#11) Practice spirituality. Do you have a spiritual practice? And, if so, what form does it take?

You're looking at it. Writing is becoming my form of meditation. One thing I miss dearly in my life is having a family home to return to. A place where I can go to seek comfort, lick my wounds, and re-energize before I enter the real world again. I'm so envious of people who have a physical space like this in their life. But as I sit here and think about it, writing has allowed me to experience those feelings again--it provides a place where I can continually come home.

I've always been uncomfortable in open group meditations--even in yoga classes. I can't stand the group quiet... I'm always afraid I'll cough, sneeze or worse, fart and disrupt the entire proceeding. :)  I feel self-conscious, as though every eye is upon me, even though I know that's ridiculous. Maybe these feelings are part of my aversion to organized religion as well. I'm just not at ease in group practices of spirituality, yet I'm almost always at ease when I write.

Writing helps me to be grounded in the moment. It forces me to pay attention and be thorough; to go beyond the obvious surface observations and to become aware and sharply mindful of the details. In this way, it's like an invaluable teacher or mentor to me. Writing is also my therapist. It allows me to examine my pain and to honor the existence of intense feelings. At its best, it helps me to find clarity. Writing forces me to re-examine what I thought was the truth, and perhaps discover that I was wrong by uncovering a different truth.

When I begin to write, I feel as if I'm starting off on an adventure. I start with an empty page and set out for the unknown, exploring and expressing something new. I read somewhere that your mind needs to be naked to be truly creative, and that's the hard part--emptying my mind of expectations, preformed ideas and preoccupations. Getting out of my own way. Turning off the critic in my head and going with the uncensored flow of my thoughts.

I'm still working on getting better at it. It isn't easy and it takes a lot of practice... and time. But I'm finding that the end result is definitely worth it.