Lately, you’ve been hearing from us about our online course and Five Principles, and we have a question for you:
Do our five principles sound like they’re going to “Ignite Your Spiritual Life?”
After all, the second principle talks about structure and routine, and how embracing them actually creates more freedom. Then, the fourth one points to sorting out big things in your life, like your finances, because you probably don’t see how much of your precious energy they’re draining.
Frankly, we’re wondering if you’ve looked at these principles and, well, didn’t feel all that ignited.
It’s clearly on our minds, too, how we’re putting them across. In our recent webinar, even course teachers Karen and Duncan found themselves repeating “As we say them, these principles sound so simple…but really, they’re profound!”
So, where’s the ignition point?
The fact is, if we want to keep our spiritual life moving and alive, we’ve got to keep pushing our limits.
If you’re a spiritual explorer, you know how specific inner work calls to you, when it’s time. You know that opportunities, and people, appear when you’re ready for them.
For me, one thing that’s called me for years is to “set my voice free.” I’ve enjoyed exploring all kinds of things including, last year, singing lessons and a weekend voice workshop. One night in November, I challenged myself to sing full throttle in front of a group, to the tunes of two jamming guitarists.
If I look at the Five Principles, then, I can see where the voice work fits. Clearly, it’s about me being more free in my communication (principle five), which is a huge part of my spiritual growth and exploration.
The ignition is in the moment
In fact, in all my voice work the real growth came from just a few moments of feeling truly alive – the key moments in the workshop, or lessons, where I felt my limits, resolved to push past them, and rewrote who I thought I was. I was truly alive in a few moments in the jamming session, when I completely stepped out of my comfort zone, consciously.
In fact, the inner voice is calling to us all the time. It’s patiently calling us to connect with compassion, love, wisdom, curiosity, joy or generosity – in every waking moment. It doesn’t turn off when we’re at work, or in a conversation with our friends – it’s we that turn off, because we live mostly on autopilot. Autopilot is comfortable, or so we think, and yet it’s not where we grow.
By questioning, remembering, in as many moments as we can, we can bypass our autopilot and feel truly alive.
And the principles give us a framework to see where we can wake up more, and step out of habit.
Voice work and Principle Five:
Conversations shape the space where we meet
Even with insights and breakthroughs from the voice exploration I’ve done, I still forget to apply what I learned. My natural tendencies are still there – to speak last, or quietly, or even not at all. It’s ok that I’m quiet, yes, and it’s not always best for me.
By keeping the fifth principle in mind as my daily practice, I’m seeing the big picture: that the voice fits into the area of creative expression.It’s bigger than just my voice. It’s how I show up – in meetings, in relationships, on this page. Staying on autopilot in this area affects my energy, enthusiasm, limits my joy.
With this framework, I’m reminded that voice workshops were just the beginning. It ignites my curiosity – what can I do to bring my spiritual life alive, here, right now?
And for you?
We often think only of the points of ignition, and don’t pay close attention to what makes those moments of ignition possible. That’s what the Five Principles are for. They don’t ignite you directly, but they set the stage for ignition. Without them, ignition can become impossible.
These principles are ancient, time-tested for thousands of years by countless spiritual students. Please join us.
Click here to see our self-paced and upcoming online courses.