Becoming a spiritual practitioner requires a lifelong process of learning and deep contemplation that should not be taken as mere distractions or trifles. The first step to becoming a spiritual practitioner is to identify a spiritual practice or tradition that works for you and start seeking answers to your questions. However, the real way only started after this. If you want to build a personal connection with the spiritual world as a spiritual thinker, you can learn how to build on the basics of contemplation, prayer, and meditation, including how to deepen your practice of these things to gain real understanding. Are you ready to take on the challenge?
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Part 1 of 3: Think Spiritually
Step 1. Try to feel the presence of the helper
Whether you consider yourself to be a spiritual person or not, a spiritual practitioner is one who tries to find order in chaos and gathers the causes of this order. If you are a person who can see every strange coincidence, every beautiful metaphor, or every appearance of a rainbow as a sign that something better is about to happen, you may begin to feel the presence of the helper on which your beliefs are based.
- Religious spiritual practitioners base their belief in a higher power that creates and controls life and all the people in it. Sometimes, as is the case in Zen Buddhism, religious spiritual practitioners also base their beliefs by practicing asceticism and meditation as the most suitable way to understand this life.
- Spiritual practitioners are not always religious, although in general they are religious people. Quantum physics theorists and psychologists who study Jung's theory often use spiritual insight to gain a deeper understanding. Whatever system, circumstance, or practice may underlie your beliefs, use it!
Step 2. Try to find a connection between the things that are happening around you
Try to find order and balance in your life, instead of emphasizing differences and gaps. Look for things that you and your enemies have in common.
Regardless of your spiritual or religious knowledge, read various spiritual writings, sciences and dogmas. Christian writer Thomas Merton spent a considerable amount of time studying Zen Buddhism
Step 3. Emphasize experience
Who can be called a spiritual practitioner? What is the difference between a Christian spiritual practitioner and an ordinary Christian, or a Buddhist spiritual practitioner from an ordinary Buddhist? Whether in practice, science, or culture, spiritual practitioners have one thing in common: a deep personal and spiritual connection to their faith. For a spiritual practitioner, personal experience in matters of spirituality is always more powerful and more important than learning through books or what he hears. Just going to church is never enough for a spiritual practitioner.
Avoid the trap of materialists who like to show off in certain religions. To become a Buddhist spiritual practitioner, you don't have to build a beautiful garden, a koi pond, and a special room for meditation. You don't have to have a 13th-century cross to be a Christian
Step 4. Focus your attention on the present moment
A spiritual practitioner must be fully focused and focused at all times, not allowing himself to be distracted by electronic devices, stress, or a hectic schedule all day long. Instead, they should focus entirely on doing one thing at a time and on just one thing. At lunch, your focus is only on lunch. Focus your attention on keeping your body healthy, calming yourself down, enjoying what you eat. If you're reading the newspaper, focus your attention on learning something, reading the words, and understanding the concepts. Focus yourself completely on each action.
This may seem very difficult, and may not work right away. The sound of incoming calls and the relentless noise of the 21st century can make it even more difficult for you to feel calm and focused. Try to live life as simply as possible. Start small, like turning off your phone, except when you need it to call or text
Step 5. Ask about anything
A spiritual practitioner wants a personal connection with his spiritual life and himself, not what other people say. The wisdom passed down or teachings with clichés are often questioned by them. If you want to build a connection between your spiritual life and your mundane life, both physically and non-physically, start asking big questions. Whatever your religion or spiritual knowledge, learn to understand big questions like:
- Why are we here?
- What does it mean to live a good life?
- Who am I?
- What happens when we leave this world? What does my imminent death mean?
Step 6. Trust your intuition
Asking these big questions is not only important, but to make you believe that your heart will lead you to the answers you seek. Believe in yourself. Develop your intuition and your dependence on yourself. Eliminate doubts and trust that you will have the confidence to find what you are looking for.
Part 2 of 3: Building a Foundation for Becoming a Spiritual Practitioner
Step 1. Read the writings of spiritual practitioners in your tradition
Understanding spiritual practitioners' writings and books is fundamental to studying the lives of spiritual practitioners. Each tradition has very different spiritual views and dogmas, and you should have an understanding of the scope of each writing. Things will start to look related and there are more similarities than differences if you read:
- Thomas Merton's No Man is an Island
- St. Augustine's Confessions of St. Augustine
- The Cloud of Unknowing, anonymous
- Julian's writings from Norway Revelation of Divine Love
- DT Suzuki's writing An Introduction to Zen Buddhism
- The stories in The Nasruddin Stories that come from the traditions of the Sufis
Step 2. Know the main focus of your spiritual practice
Spiritual practice is a combination of self-indulgent meditation and contemplation with specific guidance from your religion or other practice. Every religious life has a different way because every religious person will be different from each other. Decide what is most important to you, and only one person can determine what spiritual practice you want to do and that is you.
For some Christian spiritual practitioners, living a life more like the way of Jesus is the most important aspect of practicing Christianity. For others, the most important thing is to spread the gospel. Both of these views can lead to spiritual understanding and a high appreciation of the spiritual life
Step 3. Make your spiritual practice a top priority
Becoming a spiritual practitioner is not a part-time affair. You should make this a top priority in your life, whatever your religious beliefs and the big questions you have, not your job, your family or your hobbies. Your connection to the universe should be your greatest commitment.
For most people, they choose to be celibate to become spiritual practitioners, and generally they live a monastic life for some reason. If you want to become a spiritual practitioner, you can no longer go out having fun on the weekends. Are you ready to accept the challenge of making a commitment?
Step 4. Face the mystery
Part of Zen meditation is attaining the ability to let go of worry and find emptiness. For spiritual practitioners, this emptiness is their living space. Relying on your conscience and digging deeper into the big questions will tend to lead you to more questions than to get answers. You may become frustrated or relieved when you realize that you may never know what will happen after you die, or whether or not your interpretation of life is actually "correct."
Part 3 of 3: Deepening Your Spiritual Practice
Step 1. Build a solid foundation of faith through prayer and contemplation
Whatever religion or belief works for you, or even if you don't choose to join any religious organization, you need to make time for practicing contemplation and meditation in your schedule. Get in the habit of praying, meditating and doing contemplation regularly.
- To start praying, don't focus on yes-no questions and try to focus more on feeling. How does it feel to be connected to a higher power that you believe in? How does a conversation with a god you believe in affect your soul?
- For some monks, they have to divide their time equally to read good writings, meditate, and go about their daily lives. Try to find a balance in dividing time for prayer and reading articles about the religion you are studying.
Step 2. Grow your awareness through meditation
There is no specific goal or specific outcome of meditation practice. You won't be in a different situation feeling as if you've learned something after meditating, or as if you've solved a big problem you've been looking for. Instead, try to calm yourself down and increase your awareness, then bring this condition into your daily life.
- To start meditating, learn how to calm your mind and watch it flow through your mind without actively trying to identify. Sit down, focus on your breath, and fix your gaze on the void.
- Try to maintain your meditative thoughts as long as possible throughout the day. Pay attention to the little things and try to stay calm.
Step 3. Just ignore unnecessary beliefs
The famous Zen proverb compares Zen to a boat. Take a boat if you need to cross the river, but you don't have to take it. Learn to leave your Zen understanding by the river when it is no longer needed. Religion, meditation practice, and other aspects of your spiritual practice experience should support your understanding of life, not burden it.
Step 4. Surround yourself with spiritual practitioners
You should take the time to gather with like-minded believers who are engaged in earnest spiritual practice. Study through observations and conversations about complex matters with people in your church, organization, or other religious group so that they can share ideas and interpretations with one another. Learn as much as you can.
