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Each morning I meditate. I create a half hour morning sitting practice, a being with whatever appears. Opening to Infinite Presence. I use purification breathing and morning prayers to center, and then just sit in silence. Aligned and rooted in the Tree of Life, centered in the middle pillar. Soft belly, opening up high, drawing down blessings. And beyond.

 

After that, I listen in deeper and ask myself what nourishment I need, what to cultivate or what to attend to. And depending on daily responsibilities and tasks, I choose to do a "spiritual practice",  for at least an hour. That can be anything from taking a walk in fresh air while chanting/breathing "God Names"; taking a warm bath and communing with the element water; listening in deeper to the voice of the situation while drawing. Letting transformative art-making guide me.

 

I like to attune to the moment in the Jewish calendar. Each day and especially during new-moon and full-moon shifts. Learning to live in harmony with the One, the Whole Cosmos. Either by studying the text belonging to that very moment in time, reading a psalm, or attuning to the cycles of the sun and moon and the creative flow of the life force. This listening happens through moving and breathing and drawing and playing with paint or ink on paper. Drawing out the direct experience of the moment.

A day later words appear, the En-spirited Body speaks. It gives me a lot of pleasure to put the drawing and the poem on my website, as a blog.

See: Living in Jewish Time

 

Another form of spiritual practice I developed for after my half hour morning sit of emptying the mind/body and opening into Space, The Void, All and Nothing.

Attending to the arising and falling. This Stilling into Being. Then, after a brake, I tune in on a theme, a question, a deep inner longing. Either start writing or seek a drawing/painting image which might relate to the inner questing.

Reflecting and inquiring, opening for self-understanding and guidance.

This is a form of contemplation, communing with the image or question. Letting the vitality of my soul and the quality of compassion cut through objectifying, judging and analyzing. A seeing lovingly through layers of matter and appearances emerges.

Using the imagination, outer and inner. Personifying, finding the story, the myth, the hidden message. Letting the soul express itself, create meaning. Receive inspiration.

The image and words received become pointers and support me in Embodying Spirit and Actualizing deep truths.

An example of this contemplative process you can find in "the white hand" painting and text.

See: Receiving Guidance

 

In the future other forms of spiritual practices might be added.