We all have our daily routines. Even someone who does not think that they have any routine in their life has something that is always done in a particular way or at a particular time. Whether it is about when we brush our teeth or how we attend to our personal needs, we have routines.
Some of those routines can develop into a daily practice. People often ask me what I do on a daily basis to maintain myself spiritually. Well, when I was much younger, I was introduced to something called Zazen meditation. It is an art and a way of using breath to gain relaxation, serenity and mental focus.This is something that I like to do daily. It is not something that I feel I MUST do, it is something that I LIKE to do. I know the benefits that it offers and I am a much happier person when I do my Zazen meditation.
Something else that I incorporate into my daily practice is work at my personal altar. My altar changes as seasons change, as moon phases change, as celestial event happen and so on. There is always a little something different to enjoy and contemplate when I am at my altar. Currently it has a buffalo skull on it, representing the spirit of the buffalo and how we all have an abundance in our lives because of that spirit. The buffalo provided the two-legged people with everything they needed: hides for clothing and shelter, bones for tools, meat for eating and so on.
My altar is a mixture of many things. In addition to the buffalo skull, it also has an Asian hand held fan, a deck of Osho Zen Tarot cards, stones, holy water, a dream catcher/wand, a candle and censure and so on. I often tell people that I have good reason to be quite mixed up…it is because I am a Heinz 57 model of humanity and of spirit. I embrace most aspects of each thing into my life that resonates with me, knowing that we are all truly one and that, as such, everything on this beautiful earth is both our birthright and our responsibility. So I blend it all into a beautiful expression of me, but also of mysticism of various forms, of people of many places and times, and of Universal Love.
Is it any wonder that I find myself wanting to spend a LOT of time at my altar. After all, the purpose of an altar is to alter consciousness. Mine does that, and not just for me. Many who see my altar are immediately struck by both the power and the beauty of it. They, too, want to spend time there. But although my altar is in my healing room, which is available to others, the altar itself is something that is just mine to attend and to use. There may be an exception here or there, but for the most part, it is not for public use.
Sometimes our daily practices have to be JUST FOR OURSELVES. That means no interruptions unless the house is burning down or someone is bleeding to death. Nothing else actually warrants an interruption. This helps others to develop a healthy respect for our practice, and this will hopefully ripple into a healthy respect for their own daily practice.Boundaries are a good thing. Someone comes to the door…too bad. The phone rings…too bad. The cell phone buzzes a message…too bad. It can all wait. The world can wait. The entire Universe can wait. This is a daily practice time and it is to be honoured and respected. Period.People often get into the habit of instant gratification and response times. Too bad.There is nothing that cannot wait until I am good and ready to address it AFTER my daily practice. All questions, concerns and demands are on hold until such time as I am done with my daily practice. Does anyone get the impression that my daily practice is 
important to me? If so, then good. Yours should be equally important to you. You are worth the investment in time and energy and space. So incorporate it into your life and reap the rewards.And the thing is that the daily practice does NOT have to take hours. I am talking about MINUTES… 20-30 minutes. That is all that is required and often it is complete in less time than that.This also means that it is not a HUGE commitment of time and energy for YOU to incorporate it into your life. This way everything can be easy. No struggles, no worries. Now…breathe.