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 our 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.

Soul is our deepest self. It is who we are. Soul operates the human self. It is the thinker of our thoughts and that which loves. It 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 (Hyooo…). It is also 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 an assumption that God knows all and has already blessed all life. We’re just tuning in to the blessings that have already been granted.

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

Through the day, when I remember, (as often as possible) I treat every soul (human, animal, plant and myself) with the highest respect and love. When I forget, I say “Back to Love”, and get back on track.

Harold Klemp, the spiritual leader of Eckankar wrote the book “The Spiritual Exercise of ECK”. There are are many exercises to choose from and experiment with, 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 real). This is the creative principle. Harold Klemp says “creativity is our most God-like quality”.

He offers a favorite exercise- Gratitude. There are many variations like the gratitude list, simply holding a feeling of gratitude for all we have. This ALWAYS expands my heart and lifts my spirits.

When we “make it come alive”, we can enter into the Soul Travel experience. In Soul Travel we are totally free to go anywhere (heavens, space, underwater, back and forward in time, even Sheboygan) with our attention. We may meet with spiritual guides for deeper, personalized training.

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).

For more information visit www.Eckankar.org .