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Spirituality & Practice
Free E-Newsletter The Spirituality & Practice E-Newsletter is a regular update from Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat with a teaching story and links to new content on the site. It's free and a great way to keep up with practices for your journey.

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Spiritual Practices
of the Day

 

Elizabeth West in Happiness Here and Now
The eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth...

Shunryu Suzuki in Advent, Christmas and Epiphany
When you do something, you should...

Jelaluddin Rumi in Unseen Rain, Quatrains of Rumi
Keep walking, though there's no place...

Deng Ming-Dao quoted in The Tao of Elvis by David Rosen
Those of us who aspire to meditation . . .

Deng Ming-Dao in Everyday Tao
By being receptive, we can...

John O'Donohue in Eternal Echoes
It is a great moment when you break out...

Taizan Maezumi in Appreciate Your Life
Taking good care of yourself is...

Walt Whitman quoted in Divine Things by Robert Kirschner
The narrowest hinge in my hand . . .

Jack Kornfield in After the Ecstasy, the Laundry
Even Socrates, who lived a very frugal...

Kent Nerburn in Small Graces
I try always to look upon the world...

Catherine Ingram in Passionate Presence
The force of love is . . .

Sue Patton Thoele in The Wonders of Solitude
Only in the oasis of silence can we...

E. B. de Vito quoted in Divine Things by Robert Kirschner
We always find ourselves in others. . . .

Molly Wolf in A Place Like Any Other
It's funny how many of our problems result from...

Hugh Prather in The Little Book of Letting Go
Notice that the moment you become unhappy...

Hugh Prather in Spiritual Notes to Myself
God speaks to us in a thousand voices...

Philip Martin in The Zen Path through Depression
In trying to control everything...

Dorothy Day quoted in Dorothy Day: Selected Writings edited by Robert Ellsberg
If we all carry a little of the burden . . .

St. Therese of Lisieux quoted in The Lure of Saints by Jon Sweeney
God is even kinder . . .

Sister Wendy Beckett in The Mystical Now
All art that really draws us . . .

Anthony de Mello in The Heart of Enlightenment
To know exactly where you're headed . . .

Reb Noson of Breslov in Healing Leaves
Know therefore and believe without a doubt...

Master Doc The quoted in Thich Nhat Hanh: Essential Writings edited by Robert Ellsberg
While buttoning my jacket. . .

Evelyn Underhill in The Sun and Moon Over Assisi
Spiritual reading is a regular, essential...

Rollo May in The Courage to Create
If you do not express...

Macrina Wiederkehr in Gold in Your Memories
There's a whole world of memories . . .

Roger Payne in Talking on the Water
Whales and redwoods both make us feel small...

Carol Bly in The Force of Spirit
It is not natural for our minds to be...

Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki in Zen Flesh, Zen Bones
We all have the same colored bones...

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov
It's easy to criticize others...

an old Kadampa saying in Meditations to Transform the Mind
Whenever you see a fault in others...

Kabir Helminski in The Knowing Heart
Hearts need education and refinement...

Shoni Labowitz in God, Sex and Women of the Bible
PMS means: pause, meditate...

Robert Svoboda in Spiritual Divorce
Every human being is a mirror...

Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut in Perfume of the Desert
Longing is both the anguish...

Peter Reinhart in Bread Upon the Waters
The pastor at my church often concludes...

Thomas Merton in Organic Spirituality
We cannot see things in perspective...

Shunryu Suzuki in Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness
Listen to the tongueless teaching...

Matsuo Basho in The Essential Basho
What a lovely gift . . .

Wayne Muller in Sabbath
Another practice invites us to bless strangers...

Rufus Jones in Essential Writings
The greatest single help . . .

Joan Chittister in Wisdom Distilled from the Daily
Hospitality means we take people...

Rabbi Terry Bookman in The Busy Soul
Place your hand on your heart...

Zen Master Seung Sahn in Only Don't Know
This is the correct Zen sickness...

Geshe Sonam Rinchen in The Bodhisattva Vow
By "not accepting invitations" we deprive...

John O'Donohue in Eternal Echoes
This search for meaning is...

Victoria Moran in Lit From Within
Do not underestimate the power . . .

Herman Hesse
Within you there is a stillness...

Bette Midler quoted in Lit From Within by Victoria Moran
If only I'd known . . .

Leonardo Boff in Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor
Enthusiasm displays the exuberance of life...



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These 37 practices are markers of the spiritual life. Recognized by all the world's religions, they help us connect with the Divine, our true selves, our neighbors, and the whole Creation.

Read a summary of the Alphabet

See a pdf listing specific ways to practice each of the Alphabet Practices in your daily life.

• To find the best books, movies, excerpts, exercises, prayers, music, art, and much more for your spiritual journey, visit these practice homepages:



Listen to Bryan Field McFarland's song, set to a familiar Christian tune, about what it takes to live a spiritual life every day.


Most of us, frankly, are drawn to a particular spiritual practice because, as a doctor might say, certain "symptoms are presenting." You might feel something is missing in your life. You could be feeling incredibly grateful. You could be facing a crisis. You could be concerned about the problems in the world. Take heart! Real-life feelings, challenges, and experiences are just what spiritual practices are for.

How to choose a spiritual practice
Find your "Spiritual Rx." Take our self-test
Spiritual Rx Prescriptions Chart


You don't step on the path of practice for a few minutes a day, then jump off to go about the rest of your life. If you want to see how you are doing, look at how you behave during a breakfast disagreement with your partner, in a traffic jam on the way to the office, in your reaction to a homeless person begging for money.

Read more about the challenges and joys of practice
22 Ways to Feel Welcome on the Path of Practice