Most spiritual work is like cleaning your house.
It’s mundane, but very necessary, and things get really yucky when you don’t do it.
If you’ve been following my work for a while, you’ve probably heard me talk about this before. Yes, it’s time for another article about how spiritual practice is actually very unglamorous, contrary to a lot of what you might see on social media.
And friends: that doesn’t mean it’s not beautiful, meaningful, powerful, miraculous and life-affirming. It is all of those things, and more.
But on the day-to-day basis, spiritual practice is more like cleaning the toilet.
Imagine you didn’t regularly clean your house. I am pretty sure every single one of us has gone too long without vacuuming at some point in our lives, so we all know the feeling. You get used to the piles of paper, the dust bunnies in the corners and the scuzz in the sink.
And then, a guest is coming over! Time to recycle all the junk mail. Time to vacuum up the pet hair and scrub the gunk.
And wow, it feels great. The sink is so shiny. The counters are clear. Your socks are no longer covered in pet hair because the floors are clean.
Cleaning your house feels way more dramatic and miraculous if you don’t do it often.
Spiritual practice feels way more dramatic and miraculous if you don’t do it often.
If you only clean your toilet once a year, it is going to feel like a f*ing revelation when you finally do.
If you clean your toilet before it actually gets yucky, it is going to feel sort of mundane and potentially unnecessary.
If you don’t have a consistent and regular spiritual practice, the moments when you do tap in and connect are going to feel like the clouds parting, a beam of sunlight illuminating your vision as a choir of angels serenades you with your favorite song.
If you do have a regular and consistent spiritual practice, you will probably reach a point where it feels boring and potentially unnecessary, because it is working so well.
One of the most significant benefits of spiritual practice is helping you be regulated and stable in your life, no matter what. This sounds super unglamorous, but I promise it’s easy to regulate your energy when things are going well and a whole lot more difficult to do so when shit hits the fan.
When things go sideways, as they do for every single one of us, your spiritual practice will help you maintain your inner equanimity.
Your spiritual practice will help you not lash out from hurt feelings or anger.
Your spiritual practice will help you process your grief.
Your spiritual practice will help you find joy and hope in the darkest moments.
Your spiritual practice will help you be kind to yourself and others, even when it’s more convenient to be unkind.
Your spiritual practice will help ground you and keep you from dissociating when you feel overwhelmed.
Your spiritual practice will help you access your intuition and inner wisdom when you feel lost.
Your spiritual practice will help you love, even when you’re hurting.
Your spiritual practice will help you tune in to the wisdom of your body when you need healing.
And yes, your regular and consistent spiritual practice will help you connect with high-vibration divine beings, have transcendent epiphanies and receive cosmic downloads. Your spiritual practice will help you sing songs to the spirits, experience magic and synchronicity, expand in love and joy, and feel more connection and beauty than you ever thought possible.
But the most beneficial support your spiritual practice can offer you is to help you be more at home in yourself and present in your life, which will make the biggest difference when you need it most.
