Body, Mind, & Spirit Practices

“Your life is your spiritual practice.” -Jennifer Westrom, OMM 365: One Minute Meditations for Older Women

  • Establish a daily practice: Set aside time each day to listen to your small, still voice within - your intuition/divinity/sacred pulse - to tease out your purpose, align with it, and develop how you can “live on purpose”.

  • Journal: Julie Cameron’s The Artist’s Way suggests hand-writing three pages a day to move past your problems to solutions. Once you feel connected to your intuition/divinity/sacred pulse, she notes in The Listening Path that you can ask it questions & get answers.

  • Meditate: If you find it hard to sit for the recommended 20 minutes a day, start with a walking meditation. Find a labyrinth or do a Zen walking meditation, moving slowly and mindfully as you slow your mind. Once ready for a sitting meditation, try contemplative prayer or a silent or guided meditation. You can start with 5, 10, or 20 minutes to connect with your sacred pulse and find a deep peace. Try art meditation to tap into your sacred pulse by going beyond words to images and uncover what’s awaiting beneath your mind chatter.

  • Read: Pick something that resonates and inspires you. I’ve ranged from holy texts to Jennifer Westrom’s OMM 365: One Minute Meditations for Older Women, featuring women’s aging journeys with psychological, spiritual, and historical references. I’ve enjoyed John O’Donohue’s ethereal writing in To Bless the Space Between Us, Parker Palmer’s seasonal essays in Let Your Life Speak, and Richard Wagamese’s heart-felt writing in Embers and What Comes From Spirit while considering my own return to fiction writing.

  • Clear emotional blocks: Feeling stuck? Melanie Tonia Evans’ You Can Thrive After Narcissistic Abuse offers great clearing exercises. Reiki - in person or distance - or therapeutic touch can also help clear energy blocks.

  • Ground and align: Spend time in nature or try sound healing. You can use brass or crystal singing bowls or try Jonathan Goldman’s vocal mantras for chakras from his book, The 7 Secrets of Sound Healing. It’s a unique experience that really raises your vibration!

  • Silent retreats: Spend a day - or 3, 5, 8, or 40 - in silence for a really deep spiritual clearing and connection. Loyola in Guelph, ON, Loretto Maryholme north of Toronto, St. John the Divine in north Toronto, and Villa St. Joseph in Cobourg, ON all offer silent retreats.

  • Stay active: hike, walk, swim, or hit the gym to keep your body as strong as your mind and spirit so you can enjoy living on purpose!

More Books

Retreats

  • Sugar Ridge Retreat Centre: This rural centre, 150 kms north of Toronto near Midland, Ontario, offers yoga and meditation workshops plus very alternative programing in a pastoral setting, complete with cute cottages, great vegetarian meals, and a pastoral hiking trail.

  • Its Art of Healing retreat with Arrole Lawrence, an Aboriginal Healer from Orillia, mixes quantum physics with ancestral healing to clear the path to connect with your higher self’s wisdom in your heart. It’s not for the feint of heart, so try the one-day before the weekend.

  • Loretto Maryholme: This comfortable Catholic retreat house, located on Lake Simcoe 100 km north of Toronto, has private and shared rooms, cottages, a labyrinth, and great meals as well as silent retreats and writing reteats. A highlight is working with Sister Jane McDonell, now retired as its founding executive director, but still providing spiritual direction during silent retreats.

  • The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine: This Anglican convent in north Toronto has a labyrinth, programs, and silent meals. It’s also near one of Toronto’s ravines for nature walks. It will be offering more programming once it completes its guest house renovation in 2026.