9 Simple Things You Can Do to Help Your Spiritual Life

In a previous post I wrote about the concept of spiritual development and progress. Human life is a journey, ideally one that will take us to a higher destination than we started out at the beginning of this life. Ultimately we want to realize our eternal spiritual nature and achieve a residence in the spiritual world, forever free from reincarnating in this world of temporary happiness mixed with suffering. All of our problems develop because we are born here, and we can avoid all the problems of life by not being born here, but transferring ourselves to the spiritual world. This is the ultimate goal to be attained.

Keeping that goal in mind there are things that will help us to achieve it, and likewise, there are many things that will take us away from that goal. Thus there are positive things to be done and accepted, and negative things to be avoided. Do’s and Don’ts. This is true in the pursuit of any goal.
Take olympic contenders. Their primary task is working out, practice and training in their sport. Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals, swam 6 hours a day, 6 days a week. In addition he worked out with weights 3 days a week, and one hour of stretching 3 days a week. That was his commitment to being the best in the world. But in addition to that he supported his efforts with secondary practices of proper rest, a good and proper diet, being regulated and disciplined in his routine.

Not only do serious athletes train well, but they avoid undoing that effort by carelessness in other aspects of their life. They avoid recreational drugs, foods and drink that degrade their body and pollute their mind. Many also are restrained in sexual activity understanding that sex energy is a vital life force that they want to channel toward their physical excellence.

if we are serious about spiritual progress we must also follow a serious regimen, to become as it were, “spiritual athletes.”

As with athletes, spiritual training has primary and secondary practices. The primary practice directly purifies our consciousness, uplift us, and help us move closer to the goal of self-realization. But the primary practices become difficult if not impossible unless the secondary rules are followed.

The secondary practices are those that make the body fit and the consciousness clear and inclined to perform the primary practices. They are not difficult in and of themselves – depending on the present state of our material conditioning. For sure, they will be more difficult for some than others as we are each at our own stage of spiritual evolution.

It’s a lot like exercising. If we are out of shape even the slightest effort can be a big deal. But as we stick to our exercise routine gradually it becomes easier and easier. The same with the secondary practices. Not only will they become easier over time, but by doing them we will find ourselves fit and inclined for the primary practices. Secondary practices include mental and physical discipline, and a number of do’s and don’ts.

If we do not observe the secondary rules, we can’t maintain the body properly, nor our lives. If we cannot maintain our life, how can we follow the primary rules? The secondary rules thus become the ornament of a person’s life.

Here are seven easy-to-follow secondary practices that will bring you great benefit:

Be clean! As the saying goes, cleanliness is next to godliness, and it is true. Cleanliness means body, mind and environment
Bathe first thing in the morning. Doing so will make you refreshed and alert.
Wash your hands with soap regularly. Good hygiene also prevents illness.
If you’ve worked hard and are sweaty shower before relaxing. Your rest will be much better.
Keeping your body clean will help you in keeping your mind clean.
Keep your house and room clean. Clean up after yourself immediately. Don’t just throw the dishes in the sink – wash them immediately.
Clean your house regularly – vacuuming or sweeping the floor, straightening out the messes that always happen.
Become conscious of keeping your environment clean. Keeping your environment clean will help you in keeping a clean mind.
Wash and clean your car regularly – especially inside where you sit.
Whatever kind of work you do, spend some time cleaning up at the end of the day. It will make you more efficient and you will feel better about coming to work the next day and being in that environment.

Be regulated and disciplined in your habits of eating
Eat only at meal times, without snacking in-between meals; if you are pressed for time cook larger quantities to heat up later when you are on the go.
Do not overeat. Stop eating when you are full. You should be comfortably full after the meal, not stuffed.
Eating slowly will allow you to more accurately sense when you are becoming full.
Better not to eat within 3 hours of bed time. If you must, then laying on your left side when you go to bed will aid in digestion.

Be regulated and disciplined in sleeping and waking
Go to bed and rise at the same time every day. By going to bed at the same time every day your body will become adjusted and sleep will come easily and quickly.
It is best to go to bed early, so that you can get up early – 10pm at the latest (9 or 9:30 is even better)
Limit your sleep to no more than 8 hours, gradually reducing it to 6 as you are able. Reducing sleep becomes easier as you get older.
Take a short nap later in the day if you need to.
Rise early. Best is before sunrise. This time of day is the best for spiritual practices – before the day starts and you become busy thinking about so many things that you will need to do that day.

Be honest in all things
This includes being truthful and straightforward in your dealings with others.
Self-realization is a matter of wanting to free ourselves from material illusions, but if we tell lies we are in fact trying to create illusions! We cannot simultaneously do something and become free from it.
Don’t cheat; if you are given too much change from a purchase return it.
Keep your word. If you say you will do something then do it when expected.
If you want to go further, eliminate gambling of all kinds

Follow moral principles, especially regarding sexual affairs
The serious spiritual aspirant fulfills their sexual needs in a responsible way with their wedded spouse.
Sexual activity binds one to the bodily conception of life, therefore sex should be minimized to only that which is required, and not more.
The pleasures of sex are limited and temporary, and become pale when one experiences the happiness of genuine spiritual activity. Give up this lower taste by experiencing a higher taste by connecting with God.
Do not look at or watch pornography. This will make your mind more difficult to control and diminish your will power. Check out the website: yourbrainonporn.com. There is a lot of material there that will help you develop the determination to stop viewing porn.

Give in charity
Find worthy causes that you like and donate to them, regardless of how small an amount.
We benefit more by giving charity than in receiving.
To put that another way: We are receiving when we give.
Give regularly. Make a monthly pledge and stick to it.

Reduce and eventually eliminate all alcohol and drugs
Intoxicants are just that – they are toxic to a healthy body
Intoxicants reduce our ability to think clearly and keep us in a state of ignorance.
Intoxicants increase illusion (that’s why we use them!), but the goal of the serious spiritual practitioner is to become free from illusion!

Respect others, be kind and do good to others, help people where possible
It’s easy and costs nothing to smile and be nice to others
By doing so you will find that you will be happier and feel better about yourself
Be of service wherever you can. People will respect you and think highly of you.

Reduce and gradually eliminate flesh foods from your diet.
Foods based on violence generate bad karma – especially given the awful nature of today’s factory farming that generates and concentrates huge amounts of animal waste and consumes huge resources.
Don’t just take the meat off of your plate and expect to be satisfied. Vegetarian meals are far more imaginative than most meat-eaters realize.
There are hundreds of vegetarian and vegan meal options
There are many vegetarian convenience foods available in the frozen section of the grocery store.
You will find thousands of cooking classes on YouTube that will teach you how to make delicious vegetarian meals. You will be surprised to find the great variety of foods that open up to you when you look beyond flesh foods.
Spices are the key to nourishing and satisfying vegetarian meals. Learn how to use spices. Helpful hint: spices are available from Indian grocers at very nominal prices.

Many of these practices will require mental discipline. If you are not accustomed to being tidy then you will first need to make a mental adjustment about why you are doing so. There may be some resistance from the mind, but by remembering that you want to follow these practices for your spiritual welfare you can conquer the mind. Following any and all of these secondary principles will make you a better person. You will be respected by others, and you will be happier with yourself as well.

BE CAREFUL! Start from where you are at and gradually increase. If you try to do too much too soon you will likely fail and go back to your old habits. Be methodical and slow, taking one step at a time – and don’t beat yourself up if you get off track. Just begin again and stick with it. Evolution takes time! New habits take at least 3 weeks to become the new normal. By continuing you will gradually evolve and the new you will be just as comfortable as the old self was.

Following these principles will prepare you – body and mind – and support you in your efforts to grow spiritually. By doing these things you will automatically be more attracted to spiritual topics and inclined to follow spiritual principles.

Best of luck to you in your efforts. Keep at it – it will pay off big time and you will be happy for this!