Spiritual Practice

“Recently, a Christian theologian asked me how to bring about a global spirituality. The person who interviewed me seemed to distinguish between the spiritual and ethical, but there is always a relationship between the two. Anything can be spiritual. When I pick up my tea in mindfulness, when I look at my tea mindfully, and I begin to drink  my tea in mindfulness, tea drinking becomes very spiritual. When I brush my teeth in mindfulness, aware that it’s wonderful to have time to enjoy brushing my teeth, aware that I am alive, aware that the wonders of life are all around me, and aware that I can brush with love and joy, then tooth brushing becomes spiritual. When you go to the toilet, defecating or urinating, if you are mindful, this can be very spiritual.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Creating an Enlightened Society, p. 53

Shambalha Sun (Jan 2013 edition)

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One of the statements I hear so often made by newcomers in AA meetings is; “I don’t get the ‘spiritual aspect’ of this program.” Even though we have worked the Steps and haven’t had a drink in more days than we ever had, it is assumed that, if I don’t believe in a mutually shared concept of God, I am not getting the spiritual aspect of the program. This sense of estrangement from the spiritual ought not to be a problem because, once it is understood, the process of recovery is profoundly spiritual no matter what I believe. Sometimes I wish that the word God would be banned from discussions in meetings even though I have had an awakening that deepened and strengthened my relationship with my understanding of God. I have found that it is more important how I apply my beliefs than whether or not I believe in any concept of God that is foreign to my experience. At the podium of my first Sunday speaker meetings was one of our West Coast founders of the Fellowship from the Pacific Group, Clancy. He said something that cut straight to my heart from there. I don’t even remember what else he might have said but I did hear this: “I’d rather you have a sponsor you can trust and believe in than a God that you don’t trust or believe in.”

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