Living a Spiritual Life in a Secular World, a Pagan Perspective

This isn’t about "religion" but spirituality... the connection you have with the divine in whatever form speaks to you. In this hectic world many of us find it hard to just sit still for 5 minutes and catch our breath, let alone meditate or commune with the divine. Casting a full Circle, or holding a formal ritual? Forget it! There are just too many things we have to do, places we have to be, and people we need to take care of. We get so wrapped up in the mundane that we forget that even the mundane can provide an opportunity to bring a little more spirituality into our lives. It all depends on your point of view.

I know that sounds a little simplistic, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Think about it…

Take cooking a daily meal for family and friends. Cooking is a transformative act, a magical act. And it can very easily be a spiritual act. When you cook, you take discreet ingredients, some of which on their own may not appear very appetizing, and combine them in specific ways to create a dish where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It nurtures and nourishes those who partake of it.

Now think about how much greater that nurturing could be if the whole time you were preparing your meal you took the time to commune with the divine and channeled that energy into the meal? Think about the effect that would have on those with whom you shared your meal? This isn’t about converting anyone to the same faith as you, it is simply a way to connect to and share the divine spark that dwells within all living things.

What about cleaning the house? You know that can be a spiritual act as well. With a little bit of directed visualization and focused intent you can vacuum up the psychic “dirt” along with the physical. Mix up some purification and protection herbs (bay leaf, sage, and lemon peel for example) with a little powdered sea salt (or regular table salt) and scatter that around the room. Visualize it destroying any “bad vibes” that may have crept into your space since the last time you cleaned, then vacuum. Put some of the mix into a bucket of water and mop the kitchen and bathroom floors, wash down the sink and stove, etc. Turn cleaning your house into cleansing your house.

And finally… what about cleaning YOU? Yes, in today’s fast paced world not to many of us have time to take a long, purifying soak in the tub, with scented bath salts tuned to the proper phase of the moon, candles and soft meditative music. But that’s not the only way to wash off the psychic clutter at the end of a long day. The simple act of standing under the running water of the shower, combined with… you guessed it… focused intent and visualization can be quite effective in cleansing one’s aura and psyche of the day’s mental, emotional, and spiritual grit and grime. Even if you normally shower in the morning, if you’ve had a particularly rough or annoying day, shower before going to be so you don’t drag all that mess with you to sleep

As you wash up visualize the soap and shampoo removing unwanted or harmful energies along with dirt, make-up, and perspiration. See a dark film of gunk covering your body and being washed away down the drain, neutralized by the cleansing power of Water where it will eventually be returned to the Earth to be “recycled.”

These are just a few suggestions on how to make every day chores into spiritual acts that can bring us closer to communion with the divine. Some other suggestions would be to create a magical garden. It doesn’t matter if it’s in your back yard, in window boxes and flower pots on an apartment balcony or window ledge, or in one of those little “Aerogardens” [link]

on your kitchen counter (which is a great way to grow your own magical herbs, by the way!).

Set up a small arrangement of items that have special, spiritual meaning for you (even if no one else “gets” it), and every day when you get home from work or school, take a moment (however brief) and light a tea candle in honor to the divine. Offer a simple “thank you and blessed be” to the gods and continue with the rest of your routine. For a little extra pop, burn scented tea candles (Yankee Candle Co. makes some of the best!) instead of incense and change the scent according to the seasons: floral in the spring, fruity or beachy in the summer, crisp and spicy in the fall, evergreen and “icy” in the winter.

The main thing to remember is being more spiritual and consciously connecting to the divine doesn’t have to be a chore. In fact, it shouldn’t be. If it is you are missing something important. Being spiritual doesn’t have to mean dragging yourself to Church or to Circle. It doesn’t have to mean hours spent in prayer or meditation. Use you imagination! You may be surprised at all the ways you can make the seemingly mundane in your life a truly spiritual… and magical… experience.