Moffitt - Awake in the world: 108 practices to live a divinely inspired life

About the Author

Debra Moffitt is an author and teacher devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Read her blogs at Intent.com and www.debramoffitt.wordpress.com. Visit her online at www.debramoffitt.com and www.awakeintheworld.com.

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life 2011 by Debra Moffitt.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the form of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Any unauthorized usage of the text without express written permission of the publisher is a violation of the authors copyright and is illegal and punishable by law.

First e-book edition 2011

E-book ISBN: 9780738728506

Cover design by Ellen Lawson

Cover image iStockphoto.com/Elena Ray

Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

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Llewellyn Publications

Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

2143 Wooddale Drive

Woodbury, MN 55125

www.llewellyn.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

Contents

I.

1. Circle to the Center with a Labyrinth

2. Transform Yourself through Ritual

3. Make a Pilgrimage

4. Grow Your Secret Garden

5. Catch Dreams

6. Create Sacred Space

7. Collage a Bridge to Your Soul

8. Build Self-Confidence

9. Make a Spiritual Retreat

10. Learn Your Souls Language

11. Explore Your Spirit through a Vision Quest

12. Discover Crystals for Beauty, Calming, and Healing

II.

13. Grieve Losses and Heal Your Heart

14. Talk to a Psychic

15. Develop Your Psychic Tools

16. Use Sacred Art to Open the Heart

17. Animal Blessings: Love and Care for Furry and Feathered Friends

18. Be Grateful for Obstacles and Tests

19. Conquer Fear with the Antidote of Love

20. The Darkness to Light Chant

21. Sing from the Heart

22. Join the Rhythm of the Universal Heart with Drumming

23. Rest

24. Make Yourself Bigger

III.

25. One-Minute Mind Training

26. Anchor the Mind with Malas and Rosaries

27. Conquer Your Enemies

28. Cultivate Your Allies

29. Change Your Mind

30. Let Go of Attachments

31. Practice Mindful Eating

32. Decide to Be Happy

33. Master Money

34. Bring the Mind Home

35. Travel with Purpose, but Enjoy the Journey

36. Cultivate Equanimity

IV.

37. Make Love with Your Partner

38. Have a Laugh

39. Send Light Thoughts

40. Give without Expecting a Return

41. Serve Up Love with Conscious Cooking

42. Be Wily as a Serpent and Innocent as a Dove

43. Think Before You Speak

44. Marry Your Mate

45. Pay Attention to Synchronicity

46. Revere Your Mother

47. Seek More to Understand Than to Be Understood

48. Remember the Golden Rule

V.

49. Lose Some Baggage

50. Clean Up Your Act

51. Limit Desires

52. Go Vegetarian for One Meal

53. Breathe Easily

54. Declare a News and Reading Fast

55. Sacrifice

56. Scents to Elevate the Body, Mind, and Spirit

57. Simplify

58. Change Starts Inside

59. Surrender for Serenity

60. Stepping Beyond Sex

VI.

61. Embrace the Divine Feminine

62. Soar on Wings of Selfless Service

63. Listen

64. Look Beyond Appearances

65. Drink In Words of Wisdom

66. Dance with God

67. Pray to Attune

68. Find the Teacher Inside

69. Deify Time

70. Light the Lamp of Devotion

71. Earn Spiritual Insurance

72. Ask What God Would Do

VII.

73. Use the Compass of Guiding Values

74. Act on Your Guiding Values

75. Walk the Talk

76. Care for the Body Temple

77. Dont Speak Unkindly of Others, Especially in Their Absence

78. Do the Right Thing

79. See the World as Mirror

80. Work as Love Made Visible

81. Get Physical

82. Keep Your Word

83. Look for Good

84. Satsang : Enjoying Company of Spiritually Minded Companions

VIII.

85. Raise Vibrations with a Mantra or Centering Prayer

86. Getting through the Dark Night of the Soul

87. Identify with the Witness

88. Put Inner Housekeeping First

89. Discover the Rooms of Your Soul

90. Fast and Slow Down

91. Chant the Gayatri for Protection

92. Who Are You? Check Your ID

93. Nurture Perseverance and Patience

94. Journal to Revive Your Soul

95. Schedule a Regular Self-Examination

96. Prepare for Death

IX.

97. Commune with Nature

98. Greet Others with Namaste : See God in All

99. Defragment: Unify Thoughts, Words, and Actions

100. Merge in Silence

101. Lighten Up with the Jyothi Meditation

102. Practice Nonviolence

103. Embrace Someone of Another Faith

104. Contemplate a Yantra, Mandala, or Medicine Wheel

105. Become Like a Flute

106. Conserve Natural Resources

107. Seek Truth

108. E Pluribus Unum : Cultivate Oneness

X.

109. The Guiding Bead: Embodied Spirituality in the World

Introduction

A few years ago, my successful, materialistic life unraveled one thread at a time. I fell ill, my French husband moved out, and I lost my high-paying executive job. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. Up until then, it seemed Id been doing everything by the bookworking hard, making money, creating a solid marriage, and living a jet-set life with a dream job that required international travel. I lived in a sea-view apartment in Antibes on the French Riviera, surrounded with beautiful things, and I thought life would continue forever more or less the same. But God had other plans. All of these things would disappear over the next years until almost nothing of my old life remained. The shattering and death of the familiar and comfortable world opened the door for a deeper, more vibrant and joyful experience of life. But it didnt feel like it at the time. I felt mostly scared, confused, and hurt and didnt know where to turn to find something enduring.

Inside, I felt world-weary and sick of all the material pursuits that led to more and more desires and discontent. The more money I earned, the more I wanted, and the farther happiness seemed out of reach. My soul cried out, Is this it? Is this all there is? Will I ever be at peace? This crisis opened the door to my wandering in search of meaning. I traveled to Virginia Beach and the Association for Research and Enlightenment, Buddhist retreats in France, and an ashram in India. In my yearning for answers, I attended Tibetan rituals and Catholic masses, explored sacred texts from the Bible to the Vedas, and learned that truth is truth regardless of the source. It resonates with an inner knowing and recognition.