The Maintenance of various types of skills is important if you want to keep those skills sharp. I maintain an array of skills through repetition and practice. For example, when I go out to the desert or to a controlled shooting range, I am there to practice my firearms skillset. After all, shooting is a diminishable skill that will atrophy without regular practice. The repetition of pulling a trigger builds muscle memory over time so that the person pulling the trigger does so in a smooth, consistent manner, which improves accuracy. If a period of time passes without practice, then I will no longer be as accurate with my firearms.
Radio operation is also a diminishable skill, like shooting. There are protocols to remember for radio operation, and knowing how to use and program radio equipment is crucial. Integrating radio and firearms with movement takes everything to the next level. However, what if I don’t practice? If I don’t practice, then my communication skills are not as sharp.
I believe the same is true when it comes to my Spiritual skills. Practice through repeated use helps to keep these skills sharp. I find myself using this skillset a lot lately. It’s a good thing I was already practicing because it is much easier for me to focus when using these skills, allowing for their ease of use.
What Spiritual Skills Are There?
Below is a partial list of skills ranked in no particular order:
Prayer
Gratitude
Charity
Humility
Forgiveness
Compassion
Appreciation
Patience
In this article, I will discuss how I use these skills, some of them in combination with others and some more often than others. I will focus on the ones I listed primarily because these are the ones I most commonly use, although this list may be incomplete, depending on who I speak with. The important point I wish to make is that these Spiritual Skills are universally actionable and practicing them regularly keeps me in a Spiritual mindset throughout each day.
Prayer
Prayer is one of the most important skills I like to practice. Daily prayer not only quiets all of the physical senses and brings me peace, but it also puts me in direct communication with God. There are many different ways to pray, but generally, it involves a quiet space and focus, unless praying aloud. I prefer silent prayer, however, because it’s a private communication with the Divine Mind.
I like to pray in the mornings. I know this sounds weird, but I like to pray in the shower first thing. There’s something about flowing water that helps me to focus. I know this isn’t silent so to speak, but the sound of the water leaving the spigot is peaceful to me. I can say the same about water that flows naturally out in the wilderness. I like that sound too, but when I pray first thing in the morning, my head isn’t cluttered with the news of the day, the demands of the workplace, or any other distractions. It’s just me, the water, and God.
I usually begin my prayer focusing on God and knowing the true Divine nature of Him. This has become easy for me because I have done it a million plus times, but if you’re a beginner, just define God as you know Him. Know that He is eternal. Know that he is everlasting. Know that He is omnipresent, omnipotent, and Supreme. Start with that and build on that knowledge as you go.
The next thing I do is give gratitude for all of the blessings I’ve received. I thank Jesus for His sacrifice and God for sending His son to save me. There are many more things for which I am grateful, but you get the point. Then, I may simply thank God for giving me something I have not yet asked for, such as a good day or maybe help with a problem. Then I ask for help, thank Him again, and then glorify Him. Each prayer is a little different, but you can see the basic template. It’s easy for me to slip into the focused mindset because I do it every single day. If you have trouble with this method, then I would encourage you to find one that works best for you. There are many. The Praying Medic has a book, in which he writes about a method that may work for you. That book can be found here.
I usually get an additional 2-3 hours in the afternoon when it’s just God and me. This is usually when I have a deluge of ideas He sends me. It’s when I’m the most creative. I know He loves me and has no problem spending this much time with me every day. Sometimes I just find a quiet place in the house to lie down, relax, and pray.
Psalms 46:10 KJV
“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Gratitude
Gratitude is something I began expressing every day about eight or nine years ago. Back then, I was going through a divorce and custody and all that. It would have been easy for me to have a negative perspective and to be pessimistic all the time about everything. However, God indirectly indicated to me that I should choose another path. He told me I should be thankful. My mother has always told me to count my blessings too, so that’s what I did.
One random day in the shower and then later during my drive to work, I asked myself, “for what do I have to be thankful?” I tried to make a list of things but I struggled. The next day I repeated what I had done the previous day and I struggled again. Why was it so hard to think of the things for which I was grateful? Was it because I had never done it? On the third day, I thought to myself, “I am grateful to be alive. I am thankful for my parents. I am grateful that my children are healthy and alive.”
This process continued for months with thanks being given for things such as waking up, living another day, having a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and having running water. This continued to grow and it became easier to give thanks. Today, I still express daily gratitude and I often do it in prayer. I give all glory to God.
Some basics when giving thanks are to start simple. Don’t overdo it. Start with the most obvious things and think about how life would be different without them. Be sincere. If you’re not sincere, then you’re not really grateful.
Charity
Charity is something I have always known to be important because it helps others. Throughout my adult life, I have helped others. I have donated money, helped people get jobs, and helped stranded motorists on the side of the road. I have even responded to accidents and I have been the first on scene to help. Needless to say, I’ve had a lot of practice giving to others. I haven’t had a lot of practice with receiving charity. Asking for help is not easy for me and I’ve definitely had to do it before. Receiving charity is difficult because it’s literally asking for something from someone else. It’s not always easy for everyone to swallow their pride either, but when help is needed, it’s needed. It is that simple.
As Allen Saunders stated in an issue of Reader’s Digest in 1957, “life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” Sometimes we find ourselves at rock bottom needing a hand up. Be charitable to others. It’s a good quality Spiritually and it sends out positivity into the world from your heart. Practice it often and be open when you find yourself in a time of need. Charity will come to you.
Humility
If you have humility, then you can swallow your pride. This is a lesson I have had to learn the hard way. Have you ever had to apologize for something you did wrong? I have. This is how I learned to not be so self-righteous all the time.
Having humility means you respect yourself and that you have dignity and respect. Having these traits means you are able to treat others with dignity and respect. If you have humility, then you can love yourself and if you can love yourself, then you can love others. It’s been a lifelong learning process for me to respect and love myself, but I am glad I do. It has improved my relationships with friends and family. Practice humility regularly.
Forgiveness
Forgiving someone for something they have done wrong is difficult to do. However, this is by far one of the most important skills to have. It simply isn’t healthy psychologically or spiritually to hold onto anger and grudges. I struggled with this one for a while myself, but I’ve nearly mastered it. I have forgiven not only myself for the things I’ve done in the past and the future, but I have forgiven others and I feel better knowing that I don’t have all that negative emotion bottled up inside me.
Forgiving does not mean forgetting. Clear and firm boundaries can still be set with people I’ve forgiven without forgetting what they did. If you struggle with this, it’s okay. Look at it initially this way: If you hold onto that anger, who is it really affecting? You or them? If you practice letting go and let God handle the rest, you will be free to focus on other things. So do your best to forgive at least one person, starting with yourself, and then go from there. I’m willing to bet you’ll notice an improvement in your quality of life.
Leviticus 19:18 KJV
“Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.”
Compassion
Having compassion for others is important for spiritual growth. It is a skill that requires the understanding of someone else’s suffering or misfortune and requires a deeper mode of thought. Sometimes the suffering won’t always be apparent on the surface, but a deeper look can unveil what is below. After making a discovery, take a moment to think about it and if a change in demeanor is needed, make the change. Show concern and compassion in situations when it is needed and practice this whenever necessary.
Appreciation
My mother always told me that when someone does something nice for me, I should show some appreciation. She was right and I appreciate her telling me that. We should treat each other with kindness, and respect and we should do nice things for one another. Then we should show our appreciation for those nice things. This is how we live in harmony together. Wouldn’t it be nice if this happened all the time, everywhere?
Patience
I have often said throughout my life that “patience is not a virtue I was born with, but it is a virtue I have acquired on my own through practice.” Regardless of whether or not this is true, God knows that I have had countless lessons in patience. Perhaps one of the longest lessons in this department has been the result of creating my own offspring. Any parent reading this knows that young children and teenagers alike will test your patience. They will do it often. It’s what toddlers and teens do. In order to teach our children patience we must be patient ourselves.
Modeling the behavior is one of the ways I show mine and one of the ways I am able to remain patient is to think about God. I think about how God is not bound by time. I think about how time is a mortal construct and how God exists outside of that construct. I think about how insignificant a few seconds or minutes are in God’s Divinely crafted universe and then I relax. Being a student of martial arts, I recognize how breathing techniques have helped me with my training. So I incorporate those techniques when I feel impatient and it helps me to remain calm and relaxed. This involves focusing on my breathing and taking some slow, deep breaths in and out until I am calm.
Practice being patient until you master it. Then practice it some more. The lessons in patience will never cease, but like me, you can transform your capacity for patience. If the method I have illustrated doesn’t work, then use prayer when you find yourself being impatient. Take a deep breath, focus, and say a prayer to interrupt the moment until you are calm. I am willing to bet that this transforms you into a more patient person.
Practice, Rinse, Repeat
The skills I have discussed are important for individual spiritual growth but they are also useful in the spiritual war we currently find ourselves in. Sending positivity out into the world combats evil and negativity. With practice, each skill can be honed and sharpened. Think of these skills as tools in the Spiritual Tool Box, ready to be used at any time. Sharpened tools work well and when they are dulled, sharpen them!
Individual Spiritual Tools can be used together in tandem with one another too. It’s okay to ask for forgiveness while showing appreciation and gratitude during prayer, for example. Sometimes, that’s exactly what we need to do. Charity and compassion can also be used together. They both send out goodness to others.
During times of darkness, when I have felt hopeless and alone, I have used these skills to find the light. They have guided me. They have never failed me. I haven’t always been perfect with my application, but I have never given up. I continue to practice because I want to be a positive force in this world. I want to continue to do good and I want life, overall, to be good. I sincerely hope this article brings some good to you. And, if it helps at least one person out there, then that is enough for me, as that’s one more person who may be changed for the better. Love thyself and know that God is with us all. He loves us all.
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