Spirituality in Practice

What is spirituality?
If you look to the dictionary to define it, you will find,

spiritual |ˈspiriCHo͞oəl|adjective1 of, relating to, or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things
But what does that mean?!

To me, spirituality exists in everything that I do. You need only acknowledge the soul to see it. I find spirituality in my daily routines, from driving my car to brushing my teeth. I consider spirituality a conscious act of connection that can be acted out through routine or practice.


yoga |ˈyōgə|nouna Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breathcontrol, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced for health and relaxation.

Having never practiced yoga before but feeling a pull towards it through meditation, I enrolled in a yoga class at my university, two years ago.


The path of discovery is infinite and as I write, I further delve into the realm of realization. This video now hits home more than it did before. -->


But, "ruin is a gift and ruin is the road to transformation."- Elizabeth Gilbert

While taking this yoga class, I found it, well #1, hard as hell. :) But as I began to further my practice, I began to feel...centered. The actions to follow my yoga practice resulted in the furthering of my journey towards spiritual discovery.

I now realize that the time I gave to my yoga practice allowed me to acknowledge how I truly felt. But what was that, what did I feel? I felt scared. Scared that what I was doing wasn't what I wanted to do. Scared that the epiphanies I was experiencing while practicing yoga weren't going to be found in the books I was studying, or the teachers I was listening to or in the papers I was writing.

So I asked myself, fight or flight?... Well, I ran like hell, but I ran in the right direction. I ran so far that I withdrew from school and applied for an internship at the Pachamama Alliance in San Francisco.

But having withdrawn from school, I was no longer taking the yoga class, so for the time, I quit practicing. Until recently, I felt called to begin again. And how it has brought me home.

As coincidence becomes harder and harder to believe... Life repeats itself and the circular motion becomes more noticeable as time moves on.

I have been back in school since 2013 and started yoga again at the beginning of the 2014 calendar year. An existential crisis, once again arose, leaving me with the notion of another withdrawal and another spiritual adventure in mind...


I began to feel the very same things I felt before, at the very exact time. I asked myself countless questions, what am I doing here? Why am I going to school? Is this really what I want? Now if you ask my parents, or anyone with the delusion of "the american dream" in their head, they say, "stay in school, finish, so you can get a good job and make enough money to buy a house and meet a man and raise a family," and all I hear is BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, as I begin to realize how little they know me, or how ignorant they are to the act of acceptance.

But I know, that acceptance lies in the ability to redefine.
In my life, I try to live with no definitives. I find that in absolute thinking, you can close doors.

So here I am, once again, trying to find balance but "the thing about balance is, it doesn't get easier, but it allows you to be more able to deal with the fluctuations that come up." -Kathryn Budig

Yoga allows me to focus. It pulls me back towards my center, allowing me to gaze upon the reflection of my soul, to see the things that in essence, truly matter...

Silence speaks louder than words...

The new year had just begun and I began to weed through the vast amount of posts and links on my newsfeed when something worthwhile caught my eye. That something, said FREE.

The Buddha Mind Monastery in Oklahoma City was opening its doors to the public for a weekly meditation class(my responsible Facebook use was coming in handy).

I had no idea that Oklahoma even had a monastery!

On a cold and rainy Thursday evening, I left my countryside home in Guthrie and plugged the coordinates into my g.p.s. navigation system. It led me to Del City, or is it Midwest City, or are the two combined? I don't know. Forty-five minutes later, I had arrived, questioning myself if I could make this trip every week.

The turnout was tremendous(apparently everyone else thrives in a free society as well). I couldn't even find a parking spot! Vehicles were being directed by monastery staff to drive off of the pavement, disregard the perfectly painted parking lines and find a spot in the beautifully maintained winter weeds.

Leaving my shoes at the door, I found a makeshift spot on the temple floor, sat down, crossed my legs and began to observe my surroundings.


They were monks! What was I expecting? I began to realize how little I actually knew about Buddhism and how incredible this way of life was. I had been blinded by my own ignorance.

Learning the practice back in 2011, I had an on-again-off-again relationship with meditation due to my own poor time management. (Side-note: make time for the things that really matter, let go of all the rest and your life will be filled with joy. Stress is a self-induced disease.)

The scent of burning sage filled the air as positive energy abundantly flowed through the temple, into my open heart and out into the souls around me... A piece of Ecuador was here.

I wasn't sure how this Eastern philosophy had ended up in Oklahoma, but it didn't matter. I was simply thankful that it had.

Humbled in absolute silence, I sat surrounded by hundreds of other cross-legged Westerner's, all searching to find balance, to find peace, and to watch and to learn to simply observe the mind.

For the first time in a long time, I felt home.

The OPERA puts on a show!

Quechua Celebration dressed in traditional garb.

Coming home from Ecuador, I felt a newfound sense of growth and balance and courageously reactivated my Facebook page. This was one of the better decisions I have made. Facebook allowed me to connect with the family I had made in Ecuador and it offered me access to information I would not have found otherwise. Facebook, when used responsibly, can become a powerful tool.

An acquaintance of mine sent me an OPERA invitation, Oklahoma Physic Education Research Association, via Facebook. 

At that moment, my eyes were opened to the realm of possibility that there were others in Oklahoma on a journey of spirituality, just like me. I was not alone.

The OPERA puts together what they call a Metaphysical Fair, held at the India Shrine Center in Oklahoma City every few months. The fair consists of a series of classes ranging from astrological education, chakra healing, shamanic journeying, and past life guidance, to the education of the existence of Sasquatch. I’m serious; one time there was a Sasquatch class… The class topics are different at every fair as well as the instructors.

The best part, the fair is FREE!

The fair provides physics, tarot card readers, hypnosis therapists, and crystal and gem vendors a place to work their magic on the lives of those seeking guidance.

I now try to attend the fair every time it is held, usually making it to one or two classes at least. I make a point to never miss the “Angel Messages” class. This is where you get a tarot reading for free! If you haven’t noticed, I thrive best in a free society.

Each and every “Angel Messages” instructor is different. I have had instructors use their third eye to see auras and communicate with guardian angels, and I have had instructors strictly use tarot cards and their senses, sometimes allowing the angels to speak through them. Nonetheless, it is always a fun and interesting experience. These psychics or mediums are eccentric.

Coming from a Christian turned Atheist background, which relies strictly on scientific evidence, my spiritual journey has been a battle between my rational mind and the tug I feel from my soul.

“Angel messages” always test my faith. I go into them with so much doubt. I think, “that prediction or advice given to said person could apply to anyone and everyone in this room!” Like a fortune cookie! But, I have yet to leave disappointed. I always hear exactly what I need to hear and come out of the experience enlightened and empowered. The messages I receive are so impactful that they move me to tears, every single time.

Still, the struggle remains, as there are times when I am frustrated by the OPERA. The individuals who attend the fairs can be…unusual. But aren’t we all? And the instructors some times can be unprepared. But aren’t we all? And the lessons sometimes can shock our senses and lead us to unravel. But isn’t that life?

Regardless, I remain thankful for the OPERA in allowing me to see beyond the walls of my own mind and forcing me to question my beliefs one experience at a time.

The never-ending journey...

In May of 2013, I journeyed to Ecuador with a group from The Pachamama Alliance and entered the Amazon Rainforest.

My group, with our indigenous guides and shaman.

For two weeks I stayed with indigenous tribes and communities learning their way of life, their culture, and their spiritual practices, specifically shamanism.

While there, I had never felt such a sense of oneness and wholeness. My spirit soured high above the endless trees and drifted down the river like water.

Aerial view of the Pastaza River

Within two days, I had formed a family with my fellow travelers. These people knew what I knew and much more. These people accepted me, encouraged me, respected me, and loved me. A deep connection I had never experienced before was formed.

Returning home was culture shock. I had never felt so alone and abandoned.

One of the traditional huts we stayed underneath.

After spending two weeks with no wall between nature and my bed, no sound barrier between the symphony of the night and my pillow, no more of technology’s constant calls distracting me and stealing my senses, I stepped my bare feet onto oil and tobacco stained concrete.

I felt a loss of hope, like a piece of me still lie in the forest. I had left my new home in the rainforest for my old one in Oklahoma, traded my new family who accepted me for my family who begged me not to go.

While my new family and friends returned to their homes in California, they had one another, along with the vast amount of open-minded people of the West Coast.

I had, the Bible Belt of conservatism.

Warrior face-paint gifted from an Achuar guide upon our departure.