Nothing hampers our spiritual growth more than the supposition that if we haven't already attained our goals for our hearts, minds, and bodies, we will need a giant leap to reach them. Practice, on the other hand, is very democratic: It works for any of us, no matter where we start. Incremental transformation is the most reliable, lasting, and discrimination-free way we've found of attaining any level of enlightenment.

If 'stupid is as stupid does', then wisdom is as wisdom does. And "practicing your life" is as simple as taking a little bit of time each day to practice. Remaining calm in the most stressful situation may be out of your reach today, but spending five minutes in calm silence before throwing yourself into the fray is not. Loving kindness is an exacting virtue to embody all at once, but like our friend the edible elephant, it's easily integrated one loving thought at a time.

Sages like the Dalai Lama and Krishnamurti seemingly came into this lifetime to be enlightened teachers. Some others, like Eckhart Tolle, have apparently attained self-realization through an instantaneous moment of ego-dissolution. For the rest of us, mere mortals and housholders as we are, daily practice is our best bet for attaining the peace, joy, and higher awareness that are available in every moment.

As it happens, both Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Theresa put themselves in this third category. Gandhi actually said:

"I claim to be no more than an average man with below average capabilities.
I have not the shadow of a doubt that any man or woman can achieve what I have
if he or she would put forth the same effort and cultivate the same hope and faith."

To put it simply, whatever we do, we get better at. Therefore, the most important actions we can take for our spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical well-being are simple, daily practices, from brushing your teeth to random acts of love and senseless kindness.

Would a month in the Himalayas at the feet of a master or a year serving soup to refugees do you a world of good? We have no doubt it would. But until then, start where you are!

Today's Experiment:

1. Choose a quality or trait you would like to cultivate in your own life.

Examples:
love, peace, patience, focus, balance, faith, hope, etc.

2. What could you do each day (even if it's just for a few minutes a day) to begin real-izing (making real) that quality or trait in your own life?

Examples:
Loving kindness - I could start (and/or end) my day with a heart meditation, perform 5 deliberate acts of random kindness each day, make a point of telling each member of my family I love them at least once a day, etc.

Focus - I could practice counting up in my mind from 1 (2, 3, etc.) and notice how high I get before I get distracted, then return to 1 and begin again

Confidence - I could spend a few minutes each day remembering times I've felt confident and 'stepping back in to them' so I see what I saw, hear what I heard, and feel what I felt. I could take 5 minutes a day to 'act as if' I was a confident person, standing the way I would stand, moving the way I would move, and speaking the way I would speak if I was already confident.

Bonus Tip -
There are two simple tests to check if your practice is going to make a real difference in your life or is going to remain in the category of "just another good idea".

1. At any moment during the day, a friend could ask you if you'd done it yet and you could answer with an unequivocal 'yes' or 'no'.

2. If you get to the end of the day and haven't done it yet, you still could (not that you necessarily always will... :-)

Have fun, learn heaps, and make your life your practice!