Every Moment A Spiritual Exercise

In my chosen spiritual path, Eckankar, The Path of Spiritual Freedom, we practice spiritual exercises The intent of these special exercises is to actively expand the spiritual senses to a greater awareness of ourselves as Soul. In doing so, we may receive guidance on getting the most out of life. And how to give back to life.

Soul is our deepest self. It is who we are. Soul operates the human self. Soul is the thinker of our thoughts and that which loves. Soul is a little piece or aspect of God. We are all on a journey to discover the nature of our relationship with God/Life.

The spiritual exercises may include the chanting of charged words like HU. We sing it as a love song to God. (sing Hyooo...) It is a name of God. When I sing HU, I feel I am dwelling in love. I am not asking God to do anything. It is more of a “Thy will be done” attitude. We’re coming from the premise that God knows all and has already blessed all life. We’re just tuning into the blessings that have already been granted.

In my experience, prayer, meditation, contemplation (all can be spiritual exercises) work if we have the right attitude. Attitude (our approach) is a key that unlocks the power of the practice. Love is my preferred attitude when doing the spiritual exercises. In fact, one of my favorite exercises is what I call, “Back to Love”.

Through the day, when I remember, I think “Back to Love” and remind myself (as often as possible) to treat every soul (animal, plant, including myself) with the highest respect and love.

In ECK, we have a book with hundreds of exercises to choose from, “The Spiritual Exercises of ECK”, but the intent is really to make the exercise your own (or create your own). Make it come alive. This is the exciting part. We are then entering spiritual realization (the act of making it real). This is the creative principle. Harold Klemp, the spiritual leader of ECK, says “creativity is our most God-like quality”. Harold recommends devoting twenty minutes a day for spiritual exercises.

He offers a favorite - Gratitude. There are many variations like the gratitude list, or simply holding a feeling of gratitude for all we have. This ALWAYS expands my heart and lifts my spirits. If I live with a heart of gratitude, every moment is a spiritual exercise.

When we “make it come alive”, we can enter into the Soul Travel experience, where we are totally free to go anywhere (heavens, space, underwater, back and forward in time, even Sheboygan) with our attention. Many meet with spiritual masters In Soul Travel ( a spiritual journey) for deeper study of our own life and relationship with God.

So why do spiritual exercises? Only if you want to “realize” your essential nature as Soul, a spiritual being having a human experience. Have fun (also a spiritual exercise).