The Sacred Year<\/em>, I began taking an hour to eat an apple.<\/p>\nIt might sound strange, but how else might one begin cultivating attentiveness? Divided evenly between my five senses, that means I had 12 minutes with each to explore the way the apple looked, felt, sounded, smelled and tasted.<\/p>\n
Surprisingly, the more apples I contemplated the more aware and contemplative (from the Latin \u201cto observe\u201d) I became in general. As we engage it, the practice of attentiveness seems to spread out, infusing other areas and other relationships, helping us become more attentive.<\/p>\n
After the third apple, I stopped multi-tasking people, started becoming more available and present to the people I love most in my life. No more asking half-baked questions during a conversation where I\u2019m only partially present.<\/p>\n
But why not start small? Go grab an apple, and set aside an hour. (And, I\u2019ll let you in on a mystery that you can go explore with your own apple: what common kitchen ingredient do apple seeds taste like?)<\/p>\n
Spiritual Practice #2: Silence<\/strong><\/p>\nIf a thing\u2019s rarity makes it precious, silence may well be worth more than gold.<\/p>\n
From dawn till dusk our lives are filled with noise\u2014the sound of traffic and car horns, buzzing smart phones, the little pings of email \/ tweet \/ DM notifications, and let\u2019s not forget the less-than-inspiring elevator music in every retail store.<\/p>\n
Though the effect of noise seems subtle in daily doses, I\u2019m convinced it compounds over time until our ears and very lives give us a persistent headache.<\/p>\n
Even 5-10 minutes of \u201ccentering silence\u201d in the morning can help counteract the toxin of our culture\u2019s ceaseless noise.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of The Sacred Year,<\/em> I found it especially helpful during my practice of \u201ccentering silence\u201d to light a candle and contemplate the way darkness has not overcome the light<\/em>.<\/p>\nAs you enter into this year, consider dedicating 5, 10, even 20 minutes to a daily rhythm of \u201ccentering silence.\u201d If possible, do this before checking your email, before turning on your cell phone. Light a candle. Bask in its warmth and light.<\/p>\n
As you grow deeper into the practice, notice the way the \u201ccentering silence\u201d becomes a sort of anchor point, a place of reference and orientation that you can return to during the day, no matter how noisy life may be.<\/p>\n
Spiritual Practice #3: Simplicity<\/strong><\/p>\nContrary to the dictates of today\u2019s reigning economic theory, Thoreau once wisely noted, \u201cI make myself rich by making my wants few.\u201d[ii]<\/p>\n
Simplicity isn\u2019t about chiding ourselves for owning too much, but rather cultivating the capacity to become more <\/em>thankful and content with less than we\u2019ve been led to believe we ought to want (or deserve).<\/p>\nThe Spiritual Practice of simplicity can take on many forms: consider giving away all articles of clothing that you haven\u2019t worn in the last year, instituting a month-long moratorium on buying \u201canything new\u201d (fascinating how removing the urgency to purchase creates space for healthy evaluation), or even trying to eat on $2.00 per day. (Around 2 billion<\/strong> people subsist on less than $2.00 per day in our world).<\/p>\nPracticing the latter (plain oatmeal for lunch, simple beans and rice for lunch and dinner) had a surprising effect on me: I began to anticipate, notice, and appreciate EVERY meal with a heightened sense of gratitude and delight. Whereas I had simply consumed food before practicing simplicity, I began enjoying it instead.<\/p>\n
This is the pearl of great price buried way down deep in the practice of simplicity: it enables increased delight and increased satisfaction, even as it empowers us to consume less of Creation\u2019s finite resources.<\/p>\n
~<\/p>\n
Misunderstandings of Spiritual Practice have twisted them into ways of one-upping others, or trying to earn God\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n
The most clarifying metaphor I\u2019ve yet come across is that of a sailboat: Spiritual Practices are sort of like trimming the sails. Doing so is essential, yes, but well-trimmed sails are only secondarily<\/em> responsible for the sailboat\u2019s movement.<\/p>\nTrim your sails all you want, but if it weren\u2019t for the Wind, there\u2019d be no movement at all.<\/p>\n
But\u2014thanks be to God\u2014the Wind of the Creating, Sustaining and Redeeming God billows throughout our very days and lives.<\/p>\n
Grace and Peace to you as you Embrace The Sacred this coming year.<\/p>\n
Invitation to share<\/strong>: Because we\u2019re all on this journey together, consider sharing what you discover through the above practices via the hashtag #EmbraceTheSacred.<\/p>\n
![\"BC_MichaelYankoski2_bio\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/101\/2014\/09\/BC_MichaelYankoski2_bio.jpg\")
<\/a>by Michael Yankoski<\/p>\n