Often we think “Oh, I’d love to give more to my practices, but I just don’t have the time. Maybe
someday, once ___ (fill in the blank) happens...”
It’s true that more and more demands are being placed on our limited time, and our tendency is to let the important things take a back seat to things that are more pressing.
Since there seems to be no respite from the pressing things, the faithful spiritual aspirant must be creative in finding ways to do spiritual practice “in life.” Without daily spiritual practice to stay “tuned up,” we lose the momentum we get from retreats and workshops, we are more subject to mental fog, upsets and crappy moods, and our progress on the path is slower than we have the potential for.
Actually we can do quite a lot to engage the basic principles of spiritual-practice-in-life. In this article, we will look at some of the little rituals we can fold into our day, new habits and attitudes that can make daily life our spiritual practice, to be “in the world but not of the world.”
These are not “shoulds,” not something with which to further beat ourselves up for not having done them. These techniques, when engaged in a spirit of experiment and inquiry, can bring awareness and aliveness to even the most mundane activities. There are some things which also have an effect at a subtle-energy level and help us to keep ourselves tuned up and also plug energy leaks.
Don’t try to remember or do all the hints and techniques in this article all at once; take one at a time and integrate it into your life, then another. In the process, you may discover other things that are useful. Share them.
Having said that, there must be at least some time devoted every day to formal spiritual practice. This is the foundation, the daily boost that we do as a kindness to ourselves. It is from this foundation that we “wind the clock,” in Murshid’s words.
Many people constantly put off taking up spiritual studies because they “have not the time.” They do not see that a little spiritual training will not only give them more time for what they must do, but will enable them to know with their whole heart and soul what they must do. This will make it possible to eliminate all unnecessary acts in life, to devote one’s energy to what is vital. Even pleasure and pain become the greatest of mysteries and problems to those not on the spiritual path. Meditation is not only the key to healing, it is the key to all things.
—Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan, Githa I “Dhyana” #5A
We ought to turn every day of life into meditation. Whatever our work may be, we must do
it, but at the same time we should meditate. Then we will get to know the secret meaning of our
work, and in this way we will turn life from a worldly life into a spiritual one. This applies to
everyone, whether we work in a garden or in a factory, or elsewhere. As soon as we know the
appropriate meditation for the work we are doing we will develop, and all our work will become a
meditation for us. And if we achieve this, the wages we earn will be nothing compared with the
reward we will gain. When the mind is concentrated, one does one’s work well, and even better than
others. In a station in Rajputana I once saw a telegraph clerk accepting telegrams. While he was
doing his work he was meditating at the same time. When it was my turn I said to him, "I have come
to give you this telegram, but I marvel at you, it is wonderful how you are keeping up your
meditation during your work." He looked at me and smiled; and we became friends.
If it were not for the spirit, work would be a nuisance at a time when life’s needs are so
great and when people have so little rest. Thus the best thing for us is to meditate in everyday
life. If it is done properly we will reap the benefit of it not only from the earth, but also from
heaven. Meditation means the soul’s endeavor towards spiritual unfoldment, and this endeavor may be
practiced in different ways in order to suit one’s profession and work.
—Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan, in Healing, Mental Purification, and the Mind World
Making daily life a spiritual practice mostly entails keeping your attunement spacious, fluid, and refined under all circumstances, and subtle-energy management, including plugging “energy leaks” These support each other. The key is a certain mindfulness and precision that we call impeccability.
For the spiritual warrior, every moment is a challenge to be genuine, and each challenge is delightful. When you let go properly, you can relax and enjoy the challenge.
—Chogyam Trungpa Rimpoche
A spacious, refined attunement is not necessarily dwelling in the angelic spheres while at your desk at work. Being “fixed on God” does not mean becoming otherworldly; God is not other than inside everything you see, feel, touch, and think. It is not wise to become otherworldly, or you can become internally “split” in a way that actually blocks your spiritual unfoldment. One can observe people on the spiritual path who make a fetish of their sensitivity, and this sensitivity becomes an avoidance of engaging the issues and developing the Qualities that would make them more refined and elevated spiritually while also less distressed by life itself. Daily life is the means by which the Divine Qualities are drawn into manifestation, through us/as us. “Fixed on God” allows you to discern the movement of the Qualities “between the worlds” with your life as the conduit, because the inner and outer are really one.
What we call “altered states” are actually of several kinds. Some are a view and/or absorption into God-in-transcendence, such as the samadhi states of classical yoga; these take us away from body consciousness and from our focus on the material world, and can be very “ungrounding.”
Other states are the experience of Divine-Essence-in-manifestation, what we have lately come to call “Essential States” and which are the experience of the presence of the Divine Qualities (Sifāt)as they form the fundamental matrix of manifestation itself. In an Essential State, the body and physical world do not fall out of focus, but rather, their nature as a concretization of the fluid living Presence of the Divine is revealed. Essential States are not un-grounding, but their fluidity and dynamicity may be unsettling to the rigid parts of our ego structure (our “identifications”) because of a certain “erosive” effect that the presence of an Essential Quality has on the rigidities of our ego-identity.
By our thought (especially by unconscious thought), emotion, speech, and action we support or block the expression of the various Divine Qualities in/through/as the various facets of our human personality. More on this in a future article.
We have heard “Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem” as “in the Name of God.” The old man who taught me what little I know of Arabic preferred to translate it as “with the Name of God,” and this perspective can help us to bring awareness and attunement to everything before us, disclosing the fundamentally-sacred that abides inside the mundane. The Dervishes say “Bismillah” constantly, at every turn, and so can we. We also have the Invocation, which means fundamentally the same thing.
Begin the day with the Invocation
Toward the One,
the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
the Only Being,
United with all the Illuminated Souls,
Who form the Embodiment of the Master,
the Spirit of Guidance.
...even before your feet hit the floor. As soon as you are awake, do the Invocation, remind yourself of any “aims” or sacred intentions you have set as part of your spiritual work, then roll out of bed.
In fact, do the Invocation at every juncture of the day: when you arise, when you begin your daily practices, before you eat — even before the prayer Nazr, as this was Murshid’s instruction, before you turn the key in your car — VERY important — when you begin your workday and when you leave the office for the commute home. There is enormous blessing and protection in the Invocation, and even magic.
Then make ablutions. The formal Islamic ablutions were taught by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan and are wonderful. They take maybe two minutes, but a shower and teeth-brush with the intention of “purification” before other practices is as good.
Make sure to clean your ears thoroughly each morning. This is not only for aesthetics but also for subtle-energy uptake. Use a neti pot to wash the nasal passages, for the same reason. There is a certain prana that enters our system through these channels, and it’s good to keep them physically clean.
When dressing, be mindful of the effects of patterns and colors. As in music and food, what we like is not necessarily what we need. Feel what colors do, then feel what you need and choose colors and patterns accordingly, instead of relying on preference or habit.
Avoid wearing clothing that you were ill, upset, or depressed in yesterday, especially clothing that touches your skin. Wash these items before wearing again or hang them in the open air for at least a day.
The best time for basic practices is first thing in the morning, between first light and actual dawn. As the sun gets higher, the energy available for spiritual practice wanes, and by 10 a.m. is a fraction of what is available at dawn. One allocates time for this just as one allocates time for other self-care such as washing or eating, and in some ways is even more important than those.
The other good time is at late afternoon and dusk. The energy of the day is Kemal at that point — it can be felt as a slowing or settling of the day’s rhythm, and is good for certain kinds of practices; it’s also a good time to do the practices you may have neglected at the start of the day.
It is better to do fewer practices deeply than lots of practices; doing too many practices in a sitting can make your attunement and atmosphere muddy.
The basic breath practice of the Purification of the Elements is an inner ablution, and the best preparation for any meditation, wazifa, or Dhikr — or any worldly activity — that you may do subsequently. A PDF of the Purification Breaths is here. If you don’t do anything else, at least do the Purification Breaths. If your time is short on a particular day and you are doing the Purification Breaths and some prayers, do the three of the prayers given by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan of Saum, Salat, and Khātum together, one after the other. They can be found here. It is particularly important to balance Saum with Salat, even if you don’t do Khātum at the time.
For those who have the freedom to do so, make the prayers given by Inayat Khan at the prescribed times of day. This sets up a truly wonderful rhythm in one’s day and has great power.
Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan gave movements and postures for the prayers Saum, Salat, and Khātum. Initiates are encouraged to do these, as they help greatly in the embodiment — the whole-body experience — of the awarenesses encoded in the Prayers.
It is best to do one’s daily practices at the same time and at the same place every day. In the chaos of life, it is vitally important to assert some consistency in spiritual practice, for in consistency there is rhythm and in rhythm there is balance; the balance of activity and retreat established by one’s daily spiritual practices will do a great deal to ease the disharmony of life in the world. Also, by doing your practices at the same time and place, a magnetism develops that is very helpful.
When you emerge from your morning practices, don’t just drop your attunement at the door and launch yourself into the day. Move slowly, attempting to integrate the attunement of your practices into your daily activities. Stay centered in the heart, not the 3rd Eye or Crown. You don’t want to become dissociated or depersonalized; that is not the way to achieve detachment, and in fact can block your spiritual progress. If your practices have had any effect, this can be felt as physical sensations, not just sublime thoughts or elevated emotions. Murshid makes an extraordinary statement in Gatha I, Pas-i Anfas #5: “The body is the instrument for every experience, worldly or spiritual, and it is not right to say that the body does not matter, only the spirit counts.” This sensation is your subtle energies working on your physical body, and you can learn to hold your attunement for the whole day by staying attentive to your body.
Make a note of when and what was transpiring when you lost the thread of your attunement after your practices, so that you can prepare yourself to be more vigilant the next time.
During the day, take five minutes an hour to gather and clear yourself; Pir Vilayat recommended setting your electronic watch to beep once an hour as a reminder. If you work at a desk, get up and walk a little, but mindfully, i.e., focusing on your attunement and your posture. Throw off the weight of your tasks and be present in the moment.
As mentioned above, make the Invocation and then the prayer Nazr before taking your first bite.
O Thou, the Sustainer of our bodies, hearts, and souls,
Bless all that we receive in thankfulness.
Amen.
Take a moment to clear yourself so that receiving nourishment is not contaminated by upsets or worry, and do not contaminate mealtime with upsetting discussions or disagreements with partners or family. This is very important, and you may have to assert considerable self-mastery if a family member wishes to draw you into a disharmonious exchange.
Don’t eat in a public place that’s not a restaurant, e.g., don’t walk down the city sidewalk while eating: Thoughts have substance, and it’s unwise to attract others’ projections onto what goes into your body and field. It’s also much better to sit rather than walk while eating, as walking or standing has an undesirable effect on digestion and assimilation.
ALWAYS make the Invocation before turning the ignition key.
When on the road, let the car do the hard parts, i.e., spinning the wheels fast. Do not hurry mentally, even if you are late, i.e., don’t work yourself into an angry/frustrated (and unclear) mental state in the name of “hurrying.” You will not get there more quickly. Mentally hurrying is a tremendous waste of energy and only leaves you weakened when you finally arrive. Stay centered in the heart. You’ll get there when you get there. It is not necessary, beyond a sincere apology, to evidence your contrition at being late with an upset demeanor and flustered attunement. This is just “image management,” i.e., social manipulation of self and other for the sake of appearance, and it is hugely draining of life force.
Do not bother yourself with judging others’ driving, and if you get upset/judgmental, resist looking at the other driver’s face; don’t give your ego more fuel for its hatefulness, even if it’s just momentary and seems fully justified.
I do not recommend doing practices while driving, but for some of us, it’s the only time we have to ourselves. Learn to function smoothly in an altered state before you try it behind the wheel, OK?
“Sipping light:” Find a texture of physical light that is entrancing or beautiful, such as the morning sun on dewy grass, the afternoon sun reflecting from conifer needles, or the sun on the water. On the physical inhale, draw that light into your eyes, your heart, your aura. Exhale any confusion, muddiness, density that you may feel; these impressions can be discharged through the exhale itself, and also through the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, especially if you are standing on the earth.
Locate some live plants: “Drink” leaf-green to restore the eyes after working at the computer.
Soft Focus: Let the eyes hold a soft focus; become aware of how you grab the environment with your glance. Soften it, allow the glance and what occurs to your vision.
Keep the eyes clean. Keep the eyes from straining. Practice control of the glance by concentration; control of the glance helps retain your life force and helps the development of your inner sight. The eyes are indicators of the psychic power one has developed as well as instruments for healing. They are also expressions of one’s emotional state. The steadiness of the glance that we can see in infants, and the control of the glance, are lost by the constant activity of the eyes, being drawn as they are to every object that invites attention. Therefore the mystic takes great care of the eyes, preserving the psychic power of the eyesight.
Sufis recommend drinking water before bed and upon arising.
Body alignment: Aligning the body to magnetic north helps dream sleep and restfulness. Sleeping with head to the East is said to help with Nidra Yoga (meditative awareness in deep sleep).
Sitting up is better for naps, because we’re less likely to go into dream sleep. Going into the dream state during a nap may leave you feeling muddy and “wasted” instead of refreshed.
Don’t think, “I am tired.” Rather, “I would like to rest.”
Every activity takes away some energy, but the thought of being tired takes away even more energy. The spiritual way to prevent tiredness is to absorb more energy from the life within and without, around and about than one loses through activity.
—Inayat Khan, Githa I, “Shafayat” #4a
Absorbing more life-force than one loses is done through the breath, but the actual mechanics of this is a whole training itself. Until that training comes, be diligent with the Purification Breaths and with the practice of Qāsab, which you should get from your guide.
In Part 2, we will look at more things, such as the effect of furnishings and music, and perhaps more importantly, the attitudes and mental frames that support or erode our spiritual work. The entire discourse will be available in a forthcoming “Teachings” web page at http://seattle.sufiorder.org.
If you have questions or wish to discuss these topics, feel free to begin a thread on the Seattle-SOI yahoogroup e-list. If you are not subscribed, you can be subscribed without getting a Yahoo account; email Hafizullah.