Finding Spirituality in our Physical Actions

Posted on November 22, 2007
Filed Under Awareness, Spirituality |

Physical acts are so closely related to the spiritual, I often find myself forgetting that. It’s a point that can be hammered home again and again in almost all of our daily activities, especially when you know what you are looking for. It was a point that especially hit the mark for me during the my years in the martial arts. It certainly depends how martial arts are taught, but when taught in a certain manner they have the potential to be very spiritual.

Sometimes I think too much emphasis can be placed on the divisions between the spiritual and the physical. The spiritual is pretty much always present, it’s more a case of recognizing its presence rather than creating it.

Martial arts work on a spiritual level because on many ways it is about bringing the mind, body and spirit all into the present moment. It creates a sort of unity. And that’s the aspect about pretty much any activity isn’t it? Look at what the great classical composers achieved; Bach’s music is capable of entraining the brain into a theta frequency…perfect for meditation!

Art has that ability though; to bring both the creator and the viewer into the present moment.

Where do you personally find moments of spirituality? I think we can mirror that in nearly all our day-to-day actions. I don’t think it’s necessarily a matter or being present in every moment of the day (contrary to what Eckhart Tolle may claim) but I certainly think it is a major contributing factor.