. Some of it has protected me and helped me to survive. Some of it is completely unconscious.

As I engage in a daily spiritual practice, I find that it becomes easier to let go of the things in my behavior which no longer serve. It becomes easier to forgive myself and others. It becomes easier to stay grounded and to allow my feelings to flow through me, not rule me. It becomes easier to let go of the clutter and be at peace.

However, the clearing out process takes intentionality and discipline. I have to set aside time and make an effort. I must do the work, or nothing changes. I can’t just say that I want to declutter, I must do actually do it.

As I begin to clear out the clutter in my home and in my psyche, I find that there is room for deeper connections with what remains. There is more joy and more peace. And I am grateful.

Barbara Garland
April, 2023

Reclaiming Myself Through Spiritual Practice

To expect to stay centered in this hectic, stressful world without a daily spiritual practice is like expecting to be a musical virtuoso without lessons or practice. It can’t be done. And it is a matter of practicing, practicing, practicing until I know who I truly am – a beautiful Soul on a spiritual journey, becoming, through practice, a spiritual virtuoso.

Goddess Inspired

November 12, 2021

Tagged Journaling, Meditation, Practice, Reclaiming Soul, Spiritual Practice

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Reclaiming Myself Through Spiritual Practice

During the shut-down of 2020 I resolved to develop a morning practice of meditation and journaling. It became an amazing practice that grounded me and inspired me to write these blogs. I loved my mornings of quiet meditation and communion with God/dess. It was a habit that sustained me throughout the uncertainty of the pandemic.

Once things began to open up and go back to “normal,” I began to find excuses for not engaging in my practice. I had early morning Zoom meetings; I was too busy; the meditations on my morning walks would suffice. I gradually let my practice go.

Now I am feeling disjointed, adrift, without an anchor. It is hard to be motivated. I am feeling blocked and uninspired. It is a huge effort to write, and when I do, I am not happy with the results.

Over many years of being on a spiritual path, I have found that my daily practices come and go, depending on the circumstances of my life. Quiet time with myself and Spirit is usually the most difficult to maintain when I need it the most. Those times when life is overwhelmingly busy and stressful are the times when it is the hardest to carve out time for myself.

What I have found over and over again, however, is that without a consistent spiritual practice, my life falls apart. I become more and more stressed, anxious, depressed, angry, or numb. I am unable to focus on things that matter, and I flit from thing to thing. I am more judgmental and less loving. I become less and less the person I want to be.

While a daily meditative time doesn’t change the world, it changes me. It keeps me grounded and centered. The stresses of living are still there, of course, but my reaction to those stressors is different. I am more able to allow the stress to flow through me without holding onto it in my body. I am calmer and less judgmental. I am more in flow rather than in reaction.

I am born to be connected with God/dess, but most of the time I let life get in the way. When I sit in the quiet – meditating, praying, contemplating, emptying, listening – I open the door to communion with that which is greater than myself. I allow life, in all its messiness to flow around me and through me. I am able to stay centered and grounded in the deep abiding love of God/dess. I stay connected with my own Soul.

So once again, I will claim my time with myself and God/dess. I will once again be still and listen; I will write; I will meditate; I will once again allow myself the time and the space to be in tune with my true self. I invite you to join me on this incredible journey.

Barbara Garland
November 2021

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New blogs will be added to this post every Friday.

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womanspiritspeaks48@gmail.com

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About Me

I am a seeker of truth, a truth teller, a lover of the Divine Feminine, an aspiring writer, a mystery, an open book, a work in progress. I have lived a long and varied life, and now in my seventies, I am being called to share some of what I have learned over the years. I hope to share the wisdom of the deep Feminine that is being channeled through me.

If the Goddess has ever whispered to you, I invite you to join me on an incredible journey of love and discovery. May you hear Her wisdom through these words.

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