We live in a sacred world that is permeated entirely by Spirit. Whatever name we give it – God, Goddess, Awareness, Highest Self – and whatever words we use to describe it, language can only point toward this truth. We must each have a direct experience of the Divine in order for it to truly expand us and transform our lives. All humans have access to such a relationship; we simply need to choose it and make it a priority. Every. Single. Day.

When we invite Spirit to enter our lives, we make ourselves emissaries of love. We carry light in our hearts. We realize that we are an expression of the Source itself. We discover that we are woven into the interconnected tapestry of everything. We find comfort in the grounded Presence that is our eternal companion. 

As we have all witnessed, it is possible to exclude the Divine from our lives, to forget that we belong to the benevolence that birthed us. Our minds are capable of constructing a cold and random universe that cares nothing for us, and in which we are lost, alone, and powerless. Breaking through this illusion is a great awakening (or remembering), and this is the work we do in Radiant Heart Sanctuary. 

Together we engage in nine central practices: 

Prayer 

Prayer opens a door to the spiritual realm. We humble ourselves before the great mystery of life. We release our burdens and illusions. We ask for clarity and healing. We allow ourselves to be reconfigured. We express gratitude. And we make ourselves receptive to guidance and grace. 

Music 

Life is music. Song has been part of our culture since the beginning. Music transports us, uplifts us, and connects us. While we may use many instruments in ceremony, our own voices are a sacred faculty worthy of special attention. They give us the capacity to project sound, emotion, and intention into our environment and to express our creative power through our word. 

Dance

We are gifted with the ability to dance: to experience ourselves as a vehicle of Spirit, to feel unity with others through the interplay of our bodies, to express ourselves through engagement of sinew and bone, to inhabit our structure with absolute awareness, to unravel patterns of dysfunction through somatic exploration, and to rejoice through inspired movement.

Inquiry

Inquiry is a primary tool for understanding what we are and how life works. It is an essential practice if we seek self-awareness, freedom, agency, maturity, and wisdom. Rather than distracting ourselves and staying in our comfort zone, we meet the full depth of the present moment with openness, curiosity, and innocence. When we turn toward our aversions, challenge our thoughts, witness our workings – including asking, “Who is this witness?” – we transcend the constraints of our programming and grow into our wholeness.

Connecting with Nature 

Remembering ourselves as constructed of the same elements and forces as the natural world around us helps awaken us from our delusions of dominance and separation. The goal of spirituality isn’t to have a mystical experience in isolation from real life. It is to recognize and interact with Spirit in all that we do. An ideal starting point is to practice reverence for Nature through conscious land stewardship, compassionate animal husbandry, and awareness of the impacts of our choices on the planet. 

Meditation

As creatures who tend to allow our consciousness to be dominated by our own perpetual stream of thoughts, it is vital that we routinely devote time to deliberately abstaining from thinking. Only when the mind is quiet do we recognize that it is but a miniscule fraction of what we are. In meditation we expand into the vastness of our Being. We commune with the Divine. We let go, we receive insight, and we gain perspective. 

Service

Putting ourselves in service to our community facilitates the recognition of our purpose. It makes us aware of our gifts and delivers those gifts to those who need them. It shows us our value and relieves us of hyperfocus on our problems. And it reminds us of our unity with the world as we consciously contribute to the collective weaving.

Ceremony

Making time and space for ceremony is a profound act of rebellion against the busy superficiality of our modern lives. Participating in ceremony asks us to be fully present and to drop deeply into the purpose of the moment. The sacred container we invoke guides us into a non-ordinary state of awareness in which we’re bound to our community and realigned with our values. The continuity of our ceremonies serves as a valuable anchor point through the cycles and challenges of life. 

Celebration

The more we pay attention, the more we have cause to celebrate. Celebration is recognition, an acknowledgement of our blessings. It attunes our focus to what is good and true and nourishing. Celebration is gratitude in action. It elevates this moment, this season, this glass of wine, this bite of food, and reminds us that we are provided for.