5 simple practices to bring more spirituality into your life

“Better an atheist who loves than a believer who hates and discriminates”, says Frei Betto to Lauro Henriques Jr. in the trilogy Words of Power – Instigating Interviews with Great Masters of Today (Lute, 29.90 reais each volume). “Love is the root and fruit of all true religion,” he continues. The author signs below: “Spirituality is acting with love as a guide. And that doesn’t depend on being in some temple, church or synagogue. These sacred spaces are important, of course, but legitimate spirituality goes much further: it is the one we put into practice in the midst of the most commonplace activities of everyday life. Whatever you are doing, if you do it from a core of love and respect for the other, that action is charged with spirituality”. Henriques Jr. talked to CLAUDIA about simple ways to put this idea into action.

1. Contemplation
The idea is to separate a few minutes of the day to get in touch with yourself. It could be playing music that you like a lot, reading a book, having tea looking at family photos, admiring the landscape… “The important thing is that it be an activity that involves slowing down. I like to use the term ‘ritualization of everyday life’”, says the author. The daily practice of creating moments like this is essential for self-knowledge and spiritual growth. “If you are present, any place becomes sacred.” Think of love as the basis of genuine religions – it is much easier to offer it if your interior is serene. Try to remember when you were most loving to others: you were certainly at peace.

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2. Mini meditation sessions
Can’t imagine yourself quiet, focused on the present, without interacting with anyone and without thinking about the to-do list for at least half an hour? “Meditation is a great resource to seek more inner peace and connection with life, but if you don’t have the time or patience for long sessions, a trick is to take mini-breaks to breathe deeply. I learned this from the American lama Surya Das”, says Henriques Jr. “If you do 30 or 40 one-minute sets between your errands, that will be 30 or 40 minutes of the day meditating!” The author suggests trying them out in everyday moments: stopped in traffic, in the shower or simply when anxiety hits, close your eyes and focus on three slow, deep breaths. “This is a very powerful practice that makes a difference in the routine.”

3. Awaken to who you want to become
“The danger of running around is living like sleepwalkers, without waking up to self-knowledge”, says Henriques Jr. “Imagine life passing by and, in the end, not even knowing who we are.” The proposal is to use an object that serves as an alarm clock to let you know your current purpose in life – which can be something practical, such as quitting smoking, or broader, such as being more patient with your children or better tolerating your own mistakes. Focus on anything that is important to you that you need to remember throughout the day. “If you write that goal down on a sticky note and stick it somewhere, it becomes just another task on your huge to-do list. But if you walk around all day holding an unusual object (a dice or a newspaper, for example), whenever you pick it up or someone asks why you have it in your hand, you will remember your goal.” Another option: go out with socks of different colors. Change the objective to be achieved according to your will and vary what will serve as an alarm clock so that it does not become something common, which goes unnoticed – after all, the idea is just the opposite.

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4. Like Socrates
For the author, a great evil of the consumerist and immediatist society in which we live is the mania of thinking that it is not possible to be happy with what we have and doing what we want. “I really like the proposal I learned from Frei Betto, of leaving the house from time to time for a Socratic walk”, says Henriques Jr. In Ancient Greece, the philosopher Socrates liked to rest his mind while walking through the commercial center of Athens. When salespeople harassed him, he would respond, “I’m just noticing how much stuff there is that I don’t need to be happy.” “How about, sometimes, taking a walk around the mall with that objective?”, proposes Henriques Jr. “Certainly you will leave lighter, less anxious and valuing not the things you want, but what you already have.”

5. What is your problem now?
If you’re the type who comes home with your head on work, and at work you’re fretting about your child at school, cultivate the habit of asking yourself that question every time a worry arises. “If you stop to think, you will realize that most of the time you are worried about something that you cannot solve at that moment”, says Henriques Jr. “That way, you will understand that, at that moment, there is no problem. Your head is full of anguish, but you are working or having dinner or just walking. So focus on those actions,” he points out.

BOOK TIP
The first volume of the trilogy words of power arrives now by Alaúde publishing house. The series is made up of interviews with big names in spirituality, such as nun Coen, Susan Miller and Rubem Alves.

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