On Being in the Mood to Practice
Initiating the process of writing is the hardest part to me. Once I get started, once I get at least a few words down, the rest comes a lot easier. From second grade through early college I wrote in a journal almost everyday. It was a practice that worked for me for a long time, but somewhere along the way I began reflecting on life with friends instead of with a pen. I broke out of the shell of my introversion and lost touch with a key part of my spirit.
It took several years before I was able to reconnect with any daily spiritual practice. I would often start to get back into alignment with my path, but wind up blunted by laziness, funkiness, or outright self-sabotage. I ended up creating an altar in my bedroom and spent time each day doting on its contents. I rearranged stones, burned sage, read tarot cards, meditated, prayed, and otherwise used this space to invoke my personal power.
Each day that I sit at my altar, my practice shifts depending on my mood. Often I will try to meditate without success. These times, I rearrange the stones and totems of my space, and try again. Usually, with a bit of outer readjustment I can find a pathway to commence with the inner adjustments of meditation.
This brings me to the point- a successful spiritual practice is one that you can do no matter what mood you are in. After all, isn’t the point of the practice to help you achieve the kind of mindset where you DO feel powerful?
I find my inspiration here from Catherine MacCoun’s On Becoming an Alchemist. She speaks of the alchemical processes behind inner transformation and helped me to detach from this idea that I need to “feel spiritual” in order to actually be an empowered magician.
The truth is that you’ll find strength in a practice that can keep you present and awake, even on days when being asleep sounds a million times better. Whether it is meditation, dance, writing, drawing, painting, or exercising, it doesn’t matter. Do a different one each day. As long as you are conscious and consistent, you will grow and heal from it.
