Monday was the start of Ramadan, which means that for anyone who observes this Islamic month of fasting, there’s no food, water, gossip or sex between sunup and sundown. Most spiritual paths have something similar, whether it’s a month, a week, a day, or some other ascetic practice.
Have you fasted before? If you haven’t, let me tell you, it’s hard. It’s not very much fun. What is, in the late morning, a little annoying thirst becomes by late afternoon straight-up hunger, with a good dose of crankiness thrown in.
Well, not always. There are good days of fasting, too. Days when you wake up, and float through the day, carried by some Divine grace of connection. But, there’s no guarantee what the day is going to turn out like.
And any spiritual practitioner who’s been involved with an ascetic practice like this knows what I’m tawkin’ about.
Why do it?
There’s a lot of talk in the business world about flow, and what creates flow states. And, I myself have written a lot about the difference between discipline and flow. So, where do you apply discipline, forcing/pushing yourself to do something that maybe is unpleasant or you don’t want to?
I say this: don’t apply it to business tasks, apply it to spiritual discipline.
Now, before you think I’m some kind of goody two-shoes (where in the heck did that phrase come from?), I’ll let you know I have pushed my way through lots of business tasks, and I’ve also slacked lots on spiritual practice. But, I can tell you from personal experience, that it hasn’t been the most effective way to do things.
In working with clients, sometimes we’ve spent up to 45 minutes of a one-hour session on doing the spiritual work/clearing/healing/weird Sufi chanting around some business project… and in the final 15 minutes the practical pieces all fall into place click-click-click, with five minutes left to spare to wind it all up.
That’s what I’ve noticed. As I’ve read from my spiritual lineage (paraphrase- can’t find the original text in this moment) “If you took half the energy you use chasing goals and things in the world, and put it into spiritual practice, your progress would move ten times as quickly.”
Of course, that’s spiritual progress… which is a tricky thing to talk about like that, because spiritual progress isn’t linear, and trying to get somewhere spiritually is usually a bad idea, but I told you it was a paraphrase, so we’ll have to be content with what my poor memory can dredge up.
Anyhoo, what I’m talking about is how to create smoothness and flow in your business. Which immediately brings up a question I sometimes get asked.
“But Mark, you’re all lucky because you’re in this set lineage and tradition. I don’t have a tradition, and I’m not really looking for one. So, how do I keep up a practice?”
Okay, I’ll cop to it- I’m really happy (and occasionally cranky) with my spiritual path of Sufism. (Which, just so’s you know, pronouned “Soof-ism” not “soofy-ism.” The first is what I do. The second is the study of people like me. 
)
And yet, as the Qur’an says, “O mankind! Indeed, We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that you may know one another.” Basically, we’re all walking our path, and it’s good to mingle.
But, quotes from the Qur’an aside, if you’re interested in spiritual discipline that will also support your business (as well as your life in general), here are what is known as The Five Pillars, which I’ve found in every spiritual path I’ve every looked at. So, I think of them as an elemental structure for a spiritual path.
Pillar One: Declaration of Faith.
Basically, if you’re going to take on a spiritual discipline, it starts with facing the big question: is there, or isn’t there Divine Source? All spiritual paths start with this very step. The great thing, of course, is that you start with a deep sincerity to know that Oneness.
As I said, all spiritual paths start with an intention to step onto the path. You can bring questions: “Well, heck, I have no idea what’s there.” But you still affirm a faith that there is something larger than you, your experience as a human being.
Pillar Two: Regular Connection
The word in Arabic for prayer is “salat,” and it means “connection.” In my path, we say “make salat” which is more than just picking tomatoes and greens out of the garden. It means taking the time to have a prayer/meditation practice. And, just like you eat more than one meal a day, you probably need to make connection more than one time a day.
Muslims pray five times a day. Jews pray three times a day. Buddhists will sit twice or more times a day. The Catholics have the Office that go right ’round the clock. Spiritual paths from every corner of the world have a practice of connecting to Source more than once a day. Maybe, just perhaps, it’s a good idea.
Pillar Three: Alms
You know how you learned the bitter lesson at the age of three that you “had to share” and that it wasn’t really optional? It’s the same as an adult. When we receive sustenance in the world, we have an obligation to share it with those who are hungry and homeless.
This is not some kind of heavy-handed attempt to control you, it’s just good manners. And, it’s a spiritual discipline, too. Tithing, not out of choice, but out of a discipline and commitment to connect with Source, is deeply nourishing and is found in every spiritual path I’ve ever seen.
And the other two pillars?
Fasting and pilgrimage. All spiritual paths I know of have a practice of fasting, as I spoke about above, of turning away from the material world, at least for some period of time. And every path has a practice of some sort of pilgrimage, that is a physical metaphor for the journey of return that we are all making towards Oneness.
I’ve never made a pilgrimage before, but friends and clients I know who have return profoundly changed by the experience.
But, I don’t want to turn away from the world!
Because of past baggage and poor teaching, some folks have learned about one or another of these practices as some kind of judgment and condemnation of our humanity, and of the physical world. As if it’s somehow “bad.”
It isn’t bad. And the purpose of these practices is not to judge anything. However, if all we see is the physical world, and that’s often all that our five senses brings us, we get an awfully limited view of reality. Because we spend the vast majority of our waking hours taking in stimuli from the physical world, immersed in it, it’s very helpful to take some time each day to withdraw attention from the physical world, and connect to the larger reality.
Of course, ultimately, in an enlightenment experience, All is One. But, for myself I’m rarely granted that kind of experience, and I don’t live there moment to moment, although I’ve had long moments of tasting it- I bet you have, too.
The result of all that spiritual discipline?
An ease and smoothness in daily affairs. The drama-meter goes way, waaaay down. Solutions and paths seem more visible. And, when they aren’t visible, it’s not so worrisome.
In short, the flow state is a lot more accessible to our human experience.
So, even if you don’t have a spiritual tradition or a set path, if you have practices that fall into each of the five pillars, you’ll have a solid practice that can carry you forward, nourish your heart, and, oh by the way, make running your business MUCH easier.
Yah? What tradition, or no tradition, or you in and what’s your experience with these five pillars? What practices do you have that support you? And do you find true what I’m saying about discipline?
I have found that the more I tune in to spirit the more the universe brings me exactly what I need. Your post today is another perfect example of this. I am a mother of three year old twins, and I have been working on developing a new business. Due to all of the “balls in the air” I have let my focus on my spiritual practice slide. I have noticed the difference in both my focus and flow in other areas of my life. As my girls start their first day of preschool – I too am starting a new commitment to my daily practice while my girls are at school. I think you are right on target with the the idea that discipline to spiritual practice increases the opportunity for flow in the other areas of our life, including business.
Thank you for sharing this today.
Amy Miyamoto
@amymiyamoto
I have a regular spiritual practice. I meditate daily, and I attend church (mostly regularly) to connect with others from the same path.
What I find is that, on the rare weeks when I stray from my daily meditation, I do notice the stress level and the drama level going way up.
My focus is always so much better, and my center and… Divine-ness always so much more empowered when I am connected.
Things just flow oh-so-fabulously when that connection is regular and strong.
mark…thanks for the reminder. i’m in total agreement…much better to slack on that never-ending list of things to do than to skip the morning check-in with universal love.
and fasting totally rocks! giving up any regular habit is a powerful wake-up call to just how much we do without thinking, and when the give-up is as tied in to survival issues as food…whoa nellie!
You wrote “take some time each day to withdraw attention from the physical world, and connect to the larger reality”.
My experience of Zen meditation is that it’s about being fully and completely present to and with every sensation in your body and of the world around you. It’s dissolving *into* the world – not withdrawing from it.
But uh, maybe I’m one of those folks with “baggage” and bad teachers…
I know, I know. The distinction is important to me though OK?
But your overall point, which to me is like “Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven…” I totally agree with.
=)
My practice is something like:
1. Feeling God – a kind of relaxing into the present moment and feeling God in my body, my surroundings, everything in me and around me. Finding the stillness within the present moment and renewing my refuge in it.
2. Emotional work to uncover intrinsic motivation and clear Karmic stuff and attachments – checking in that I actually want to be doing what I am doing; that I’m operating from my own desires and needs and not social conditioning. Mindfulness. Journaling/Processing – getting the cruft out of my brain onto the page and releasing it. and/or feeling the emotions in my body until they release. Intuitive artmaking. NVC consciousness and relating from love, compassion, and equanimity.
3. Relationship as mirror. Love as a path of awakening, being present to and remembering the Divine in the other.
I am noticing some regularity wouldn’t hurt. I think all in all I like my practice, but I’m wanting to work in some more regular committed times daily to do #1. #2 is more of when stuff comes up I’m committed to addressing it in whatever way helps. #3 I’m still trying to get a handle on.
@Amy – Wow, twins! Raising children, twins no less, is a Major Spiritual Practice. And, I applaud you for wanting to bring more practice in even with all the balls in the air. Sounds like quite a ride!
@Jenn- I couldn’t agree with you more- and I’m glad you have a community around you, too. I find that community is so helpful. I couldn’t very easily fast for Ramadan without community around.
@Charles- What a struggle with the to-do list versus the Love Check-in, eh? Sometimes at any rate. And I’m glad you think fasting totally rocks. Today, I’m enjoying it.
@Emma- Obviously, we’ve discussed this before.
Withdrawing attention from the world I think is helpful. I’m not talking about doing it all the time, and I’m certainly totally for the inclusive awareness that a practice like Zen encourages.
And, I also happen to think that the physical world isn’t the entirety of reality, and by taking some time to withdraw attention from it, my larger experience is widened, and I can see the physical world itself through new eyes.
At least, that’s my experience.
And, oh boy, the relationship as mirror thing- that’s the Journey, for sure. I’m still getting a handle on that one, despite years of conscious work with it.
Onward and upward!
Yes, and we may discuss it again. Hell, maybe we’ve discussed it in, like, 86 previous lifetimes. You never know.
I didn’t exactly say I think that “the physical reality is the only reality” – that makes me sound like a scientific reductionist, geez! You know that’s not what I meant…right?
Look – immanence vs transcendence are two different (well-worn) paths to the same Source – we don’t have to throw rocks at each other. I just want there to be room for both, OK?
Absolutely, and I’m happy to keep discussing it with you. And I know that you are far, far, far from a scientific reductionist. Please pardon me if I got sloppy and made it sound like that.
And yes, I want room for both, too. I thought that was what I was saying?… Maybe it didn’t come across.
Once again, it sounds like we are vociferously agreeing with each other. Gotta love it.
Mark, I love this post. I loved it when you told it to me on a call and I love reading it again tonight as I recommit yet AGAIN to regular practice. Mine is going outside first thing and doing some pranayama and seeing the world with gratitude and then sending up prayers for loved ones and sick friends and grieving friends and remembering there is no separation. Then exercise, yoga as meditation, some bit of chanting and then journaling to get in touch with the day.
I love to hear more Emma, about your intuitive art making. I do that, too.
@Jennifer Louden- I know, it’s a beaut, isn’t it? I love your practice- it sounds really nourishing.
And I, too, would love to hear more about the intuitive art making, Emma. What’s your experience with that?
@Jennifer, @Mark – Have you read The Artist’s Way? That’s a lot of my theoretical underpinning. That book made so much sense out of God for me – God as creative energy.
How I think of it is that God is like playdough and we are like molds. So we create always with our own personality and whatnot shaping it – because the creative energy comes through us. But the Source of it is, uh, Source. So you make sure your channel is open and clear and that you are moving stuff through it on a regular basis. And then you leave the “what comes through” up to Source. The Artist’s Way process for keeping the channel clear is daily journalling (“Morning Pages”).
One of the Artist’s Way affirmations is “I’ll take care of the quantity. God will take care of the quality.” Another is “My job is to do the work, not judge the work”.
Everyone has creative potential – often untapped. The Artist’s Way is just about unblocking our cultural messages that keep us from expressing it. Like comparisons – judgments – perfectionism – that kind of thing.
Regarding making art itself – for me it’s a matter of sitting down and making something without knowing beforehand what it’s going to be. Sometimes I make something that is like, ok, whatever, some paint on a page. But often I’ll make something that I had no idea I was going to make – that speaks to me in some unexpected way – and when that happens it always feels awesome. It’s a visceral feeling of channeling something mysterious and powerful.
And you learn a lot about trusting the process. You can’t set out to make art that speaks to you or has that magic quality to it. You set out just to make art. And sometimes it speaks and sometimes it doesn’t. You can’t predict or control the magic. So you have to learn to trust, let go of expectations – etc. That’s what makes it a spiritual practice, to me.
I am part of a weekly women’s art group where we get together and make art. I’ve also started doing Soul Collage lately, in a group. Making art in groups is really helpful – regular support, sharing, celebration, and others often see things in the art that I didn’t and are interesting to me! Caveat: I mean groups that are about supporting each other, not critiquing each other (unless a critique is specifically asked for).
Thanks for asking! Happy to talk about this stuff. I’m a big believer in creative empowerment, even separate from the God angle.