Once you “like” a few spirituality themed groups and pages, you see it everywhere:

Learn to do yoga!

Meditation for an hour a day can increase/decrease ____!

Buy my crystal healing course for $500 and change your life!

Go to Greece on a spiritual retreat—only $3,000! 

But really, living a spiritual lifestyle can be easy. We don’t need to spend an ungodly amount of money or use half of each day creating crystal grids.

If we want to focus on one or more specific facets of spirituality, there are great programs out there, but they aren’t necessary to begin living a spiritual life. We can do that right now, where we are!

Here are four easy and super portable skills we can begin exploring without spending hours each day or a bunch of money:

Visualization

We likely already use visualization in our lives in some way. Daydreaming is a type of visualization where we imagine scenes in our head. Can you imagine the outside of your home? Can you visualize your favorite place to spend your time?

When we use visualization on our spiritual path, we use it with intention. We are specific about what we visualize, usually because we are trying to bring it to fruition.

We can use visualization for anything! I am not a morning person, and when I need to get up early, I often will use visualization the night before. It helps me get up on time. We can also use visualization along with intentional candle lighting for prayers or gratitude practice.

Observation

What comes to mind when you think of observation? We look at things every day, but looking at something doesn’t mean that we are observing it. You may have seen the red car in front of you, but do you recall what kind of car it was? What kind of license plate did it have?

When we observe something, we see or feel something and notice it. Our focus is completely on whatever we are observing. One way to do this is to go outside and take a look at the environment around our homes. What do the trees look like? What sounds do you hear? Does that change season to season?

We can align ourselves with the cycles of the earth simply by paying attention.

We also can use the skill of observation in our bodies. When you feel tension or anxiety, where in your body are you feeling it? Identifying this can help you release it or work on the accompanying chakra.

Not used to body observance? Here’s a simple exercise to get started:

Go to your closest sink and turn the water on cold. Place your hands under the water. Now, move your perception to your hands. Notice the way the water feels as it flows through your hands. Then, move your perception to a part of your body not touching the water. And then, again, pay attention to how the water feels touching the skin of your hands.

This simple exercise can help you get used to feeling into your body.

Meditation

Ask three people what meditation is, and you’ll probably get 10 answers.

Meditation is a term that encompasses many different techniques, and some of them are easier than others. One type of meditation is a guided visualization meditation. In a guided visualization, the facilitator reads or speaks a story, immersing the listener in an imagined setting. Some guided meditations are meant to relax the listener, and others exist to help commune with a deity or the universe. There are many apps out there that exist just to facilitate this type of meditation.

Many people think of meditation solely as sitting still in a lotus pose. This is one type of meditation, most commonly done to clear one’s mind. To do this, you’d get in a comfortable position, and when a thought comes up, you’d release it and return to your blank mind.

There are other types of meditation to explore—like meditating on a question (I’ll get to that next)! Also, we can try moving meditations, where we achieve a meditative state while walking or dancing.

Contemplation

In the world of crowdsourced answers, contemplation seems to be something of a lost art.

Contemplation is simply thinking about something. We can contemplate a decision or a question, and we can combine this with meditation.

When we need to make a decision, need inspiration, or have an unanswered question, we can try contemplative meditation:

Get comfortable, create an environment suited to relaxing and just focus on the question. Allow yourself a blank mind so that you may receive answers from your inner self, your guides or your god(s). You might find that you will get succinct, easy-to-understand answers, or you may get symbols or words instead. Regardless, I suggest journaling what you receive. Sometimes it can take awhile for the answer to become clear.

Spirituality doesn’t need to be difficult or expensive. We can easily explore spiritual concepts at home, on our couch, and even in our bed.

We can take new steps on your path wherever we are and whenever we are.

I wish many blessings upon your journey.

Author: Ivy Rose Latchford
Image: Timothy Paul Smith/Unsplash
Editor: Emily Bartran
Copy Editor: Khara-Jade Warren
Social Editor: Nicole Cameron