Notre Dame de Paris, repeating steps.
Notre Dame de Paris, repeating steps.

Practice

The Virtue is Practice and the Saboteur is Procrastination.

A spiritual practice is a song that is sung from the heart.

A spiritual practice works just like practicing the piano. Little by little, day by day, you feel yourself letting go of the fear of beginning something new. We fear we’ll never be good enough, so why bother continuing? Fear that you won’t be perfect comes from wanting to be seen in a particular way by others. Practicing the piano teaches us to feel the music move through our bodies as our fingers press the keys. Over time practice frees us from the pain of being a beginner and replaces it with being aware of feeling the music move through us. Music and speech both require practice.

Practicing listening to our own words as we speak will change us. We listen to music because it reflects our emotions and thoughts. Language like music also reflects our feelings and thoughts. We’re all musical because we all have a heart that is rhythmic. Our thoughts and breath have rhythm also. As we become stressed, the rhythm of anxious thoughts are played out through our breath. Anxious thoughts produce breathing that’s very different from peaceful thoughts. Angry thoughts have a different rhythm that’s played out through our breath also.

We are music. We write songs every moment of everyday. All prayers are songs. We all know the chorus; Help me, Please help me! We sing this phrase with all of our heart. We sing songs of regret and unfairness, we sing songs that boast and brag, we sing songs that deflate and defile. We are instruments and we make music throughout our entire lives. Breathing and thinking produce a rhythm within us, a song of sorts.

Prayer is a song that we sing to the Cosmic One, while meditation is a song that requires complete silence to hear. The world is a noisy place because most people don’t realize that they’re musical instruments. Our thoughts produce vibrations that affect not only our own life, but the lives of others. Practice listening to the rhythm of your own voice, watch the affect it has on others. Practice singing from the heart.

Habits are formed through repetition, so If I repeatedly say to myself, “I’m stupid” then that song will begin to shape my words and actions out in the world. This is the song of procrastination and it reveals deep feelings of self doubt and inadequacy. We procrastinate because we’re so caught up in the audience and the reviews. We anticipate greatness rather than goodness. The song of procrastination has a rhythm that makes us do everything except that which needs to get done. This song has too many riffs and too little melody. There’s plenty of hoopla but the song still hasn’t been sung.

Climbing the steps at Notre Dame de Paris, the results of repetition are seen in stone..
Climbing the steps at Notre Dame de Paris, the results of repetition are seen in stone..

If you practice affirmations without pouring your soul into it, its like singing the blues without emotion. When you sing the blues to yourself about how there’s nobody to help you through your problems, then that’s likely to become your reality. Practice speaking affirmations like the blues, with plenty of emotional strength. Your affirmations will become strong and grow from your heart. Our future grows from our intentions and our intentions are fed by our emotions.

The practice of listening to your own words as you speak makes you more conscious of your thoughts. It also alerts you to where you’re putting your emotional strength. We can’t speak anything that we haven’t already thought. The spoken word always reveal the quality of those thoughts. If you speak a lie, you have thought that lie first. Speaking critically and judgmentally reveals the quality of your mind. Speaking the truth with compassion and dignity also reveals the quality of your mind.

Spiritual transformation takes place in our thoughts. Our words ARE our thoughts. Change your lyrics and sing from the heart, then you will see the quality of your life changing day by day.

Peace be with you Namaste

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