You want to start a regular spiritual practice—but somehow, it just doesn’t happen.
Your good intentions fade after the course ends. Or once the retreat glow wears off. Life gets busy, and your practice slips to the side.
I’ve been there too. It took me many years to find a spiritual rhythm that worked for me. That’s why I’m sharing what helped—so your journey can be a little smoother, a little sooner.
What is spiritual practice – really?
Spiritual practice is something you do. Not something you believe, understand, or study. It’s a daily act of connection—to yourself, to the world, and to something greater.
By “regular,” I mean most days—as part of your self-care rituals and routines. It’s not about following a specific religion or joining a group. It’s a personal commitment. One you make for yourself, on your own terms.
Practicing with others is wonderful, but your own private practice is foundational. It gives you something to return to—something steady, nourishing, and yours.
I’m not a spiritual teacher. I don’t follow one tradition or doctrine. What I share here comes from lived experience, and from the teachers and paths I’ve learned along the way.
Why it matters
Spiritual practice helps us connect to something beyond ourselves. It reminds us where we belong in the world—and what is ours to do, especially in these complex times.
Joanna Macy, a writer and activist from the Deep Ecology tradition, beautifully connects spirituality with the earth. Many people experience spiritual connection through nature. Others use the word God. I don’t. You don’t have to either.
We each have to find our own way in. What matters is the practice—not the label.
Spiritual practice builds deep inner resources: strength, resilience, self-trust, and emotional clarity. It nourishes us.
As Sufi teacher Mark Silver says:
“When things are busiest, most stressful, most chaotic… in other words, when we are at our most hungry, our most thirsty… that’s when we need to nourish ourselves, no matter how urgent it seems to be in the moment.”
The tangible benefits
While the spiritual benefits are often hard to quantify—peace, intuition, feeling held—there’s plenty of research showing the physical and mental benefits of regular practice:
- Reduced stress
- Improved emotional wellbeing
- Better sleep
- Enhanced digestion
- Pain relief (for some)
- Stronger connection to self and nature
Many practices like meditation and gratitude journaling have been widely studied. But those studies often leave out the spiritual dimension—which is where the deepest transformation often lives.
Twelve-step recovery programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, ACoA and sister organisations, offer another example: they’re spiritual, non-denominational, and based in consistent personal practice—not belief.
Six spiritual practices to try
Here are six practices that have made a real difference for me. Try the ones that speak to you, and adapt as needed. This is about what works for you.
1. Compassionate mindfulness meditation
This gentle practice begins with just one breath of self-warmth. I learned it from Sarah Peyton, neuroscience educator and author of Your Resonant Self.
Many of us struggle with meditation because our inner critics hijack the silence. Sarah teaches ways to meet those inner voices with kindness and safety. Her website SarahPeyton.com has free guided meditations, and her Compassionate Mindfulness course is excellent.
As she says:
“We don’t want to beat ourselves up for not being able to relax.”
2. Walking meditation
This is my favourite style of meditation—because sitting still isn’t required!
I walk a simple circuit among the trees in my backyard. It’s become my own suburban labyrinth. No teacher, no rules. Just rhythm, presence, and nature.
Walking meditation works best with space. Outdoors is ideal, but indoors can work too if you have room to move. Being among plants and trees is especially calming—what somatic healing calls “co-regulation” with the natural world.
3. Remembrance – a Sufi practice
Remembrance is a heart-centered practice from the Sufi tradition—an awareness of divine presence, not through emptying the mind, but filling the heart.
I was introduced to it by spiritual business teacher Mark Silver, author of Heart Centred Business. He has some guided Remembrance practice recordings on the Heart of Business website and on Insight Timer.
Music in spiritual practice
Music is essential in spiritual traditions worldwide.
Here are two of my favourite musical spiritual practices:
4. Toning: sacred sound
Toning involves sounding long vowel sounds—not singing, not performing. It’s a powerful spiritual and healing practice that rebalances the body and mind.
I learned about toning from sound healer Dominique Oyston, whose book Goddess Archetypes: Empowering the Feminine Voice (on Amazon Kindle) is a great resource. I usually tone alone, in a quiet room, especially if others are home. It’s not about being heard—it’s about being in resonance.
5. Chants and mantras
Simple, repetitive songs or phrases can quiet the mind and uplift the spirit. I love pairing chants with my ukulele—singing becomes spiritual practice.
I’ve shared tutorials for some of my favourite chants on my YouTube channel, including the Green Tara Mantra.
6. Places of beauty and nature
Spiritual connection often comes more easily in beautiful surroundings—a forest, the sea, a cathedral, a Zen garden.
Even in a busy city or bland suburb, you can find or create moments of beauty. I often visit a nearby riverside park for a dose of wildness.
Australian permaculture designer Cecilia Macaulay teaches how to design beauty into everyday home spaces—a practice in itself.
Other practices I love
There are many more spiritual practices I return to regularly:
- A personal altar
- A daily gratitude journal
- Yoga
- Tracking my cycles (monthly, seasonal, and life-phase)
- Creative practices like The Artist’s Way
- Grief work—especially through the teachings of Joanna Macy and Francis Weller
Grief, in fact, may be one of the most sacred and necessary spiritual practices of our time. For more about grief work, check out Joanna Macy’s work around the Great Turning and The Wild Edge of Sorrow, by Francis Weller.
It’s not a luxury
Spiritual practice is not a luxury. It’s a gift—to yourself, and to the world.
It helps you meet life with strength and clarity. It nourishes your resilience. It deepens your sense of self and belonging.
If you’ve been wanting to begin a practice—or return to one—I hope something here has sparked inspiration.
Spiritual practice pays off over time. But only if you do it. Regularly. Not just when you feel like it.
If you would like some help, I’d love to support you to find your own practice.
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