1. Make a commitment
A ritual of some kind often acts as the gateway between one phase of life and another for spiritually centred people. I am a big believer in the incredible power of ritual. It doesn't need to be fancy or formal, but it should be a way of confirming for yourself in the outer world that which you wish to honour and strengthen in the inner world. Create a ritual which speaks to your spiritual centre. Include words or actions which confirm that you'll live in alignment with it, even when situations test you. This ritual marks a turning point for you, putting you in touch with the seed of spiritual empowerment. Whenever you feel unable to live inside your spiritual centre, remember the ritual and the commitment it symbolised.
2. Formulate a daily practice
Even if it's simply a morning affirmation or a ten minute meditation, daily practice keeps us in touch with our centre when little else is doing the trick! It gives us that chance to reconnect and remember our intention to live in harmony with our spirituality. There's a lot to be said for training the mind to follow the soul by placing pure focus on one spiritual gesture for even a short time. When you're planning a daily routine, don't go overboard with lots of flowery rituals and devotionals if you simply won't be able to fit them into your lifestyle. Go with what's feasible so that you don't end up disheartened if you fall short of unrealistic commitments. As you get comfortable with a simple daily practice, you can add more to it if you have the time and inclination.
3. Set your spiritual goals
What do you want to learn in your spiritual practice? Where are your areas of interest? Setting goals for your spiritual progress will enable you to celebrate each new experience and honour your path. You'll be able to watch yourself grow and guide yourself through one of the most amazing journeys you'll ever take. As you reach a goal, you can set another one. Goals help you to walk before you run, placing points of achievement in a steady line for you to reach as your confidence and ability grows. Setting goals enables you to focus your energy in a productive way, spending less time trying to work on a million things at once and more time dedicated to one clear aim after another.
4. As within so without
Your spiritual journey is not just something that happens inside of you. It should permeate into the way you behave and express yourself in your outer life. Observe the ways in which this is happening as you become more spiritually centred. True spiritual empowerment comes when your whole life is permeated by your core spiritual principles. If you honour a love goddess in your daily devotional, honour love, peace and harmony in your dealings with others. If you practice mindfulness during a morning meditation, practice mindfulness in all things as often as possible.When you observe the ways in which being spiritually centred is improving your situation at work, your life at home or your relationships with others, then you've really cracked it - you are spiritually empowered.
5. Explore fear and sadness
Spiritual empowerment gives you the strength to go to the darkest parts of yourself and drag them into the light. If you're living in your spiritual centre but you're afraid to use it to help you with your emotional blockages, your worst fears or your disagreements with others, then you haven't yet reached spiritual empowerment - it's as simple as that. Love and light is all very well, but if you're using that premise to avoid tackling the shadow self, isn't it more 'junk food' than 'power salad'? It's worth thinking about. Can your spirituality access all areas?
