Christine's Corner-Connecting With The Spirit: Four Simple Practices
Pentecost is my most favorite Sunday of the Church year! All the reds, oranges, and yellows just make me so happy. Pentecost is the day we celebrate the presence of the Holy Spirit in our church and in our lives. This year we will celebrate it on June 5th.
In what ways do you celebrate the Holy Spirit through your own Spiritual Practice? Perhaps you’ve never thought about this before, or perhaps it comes very easily to you. Here are four ways to try connecting with the Holy Spirit through Spiritual Practice. Blessings to you as you feel the Spirit’s presence in your life.
Think about the wind — The word for Spirit and the word for wind (or breath) are the same in the scriptures. The wind blows where it wants to blow. The Spirit is like that, too. There are many ways to notice the wind — windsocks, kites, spinny yard ornaments. As you see the evidence of the wind, think about how it might remind you of the Spirit, too. Prayer flags are a great example of this as well — write your prayers on fabric scraps, and watch them blow in the wind.
Think about your breath — The Spirit is as close to us as our own breath. Breath in and out, and when you do, consider the power of the Holy Spirit. Breath, like wind, is invisible, but we can see it sometimes, as we fog up a window, or as it condenses on cold air. Breath prayer is another way to see and think about our breath. Breathe in and say “I breathe in joy and peace” and then breath out “I breathe out worry and fear.”
Sit in Silence — The Spirit often speaks to us through our intuition, but in order to experience this, we often have to cultivate a spirit of silence. Take a minute to be silent. (Start with ten seconds!) What is your body telling you? What do you hear? Silence can be hard to practice, but, like a muscle, it gets stronger the more we practice it.
Connect with someone from a different culture — One of the messages of Pentecost is the unity the Spirit brings to us through people who speak different languages. Pentecost is a great time to think about this. Do you know anyone from a different culture? What have you learned from that person? Sometimes it’s fun to try and learn a word in a new language, in celebration of all the languages God has given to us.
Blessed Pentecost to all!
(article written by Traci Smith and adapted by Christine Powell Kellett)