Our Invitation to Live Faith Day-to-Day

 Whether we live inside or outside of religious enclosures, the monastic concept of balancing our lives and ordering them around God offers hope for living a deeper and more fulfilling spiritual life.

Debra K. Farrington

Living Faith Day by Day

How the Sacred Rules of Monastic Tradition Can Help You Live Spiritually in the Modern World

Recovery is an invitation to begin living a spiritually mindful life every day. It is an opportunity for a person to create their own unique guidelines for living a more healthy and meaningful life. These guidelines impact all aspect of our lives: Emotional and Mental, Physical and Nutritional, Relational, Financial, and Spiritual well-being. The core goal of recovery is to establish a balanced life where a person derives a sense of meaning and has a sense of purpose.

This begins by developing an intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father. Striving for balance in our lives incorporates time for prayer and meditation. Time to explore and mindfully contemplate the scriptures. Lest we become too consumed with our daily activities where they compete for our attention. Failure to secure times where we engage in thoughtful prayer, seeking God's will, wisdom, and counsel will bring us to a place of disconnect from self and others. 

This disconnects from a mindfully spiritual living creates imbalance in our lives. We are no longer at peace. Recovery is all about how we go about restoring peace of mind and forces us to focus on what matters the most. And, because of our disconnect and unbalanced life, we succumb to the desires of our hearts and minds. However, a spiritual recovery becomes a meaningful and purposeful way of living life. 

Surrender is a spiritual act of faith

What this means is that we do not merely surrender our life and will over to the care of God as a onetime gesture. Spiritual recovery and spiritual living require our continued need to surrender daily over to God's divine and providential will and care. It is our connection with Him that brings us to a place of finding balance. It is our ability to be present and consistent in our meeting God. He is constantly there, ready to counsel us, to strengthen us, inspire us, and to bring us through those early days of recovery. Our divine Heavenly Father is there, ready to sustain us in maintaining a healthy balance in our lives. Securing us as we grow in our faith and confidence in Him.

Yet, if we disconnect and ignore our relationship with God, if we are insufficient in spending time being present and seeking Him, our mutual connection with God goes away. When this mutual connection disappears, we are no longer being challenged. We are no longer growing, and we are no longer strengthening and enhancing our confidence and peace of mind.

That desire to be in a relationship with God is at the core of the rule of life. By making a commitment to prayer, to study, to a spiritual community, to our own needs and those of others, we create a balanced life that revolves around our love of God. We come to that commitment as a result of our own romance with God, out of the knowledge that God loves us and wants - desperately - to be in relationship with us. And, as a result of the love we experience, we are emboldened and spread that love outward toward others. ~ Debra Farrington ~

Recovery presents significant struggles and challenges. A person is challenged to struggle through intense cravings. Environment and social network are another challenge and struggle. Irrational thoughts, intense emotions, and physical discomfort are difficult to manage. However, one is capable of receiving strength, just for today, when we turn our hearts and minds over to the care of God. Through His sovereign grace, God will bring us through those times. We make the decision to submit over to His will and desire for our lives. This is the initial act of faith we engage in. 

By surrendering our present attitudes, behaviors, thoughts, emotions, and situation over to Him, we are brought into His grace. Surrendering is the spiritual act of faith where we renounce our present experience, present relationships, and present comforts of our perceived world. Surrendering is a step of faith where we withdraw from the present world - as we understand it.

This initial spiritual act of faith focuses on quelling our body's needs for whatever we had become dependent upon (e.g., Alcohol/Drugs, Sex, Gambling). We come to believe that these compulsive and maladaptive behaviors are a prominent distraction from God. It is, therefore, through our initial step in abstinence that we are able to shift our focus and connection toward God. A true and radical surrender to live in accordance with God's will and desire for us comes when we are at the end of our own self will and desire. We are no longer ruling over our lives. Instead, and with humility and sincerity, giving over to allow God to rule over our hearts, minds, and spirit.

Surrender leads to spiritual nurturing and growth

After we cross the threshold from discomfort, misery, and dependency; we begin to develop a spiritual journey toward self-discovery and restoration of our soul. This is because, and if we are seriously committed and sincere in our approach, we have allowed God to work within us in order to transform us. Within the Christian faith, a person is first Justified in Jesus Christ. Meaning, we are initially forgiven of our past transgressions and sins. We are made clean, whole, and righteous before God (see, Romans 3:23-25, ESV).

What are some of the things that may nurture your soul? This is part of the self-discovery we are invited to participate in. Through recovery, we discover what nurtures us. What completes us, and what brings us peace of mind. While our spiritual life is focusing on cultivating a deep and enriching relationship with God; we want to also focus on those things that will nurture our own spirit. These are those things outside of our daily routine of prayer, scripture reading, and meditation. They are also outside of attending Church services and reflecting on the messages heard from the pulpit. What nurtures our souls is what brings us a sense of belonging. Gardening, woodworking, writing, reading, crocheting, working on some type of restoration project, being creative, or engaged in some type of activity. These are things that nurture us and bring us a sense of satisfaction.

Recovery is our invitation to spiritual growth and wellness

Take a moment to ponder the core reason you are wanting to engage in recovery. For many people, it is simply to stop using drugs, drinking alcohol, or watching pornography. Others desire to disengage from toxic and co-dependent relationships. Whatever the reason for your recovery, it is much more than wanting to stop. 

Since recovery is a journey toward healing, restoration, and moving into a direction of living a life with meaning and purpose; we come to recognize that it is our personal invitation toward spiritual growth and wellness. By establishing our own pathway toward healing and restoration, we come to rely on God. We strive to cultivate a healthy relationship with Him. We establish daily routines of prayer and meditation, scripture reading. We take time to reflect on a message delivered over the pulpit.

As we move away from toxic and co-dependent relationships; move away from using drugs and/or alcohol; resolve to eating healthier and overcome our eating disorders; resolve to no longer engage in viewing pornography: we come to realize the importance of nurturing our relationship with Christ, and through him, with our Heavenly Father. 

It is our personal invitation to grow spiritually. An invitation to live out our faith each day. It is our invitation to cultivate a sacred and intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father. 

Seek After God in Prayer and Meditation

 

Whichever ye shall ask ... which is right, believing that ye shall receive behold it shall be given unto you. 

~ 3 Nephi 18:20 ~

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Exercising our faith in our higher power, we grow confident in knowing that through thoughtful prayer and meditation, we may receive counsel and guidance each day. This not only requires our faith in our Higher Power; it requires our faith in understanding and knowing that we may receive answers to our prayers on a daily basis. We come to expect genuine answers and guidance each day we engage in meaningful prayer. We also grow to expect the answers to come in simple ways, through other people, and in those quiet moments we spend time meditating.

The greatest, and most healthy, relationship we learn to cultivate is the one we establish through faith. Daily prayer and meditation are something we do in solitude. Each day, we come to seek answers, we find relief and strength to face our challenges and struggles, and through the course of our journey - we come to rely on the sweet and savory comfort of the counsel and wisdom our time of prayer and meditation brings into our lives.

Not only do we develop a healthy expectation of receiving answers and comfort from our higher power: our daily time in prayer and meditation provides an improvement to our physical, emotional, and mental well-being. We find greater peace, greater sense of happiness and joy, and we become more resilient in our ability to face adversity.

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Today's thoughtful meditation

I will continue to seek God, as I understand him/her, through daily prayer and meditation. Having an expectation that he may answer me through various means as I continue to seek wisdom, counsel, and increase in faith through my journey.

Human Authenticity and Conscious Living

How does one create a life full of passion, full of meaning, and full of purpose? Pick up any book on the subject matter. Preform a google search on the subject matter. Pilfer through the pages of books, articles, research and studies: And yet, one still comes away with an unsatisfactory answer. 

How is it possible that so much has been written and taught over the centuries continues to escape the grasp of many people today? Compound this with competing religious ideology as to "which church is right and true?" 

People are hungering for true authentic human experience yet seem incapable of finding genuine happiness in their lives. We tend to further complicate the issue with political viewpoints. Supporting the right politician, for example, tends to create derision and contention. As a society in America today, we are ever grasping yet never achieving a sense of authenticity. We have essentially lost sight of true human authenticity and conscious living.

In the introduction of his book, 365 Daily Inspirations for creating a life of passion and purpose (available for purchase at Amazon by clicking the link). author Gay Hendricks provides ten provocative premises for living a conscious life. He calls these "...foundation ideas on which anyone's journey of conscious living is based..." They are as follows:

Guided Premise One: Authenticity is essential. A truthful life is both the outcome of the journey and the means of getting there. A successful life is an authentic life. Happiness and creativity rest on a foundation of transparency to yourself and others. Knowing your own heart and speaking clearly to others keep you on the path.

Guided Premise Two: Things that [may] be felt and seen - peace of mind, happiness, and the humane treatment of others - are higher-priority goals than religious concepts such as original sin or beliefs about life after death. The journey of conscious living is based on getting to a deeper level in yourself than beliefs and opinions, in order to experience the essence of what unifies people, not divides them.

Guiding Premise Three: Conscious living depends on finding out what goals are important to you and moving toward those goals at a pace that allows you to feel vibrant.

Guiding Premise Four: The journey of conscious living begins when you take full responsibility for your life, and slams to halt when you avoid responsibility for anything

Guiding Premise Five: Happiness, success, and sound relationships depend on letting go of controlling things that are beyond your control. Examples of things you cannot control are the feelings of others, the future, the past, and whether or not other people like you.

1. Who am I?

1. What is my purpose?

1. How may I be of service toward others?

Guiding Premise Six: Spiritual growth comes through a deep embrace of reality; not through flights of arguable fancy: Transcendence is best accomplished by thoroughly acknowledging - rather than ignoring or denying - such human realities as emotions, sexuality, and conflict.

Guiding Premise Seven: It is possible to make rapid shifts in consciousness - from scarcity to abundance, from defensiveness to openness, from fear to love - and these shifts in consciousness will change the outer circumstances of your life.

Guiding Premise Eight: Peace of mind comes ultimately from making your deepest creative contribution to the community around you. When you make your full contribution, you feel happy; fulfilled, and at ease. When you don't, you don't.

Guiding Premise Nine: Commitment to certain key values - honesty, responsibility, gratitude - not only gives you an inner flow of harmony but also rewards you with an authentic form of power that can be recognized by others. Authentic power comes from authenticity; false power comes from control and ego-aggrandizement.

Guiding Premise Ten: You [may] choose to become the source of attitudes such as gratitude and responsibility (rather than waiting for the events of life to inspire you to adopt them). If you wait for events to trigger those attitudes, you remain locked in a consumer rather than a producer mode and keep yourself trapped in scarcity.

These may serve individuals well in a secular and social context. However, there is greater concern on the more spiritual level of human existence. This greater concern rests on the reality of something far greater than we when it comes to human authenticity and conscious living. The departure from Hendricks is more focused on the power of the spiritual sense of authenticity as it relates to how we interact with others, base our key values and beliefs on, and engage in the social climate of today.

Therefore, we will examine each premise in a more sacred and spiritual application to further anchor the foundation as to what human authenticity and conscious living looks like. The attempt here is to restore and revive the heart and message of spiritual revival and awakening in the heart of humanity, and hopefully, in order to move toward a more sacred sense of transcendence.

Each premise will be given attention in their own essay as to the spiritual and sacred connotations, applications, and development for a more "enlightened" sense of reality. This also requires individuals to take an honest examination of themselves by answering three fundamental questions:

These are three definitive questions we want to wrestle with. In answering these three questions, we are able to lay the foundation for our own sense of authenticity and conscious living. Upon reading, meditating, and honest search of the heart, may reveal how a true and authentic Christian life is based on these ten pillars of truth.