Do you know how to apply practical spirituality strategies to your Advent observance?
Here are four suggestions for allowing your inner Advent to unfold as an experience of spiritual growth and elevation. These ideas are loosely tied to the traditional qualities of the four weeks of Advent: Hope, Peace, Love, Joy, but with my own twist based on what I’ve learned about practical spiritual growth.
Be a spiritual scientist
As you read and practice these tips, you may want to adopt the attitude of a spiritual scientist, seeing how these suggestions work in your life. Let each day be an experiment as you discover how to put these principles into practice within the unique circumstances of your life. Observe with loving neutrality and learn from any apparent “mistakes” in your day, as well as any successes. Have fun and trust that Spirit is guiding you at your perfect pace.
Adapt these ideas to fit your faith.
Adapt these ideas to fit your unique faith perspective. If my words don’t fit you, translate them into words that work better for you!
You may want to focus on working each principle for a week, but remember that the effects are cumulative. Think in terms of adding a new principle each week, but continue to use previous lessons as appropriate. Of course, you can use any or all of these ideas at any time. I have divided the principles into weekly lessons in case you want to work through them systematically during this Advent season.
Tips for your process
As you work through each strategy, I encourage you to:
- Ask that his experience takes place “In the Light for the highest good of all involved,” or his own words with a similar focus. John-Roger has said, “Light is the energy of Spirit that pervades all levels of consciousness. It is an energy that is from God. It is pure, uncorrupted, and available for our use.”
- keep an intention to learn, grow and rise based on the use of each strategy.
- practice the strategy. Take action at whatever level is appropriate, physical, emotional, mental, social, financial, etc. Then you will learn based on your own experience, a very valuable teacher!
Week One: November 30 to December 6 HOPE
Ask for your next steps in spiritual awakening to manifest.
You can rekindle hope in your heart during this week. Each day you can make time for preparation in prayer, asking for clarity and understanding, guidance, courage and trust as you open up to your next levels of consciousness and your next action steps. What are the desires of your heart in terms of your spiritual growth? How can you be more open to the presence of the Spirit in your life? How can you make room and welcome the Christ within like never before?
Second week: from December 7 to 13 PAZ
accept what is. John-Roger has often said that acceptance is the first law of the Spirit. When you accept what is, you have more peace, more options, more choices, and you can move into cooperating with Spirit more easily.
In order to accept what is, rather than fight and resist it, I find it helpful to cultivate the attitude of the Spiritual Scientist or what I call the Neutral Loving Observer. He just looks. Allow yourself to remain detached from the results of the action. If you are upset, unbalanced, resisting or denying, watch your process. Watch how you are able to make new decisions and return to an inner place of love and peace. If you are joyful, cheerful, happy and loving, watch your process. Observe the dynamic as you engage with others. Observe your thoughts and feelings.
Acceptance is simple but not necessarily easy given our habitual patterns of relating to the world and to ourselves. Experiment with being more accepting of what is. (You can still work to improve yourself. Accepting what is provides a great foundation for new, more positive options and next steps.)
Third week: December 14 to 20 LOVE
Forgive any self-criticism and open up to love! For strategies on how to break free from self-criticism, see my article Self Forgiveness: Opening the Door. Self forgiveness is an amazing tool for releasing much of the “junk” that stands between you and your higher awareness of Spirit. Use often for deep results!
Put love into action and you will have the dynamic process of affectionate! Loving is also a choice that must be made at every crossroads. For more information on this topic, I highly recommend the book, Impulse: let love guide, by Drs. John Roger and Paul Kaye.
Do you remember the scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself”? If you can’t love yourself, it’s hard to love those around you.
Love yourself first so that you have the inner resources to stay in balance while loving those closest to you. Love yourself deeply, as God loves you. When you open up to love, you open up to the matrix where humanity and divinity coincide. Right here in your heart, you are loving and you are part of all that is Divine. When you experience love for yourself, it is much easier to extend your love and care to others. You are really giving from your overflow as a child of God.
Week Four: December 21-25 JOY
Celebrate! Let the accumulated experience of the first weeks of Advent spill over into joy! Enjoy all the trappings of a 21st century Christmas and savor the inner joy of whatever deep or subtle learning you have added to your precious store of sacred experience. Allow your growing knowledge of who you are in Spirit to lift your heart and mind as you walk through these days and toward the day of Christ’s Mass.
Let me know about you
If you work with these ideas in the coming weeks, I invite you to tell me about your experience or any questions that may arise, by visiting my website and sending me an email. I’ll do my best to respond on my blog, which are also listed below.
Have a beautiful Advent experience and a Merry Christmas.
