Walk your mystical path, while wearing practical shoes?

Cue internal snort and eye roll.

I don’t know about you, but there are times it just doesn’t seem possible.

Most of my day is tied up with the practical responsibilities of caring for my family, our menagerie of animals (including mucking the stalls of four horses), and my professional work. You may not have my daily list, but I know you have your own list of personal and professional tasks to attend to.

Like I do, you may squeeze in some meditation, yoga, or a walk as part of your daily spiritual practice. Fantastic! But, then your day takes over and where’s that inner zen when a cranky customer gets on your last nerve, or when your screaming child is tired and hungry? You might even berate yourself for not staying centered in the moment.

But, what if those moments are the mystical path? What if remaining open to the mystical in the midst of challenges, pain, and chaos is a spiritual practice? What if it’s more about being present to what is than transcending our current reality?

Energetically, our spiritual connection is correlated with the seventh, or crown chakra. Energetic goals of this chakra are consciousness, understanding, awareness, and a love for all. Being present in the moment and becoming more aware of our internal and external reactions to situations and others is a spiritual practice.

We must stay curious to find greater understanding. We must ask ourselves questions: Why do I get defensive and blame my husband every time we discuss money? or, What is there in my own history that triggers those disempowered thoughts?

We must seek to bring consciousness to the situation by asking how we can become aware of our thoughts before we get triggered, or how we can start practicing more love and compassion toward ourselves and those close to us.

This is the mystical path. Staying present and seeking to create conscious awareness and understanding is the way to change our internal truth to one more aligned with Spirit. But, in the moment it can be hard to remember to stay present.

Here are a few crown chakra balancing techniques to help us find our connection with the mystical in the midst of the practical chaos of daily living:

>> Pause and take 10 breaths before participating in a difficult conversation or situation.

>> Make a god (or goddess) box; write down your worries and concerns and place them inside.

>> Make a list of negative thoughts and evaluate your history in relation to each.

>> Count your breaths when emotionally uncentered.

>> Bless yourself and others daily.

>> Wear the color violet (the crown chakra color).

>> Carry amethyst or other violet-colored stones.

>> Say affirmations: I am aware; I am love; I understand; I am connected to all that is; or I am the conscious change in the world I wish to see.

Many of us have learned that the mystical and practical are divided. It helps to acknowledge that the duality between our lives and the spiritual are a myth. Everyone and everything in the universe is made of energy and exchanges energy all the time.

As such, we are all a part of the whole. Even as we attend to the practical details of our lives.