Spiritual Exercises

Because mind is an important feature of reality, mastering your mind is key to a happy life. You must understand your thoughts and integrate your emotions in order to see through to the true nature of things and to live serenely. Understanding will lead to tranquility.

In order to achieve this, you must exercise your mind. Contemplation is the exercise of reason. Just as physical exercises are important to maintain a healthy body, spiritual exercises are important to maintain a healthy mind (or soul).

As a type of training, spiritual exercises change your perspective. You see things as if for the first time. You will probably need to try many different exercises until you find one that resonates with you. Some people like to pray or worship, some like to meditate, others like to chant or dance. I have always found the exercise of reason—exploring the world with my mind—to be the most effective. It is a form of active meditation, turning a concept over and over in my mind until it becomes deeply ingrained in me.

Examples of spiritual exercises include: dialogue with oneself, examination of conscience, active or intentional imagination, reading inspiring books, writing down your thoughts, walking in nature, and daily disciplines such as resisting the swells of emotion that can lead to actions you might later regret.

Walking in Nature

For example, let's say you take a walk through a forest. The key is not to simply walk and let your mind wander, but to observe yourself walking, observe your thoughts and examine the things around you. Take them apart and put them back together in your mind. See what they are made of, where they come from and where they will go. See the surge of atoms with your mind's eye and see into the true nature of what surrounds you.

Or do the same with an old portrait. Don't just stare at the portrait; reflect on it. What did the subject see when she sat herself down to be painted? What kind of world surrounded her—sights, smells, physical sensations? What was going through her mind? Did she think that centuries later someone so distant would be staring at her image, wondering what her world was like?

You don't have to completely withdraw from the world, become a hermit in a cave or a stylite perched atop a pillar. In the midst of everyday activities, you can learn to turn inward—for example, by feeling the rise and fall of your breath or by observing the rising and falling of your thoughts and emotions.

Withdrawing your attention from the world and, instead, focusing on your thoughts, will reveal a rich inner world, full of surprises and insights. As valuable as mindfulness and self-observation are—withdrawing attention from the external world—remaining engaged in the world, of course, is also worthy and valuable. Work hard, get married, have children, and deal with all the struggles life entails. If you avoid the world, how can you know what's real? You cannot discover the truth about life by hiding from it; only by embracing it.

Contemplative Meditations

In the following contemplations, I repeat many of the concepts I explained earlier. This is one of the active meditations I do most often: contemplation of a certain philosophical concept. As you contemplate the ideas and suggestions presented here, remain aware of the reality of the present moment—observe your thoughts and feel every feeling.

A whirlwind of activity churns inside every cell. Molecules dance, vibrating with energy, surging along with the universal flow. Every cell in your body contains the same sea water you evolved from. Molecules of all shapes and sizes continuously swirl in your cellular water, bouncing around and jostling each other, fitting together like pieces of a dynamic jigsaw to perform some task, then separate when it is done.

Even here the process continues. Nothing stays still; everything goes through motion, collision, decay, and regeneration. Contemplate the mystery of how all this physical, embodied activity shows up as experiences and sensations in your mind.