Practical Spirituality

Spirituality is a mindset, and a heartset (new word alert). Spirituality is also highly practical when used in a cocreative way with the basic requirements of humaning that most of us face daily.

While those requirements can feel inconvenient when all we want to do is bathe ourselves in all things spiritual, they must be addressed.

“Practical Spirituality” is an original blog post by Ellen M. Gregg, published on 29 May 2025 on ellenmgregg.com.

Called to practice spirituality

When we’re called to spirituality—that is, when we awaken to (remember) our innate spiritual nature—it can feel positively magical. It can be much like waking from a dream that we didn’t realize was a dream, and finding ourselves in a reality that’s promising beyond the scope of our most vivid imagining.

In this reality, things that we thought were found only in the pages of novels or the scope of movies and series reveal themselves to us in tangible ways. Some of those things come from within us, and others are observed around us.

When we’re further called to practice spirituality in service to others, we may view it as a dream come true. After all, the sort of service work we offer as spiritual practitioners doesn’t require that we show up at a corporate cubicle five days a week. It provides us with the opportunity to stop “working for the man.”

If we choose to answer that call, the real work begins. (Yes, it’s all real, and choosing to work as a spiritual practitioner is next-level real.)

Oh, and by the way…

Even if you aren’t called to serve as a spiritual practitioner specifically, some of the information listed below can still apply in a more general way. It’s amazing what practicing spirituality brings up and, in some cases, shoves in our faces so it isn’t overlooked.

Putting the practical in spirituality

Choosing to become a spiritual practitioner requires a whole lot of self-awareness. At the very least, we need to be aware if we:

• can manage our time well

• have basic office skills

• know our way around technology

• can uphold firm boundaries

• have good interpersonal skills

• know our worth

• can maintain confidentiality

• have a clear understanding that it isn’t for us to play god or fix people

• have a relationship with ourselves that allows us to see when our ego needs checking

Choosing to become a spiritual practitioner requires a thorough and objective evaluation of our current life. At the very least, we need to see if we can objectively:

• financially support ourselves to take this risk

• have the relationship (family and/or friends) support to take this risk

• maintain the mental and emotional bandwidth to take this risk

• maintain the physical stamina to take this risk

Answering the call requires readiness and steadiness

We need to commit ourselves to not “jumping ship” before we’re ready at the practical level. (Well, unless we were pushed off the ship and had to swim if we didn’t want to sink.) There’s nothing to say that we can’t start small as a spiritual practitioner, while staying in our secure Muggle job.

That way, we’re able to build our clientele along with our confidence and make a transition that keeps us financially stable. And alongside that, there’s no shame in discovering that we need a muggle job to pair with our soul biz to meet our needs. Elizabeth Gilbert discusses this from a writing perspective in Big Magic.

There’s an inner steadiness that’s required of us to make the decision that’s best for us at the human level, even though it may bruise our ego.

Our readiness at the spiritual level is far less easily defined, as we might think we’re ready when we aren’t, or we might think we aren’t ready when we are. That’s between us and our guides, and will make itself abundantly clear with its brand of steadiness when the time comes.

Fun fact about this post

I wrote the portion that includes the second bullet-point list before lunchtime today. Immediately after lunch, I had two client sessions. The second session focused on someone transitioning from Muggle work to spiritual work. (They booked the human-focused session rather than the sacred-service session, so I had no clue.)

On the one hand, I couldn’t believe it. What are the chances? I added it to my “you can’t make this stuff up” list. On the other hand, I nodded my head in acknowledgment of my guides’ wisdom in nudging me toward this topic.

Thanks for reading.