Everyday Spirituality – Shen In Modern Life

I’ve just returned from a trip to China, where I was struck, as I have been on previous visits, by the ‘everyday’ approach to spirituality. It’s a way of living that I think we could learn a lot from.

During visits to a selection of Buddhist and Taoist temples it was quite obvious that these were lively, active places of worship. Teenagers came in groups. Families visited together, and lone commuters popped in on their way to and from work.

A visit to the temple in China isn’t really a special occasion, definitely not just for holidays, or on a certain day of the week, but a regular part of daily life. It’s fine just to fit it in somewhere in your daily routine.

Leave work, pick up the dry cleaning, nip into the temple and light some incense, do the shopping, go home.

Point is, it’s an everyday act. Part of normal life for young and old alike.

I’m not saying we should all become Buddhists or Taoists, or that you need to light incense or prostrate yourself in front of a huge statue, or even that you need to start visiting a church or temple. But what I saw in China was that common everyday folk have an active spiritual life. There was a place in each day for some kind of awareness of the bigger picture.

This is one of the principles I teach in my Radiant Health System – the importance of some form of Spirituality in your life. Spirituality is called ‘Shen’ in Chinese medicine and Shen is one of the ‘Three Treasures’ which form the basis of human life.

(You can find out more about the Radiant Health System on my free video training)

So what role does spirituality play in your life? Do you ever to stop to ask the Big Questions? To ponder the meaning of life? To seek to understand your place in the universe? To meditate? And if you do, is there a place for something like this every day?

I believe if you neglect your Shen, you fail to reach your potential. Modern society has little place for the spiritual, the divine or the infinite, and we’re suffering as a result.

So whether you’re Christian, Pagan, Agnostic, Atheist, Buddhist, Taoist or even a Jedi in training, there’s always room for developing and growing your awareness of the world around you, and your place in it, and the ‘bigger picture’ outside of your own skin. Follow the lead of the Chinese and make some form of spirituality an everyday occurrence. You’ll be strengthening your Shen, and it will bring light into all aspects of your life…