Spiritual practice
A spiritual practice or spiritual discipline is the regular or full-time performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of inducing spiritual experiences and cultivating spiritual development. A common metaphor used in the spiritual traditions of the world's great religions is that of walking a path. Therefore, a spiritual practice moves a person along a path towards a goal. The goal is variously referred to as salvation, liberation or union. A person who walks such a path is sometimes referred to as a wayfarer or a pilgrim.
Religion
Abrahamic religions
Judaism
Jewish spiritual practices may include prayer, reciting blessings, Jewish meditation, Torah study, following dietary laws of kashrut, observing Shabbat, fasting, practices of teshuvah, giving tzedakah, and performing deeds of loving-kindness. Kavanah is the directing of the heart to achieve higher contemplative thoughts and attain inner strength. Various Jewish movements throughout history have encouraged a range of other spiritual practices. The Musar movement, for example, encourages a variety of meditations, guided contemplations, and chanting exercises. Certain times of year are often associated with certain spiritual practices, including practices of teshuvah during Elul and the High Holy Days, and other practices associated with certain Jewish holidays.Christianity
In Christianity, spiritual disciplines may include: prayer, fasting, reading through the Christian Bible along with a daily devotional, frequent church attendance, constant partaking of the sacraments, such as the Eucharist, careful observance of the Lord's Day, making a Christian pilgrimage to the List of Christian [holy places in the Holy Land|Holy Land], visiting and praying at a church, offering daily prayer at one's home altar while kneeling at a prie-dieu, making a spiritual communion, Christian monasticism, Bible study, chanting, the use of prayer beads, mortification of the flesh, Christian meditation or contemplative prayer, almsgiving, blessing oneself at their home stoup daily, observing modest fashion, reconciliation, and Lectio Divina.Spiritual disciplines can also include any combination of the following: chastity, confession, fasting, fellowship, frugality, giving, guidance, hospitality, humility, intimacy, meditation, prayer, quiet time, reflection, self-control, servanthood, service, simplicity, singing, slowing, solitude, study, submission, surrender, teaching, and worship.
In the Christian liturgical calendar, there are certain spiritual disciplines that are emphasized during various seasons of the Church Year. For example, in the calendar's first liturgical season, Advent, Christians of many denominations prepare for the arrival of Christmastide by praying through a daily devotional, as well as marking an Advent calendar and lighting an Advent wreath. In Lent, the preparatory season for Eastertide, many Christians participate in the Friday Fast, pray the Stations of the Cross, mark a Lenten calendar, and make a Lenten sacrifice such as giving up alcohol and practicing teetotalism.
Certain Christian denominations emphasize various spiritual disciplines. Praying the rosary, performing corporal and spiritual acts of mercy, and making acts of reparation are spiritual disciplines that are esteemed in the Catholic Church. In Methodism, the works of mercy and works of piety are indispensable spiritual disciplines with respect to one's sanctification. The Religious Society of Friends practices silent worship, which is punctuated by vocal ministry. Quakers have little to no creed or doctrine, and so their practices constitute a large portion of their group identity.
A well-known writer on Christian spiritual disciplines, Richard Foster, has emphasized that Christian meditation focuses not of the emptying of the mind or self, but rather on the filling up of the mind or self with God.
Islam
Spiritual practice in Islam is practiced within salat during which Muslims subdue all thoughts and concentrate solely on Allah, also through other forms of worship activities like fasting, and Hajj. Among many Muslim groups, immersion in spiritual practices is thought of as more noticeable and deep as practiced by Sufis including Dhikr, Muraqaba, and Sama.Indian religions
Buddhism
In Theravada Buddhism, the generic term for spiritual cultivation is bhavana. The Pali word "yoga", central to many early Buddhist texts, has been often translated as "Spiritual Practice". In Burmese Buddhist tradition, Awgatha is a formulaic prayer that is recited to initiate acts of Buddhist devotion, including obeisance to the Buddha and Buddhist monks. In Zen Buddhism, meditation, the writing of poetry, painting, calligraphy, flower arranging, the Japanese tea ceremony and the maintenance of Zen gardens are considered to be spiritual practices. The Korean tea ceremony is also considered spiritual.Hinduism
In Hinduism, the practice of cultivating spirituality is known as sādhanā. Japa, the silent or audible repetition of a mantra and Puja are common Hindu spiritual practices. According to Hindu scriptures, four types of yoga are highly recommended to attain salvation or Moksha-Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga and Raja Yoga.Tantric practices are shared in common between Hinduism and certain Buddhist schools, and involve the deliberate use of the mundane to access the supramundane realms.
Other religions
Baháʼí Faith
in the Baháʼí Faith, refers to two distinct concepts: obligatory prayer and devotional prayer. Both types of prayer are composed of reverent words which are addressed to God, and the act of prayer is one of the most important Baháʼí laws for individual discipline.New Age
was a practice recommended by Eknath Easwaran which involves the memorization and silent repetition of passages of scripture from the world's religions.Reiki is a spiritual healing practice that has been popular in New Age spirituality. Reiki is a healing modality that was developed by Japanese lay Buddhist monk Mikao Usui. It spread from Japan to Hawaii and then to the rest of the United States. Reiki involves the laying on of hands or hovering hands over a person's body in order to address spiritual blockages and other related problems. Patients have reported that reiki is effective at reducing pain, stress, anxiety, and depression; in the medical community, skepticism exists toward the effectiveness of reiki.
The term Neotantra refers to a modern collection of practices and schools in the West that integrates the sacred with the sexual, and de-emphasizes the reliance on Gurus.
Recent and evolving spiritual practices in the West have also explored the integration of aboriginal instruments such as the Didgeridoo, extended chanting as in Kirtan, or other breathwork taken outside of the context of Eastern lineages or spiritual beliefs, such as Quantum Light Breath.