As you read this, Kyeli and I are on our week-long spiritual staycation. You can see pictures on Instagram or Facebook!

Why have a spiritual staycation?

• If you want more spirituality in your life, but it’s too much trouble to set aside the time or money needed for a full-on spiritual retreat.
• If you have too many commitments that you can’t set aside for a spiritual retreat.
• If you want to experience the Divine in your everyday life.

Here’s how we did it, so you can do it too!

Decide what you’re going to say yes to.

What’s your intention for your spiritual staycation? What are you going to do to support that intention?

My intention is to experience what a more open, more spirit-full life feels like. To try it on for one week to see how it feels, to challenge the voice of the resistance that tells me, “You’re too busy for more spiritual practice,” “You’ll never get any work done,” and “You’ll be uncomfortable.” That’s what my resistance says, but I want to find out what it’s really like.

I’m going to support that intention by making time for lots of Remembrance, reading lots of spiritual books, going for a walk at least once a day, and learning some specific techniques for getting more in touch with my body.

Decide what you’re going to say no to.

At first, I decided that my spiritual staycation would be about saying yes to Spirit, but I wouldn’t say no to anything in particular – I would just be sure to prioritize spirituality each day. But at the end of Day 1, I felt called to commit to no videogames and no reading fiction for the week, to challenge my belief that I’ll be uncomfortable without those things. So I made that commitment out loud.

Make preparations.

I got a little bit ahead in my work, to lighten my workload during my spiritual staycation. I wanted a work week because I want to see how my work is affected by more spiritual practice, but I didn’t want a too-heavy work week because I need time and spaciousness for that spiritual practice.

You might want to clean up a bit, or make some food in advance – lighten your around-the-house workload.

Get buy-in. You’ll need the support of everyone you live with to have a fruitful and nourishing spiritual staycation. When do you need space and silence for your spiritual practices, and how can we work together to make that happen? When can you do whatever you would normally do, but do it with mindfulness, presence, and heart?

Create sacred space and state your intention.

To open our spiritual staycation, Kyeli and I cast circle, called the directions, invoked the elements, invited Brigid and Gaia, and stated our intentions out loud.

What is being asked of me today?

Kyeli and I are beginning each day with a Tarot reading. The question I ask is, “What is being asked of me today?” I don’t want to know what’s coming. I want to know what I can do, or how I can be, to rise up to meet whatever today holds.

Give thanks at each meal and at the end of the day.

Practice gratitude. It doesn’t need to be for something big. It can be for a feeling, for a word, for a smell, for a person, for a pet, or for a leaf.

Process.

Leave time for processing. I would be journaling my heart out, except that Kyeli and I are taking this spiritual staycation together, so instead I’m talking my heart out.

Opening your heart can bring up long-buried fears or shiny new insights. Make sure you leave space to reflect and let them sink into your life.

What would your spiritual staycation look like?

I’d love to hear from you in the comments!