Episode Transcript
My name is Ken Hanuman, and this is my wife, Dr. Anne O'Hare, we both work in healthcare and have been meditating for many years. We also enjoy a happy and fulfilling marriage. Come listen and see how to demystify spirituality and bring it into your home, your hearts, and in all your relationships. We will share our experiences and how we use these principles in everyday life. Welcome to the spiritual relationship. Hello everyone. Welcome to this Spiritual Relationship podcast. My name is Ken Hanuman, and this is my wife, Dr. Anne O'Hare. Today we'll be talking about sharing a spiritual daily routine. Because it has to be something intentional that you are trying to develop a routine that will nourish you spiritually, that will help you to grow. It is like anything, any profession or any skill that you want to develop, there has to be dedicated time and you have to have a goal in mind. So you need to set up a daily routine. We tend to put aside time for the things we like to do. We have certain priorities and we have to put some time. And if you practice it, you will see that there will be benefit. A daily spiritual practice can involve a variety of activities, and this would be in this case, meditation. Some people probably like to do mindfulness, prayers, maybe expressing gratitude, connecting with nature. There's so many different ways for us to pay attention to ourself, connect with a positive elevated source a higher being maybe. And this allows for contemplation and introspection and to understand yourself at a deeper level. So I'm gonna ask, Anne what is her practice or how did she start? Okay, so. I just want to add one little idea to what Ken just shared. Anything that we practice every day becomes part of our, like the fabric of our life. I mean, how else can you say it? Every day we have to eat right? Every day we have to get dressed every day we have to bathe every day. We have to be with family or, so there are things that we have to do every day I mean, even when you meet somebody, let's say you meet somebody and you have a relationship with them, and then you include them in those daily things, like you're including them in eating, and then they get closer and closer, and then like when you get married, then you share everything together's something about a daily routine that maybe creates intimacy in a sense, it creates like a sense of life, you're sharing your life. Why am I saying this? Because I would like to, when we talk about the daily routine, spiritual daily routine, I want you all to understand that although Ken and I we were doing the routine before we got together as a couple, we now share the routine as a couple, right? We are sharing the routine just like every other routine. Like a family gets up and does this or does that. We share this spiritual routine together as well. And it doesn't, it's not that big of a deal. It's actually three or four things that we do, but it's very easy to integrate into your life. So how did I get started? Well, I found the Brahma Kumaris, I started meditating and there are certain, um, daily activities that we do. The first one is meditation. Yeah. So we'll talk about that one first. So, and you've probably heard us talk about meditation or maybe not so much on this podcast. But when we talk about meditation, we're talking about first thing in the morning, early morning meditation, and when I came to this study, the recommendation was to meditate between two and five in the morning. Wow. Okay. So for me, that didn't happen right away. It took a while to be able to train my body to get up that early. Let me tell you the reason for that. So between two and five in the morning, if you imagine, have you ever waken up at that time, like at 3:00 AM or something? It's not very easy to get very active at that time. Three or four in the morning. It's not very easy to get up and start, dancing or something, that it's not an active time. It's a very passive time. It's a peaceful time. Most people are asleep. So there's a lot of stillness at that time. So there's some science to getting up at that time and meditating because it's gonna help you to get into a reflective, peaceful state, if you meditate early in the morning. However, we don't expect everybody to get up at three in the morning if you're not already getting up there. So we say, get up 30 minutes earlier than you usually do. What's the purpose? Your daily routine begins at a certain time, and just briefly, everybody's daily routine starts when we wake up, right? Is that fair? Yeah. It starts when you wake up. You get up, you have same thoughts, the same ideas you get outta the bed. You start your day. If we set our alarm for 30 minutes earlier, that'll give us that window of time where we haven't started the habit yet of what we usually do or usually think. And that really can help us to get that time for that meditation self-care. So the first principle of the daily routine is early morning meditation. We're doing it the first thing and the beautiful thing about being a couple doing it together is that we make each other accountable and we help each other to wake up. Yeah. One thing that I've developed that I found very helpful was that the first. Thought I have, I try to let it be about me being a spiritual being, meaning that I don't want my first thought to be about, oh, I have to go take care of my body, or what am I gonna do going to work? The first thought has, to be about me being, the soul being, a child of God, about me being the master of the body, something along that line. Something that is not ordinary. That's a very important point. How many of us have thought, well, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I. Or we say that, what does that mean? That means you started your day in such a way that it's impacting the rest of your day. Yeah. Okay. So what we are suggesting here is starting your day in a reflective, spiritual way with some spiritual thoughts, some thoughts about consciousness, or if you're religious or whatever, you can start with some prayers or something like that. But start your day in an elevated, reflective, spiritual way. With meditation, prayer, some kind of reflection. Yeah. So that's the first principle and we are gonna say it 'because we do it together now. So if you're a couple out there listening, 'cause this is a spiritual relationship. If you are out there as a couple, this is something that you can share. It's very, very powerful, I think, and helpful to be able to do it with somebody. Yeah, it is. You're sharing. So the meditation is the first thing. Yeah. The second thing is study. So we recommend, and what we do is we have a daily class that we study and all Yeah. Some people can read a sacred text,, you can read your Bible. You can read your daily affirmations or whatever the scripture is or whatever is elevated, related to virtues or spirituality or something like that. Yeah. Or related to love. Yes. Related to gratitude, related to kindness. Forgiveness. Yeah. It shouldn't be about some making you think that you are a sinner or feeling bad about. You gotta be something that's based on love, based on blessing, based on being benevolent. Something that is more in tune with your heart that makes lifts you, that lifts you. Because let me tell you the secret. The secret is. We are going to use this whatever we study as my assignment for the day. Yeah, that's the reason. So it's not like I'm just doing it to do it. I'm doing it because I'm getting an assignment. I'm giving myself a spiritual assignment for the day. So when we study, usually one point or two points will emerge from that text. Okay, I need to look at self-care, or I need to look at forgiveness, or I need to look at love today. Or maybe I need to look at remembering myself as a soul or maybe patience or something like that. And that principle or that value or that virtue or that spiritual idea is my assignment for the day. 'cause I tell myself, okay, that's what I'm gonna work on today. Yeah. And usually you could write it on a piece of paper and keep it with you. This is my point for the day. The class that you mentioned every single day before. I looking at the news before talking to another human being about business or daily routine, daily, um, routine activities or activities. You, this class that we listen to, it really talks a lot about the soul, about the self being related to a higher being God. It also talks about you being unlimited, an unlimited being, sort of making, starting off today, thinking of yourself not as being ordinary. Because the beautiful thing about, about spiritual consciousness or what we call soul consciousness is that you are a universal being. You have elevated feelings and thoughts. That you can share with the world. You're not confined to your present role or location or address. You are universal being, and you can have such thoughts that are inclusive, that are universal, and this redefining of your, of yourself. It's an amazing lift for you. Yeah. And doesn't that make sense to do it in the morning before you start getting involved with other things? Right. It would make sense to set yourself up that way, right? Like as a possibility even. Maybe if sometimes we're, maybe we're dealing with things in life, perhaps. Mm-hmm. But isn't it in the morning there's kind of a clean slate feeling? Usually there's a little bit of a freshness, a little bit of a newness coming in the morning. Why not begin that with some reflection time and some spiritual ideas? And the other thing is too, if you are a couple or you are a family or something, you can do what we do in the morning too, which is, we call it like spiritual chitchat. Yeah. Which is also really, really helpful. Yeah. Very helpful. So what does that look like? Well, I'll say, well, this is what I was thinking about in meditation today and this is what I'm working on. And then he can share what he's going through or maybe give an opinion or give some feedback and there's such a beautiful, exchange of energy. Yeah, it's so supportive. We have another couple in our, area in the Brahma Kumaris. There's another couple, Danny, and. Rishi I'm thinking of, but they, they're really happy because they have both come to this study and they're sharing their day together and incorporating this spiritual activity. And we haven't even hit 8:00 AM yet. We have not even hit 8:00 AM yet. We're still at like six o'clock in the morning here. So it's really a wonderful foundation, and if you can keep that attention for those few hours during the morning, that can be very, very helpful. Yeah. From my own experience, I've found that the conversation we have the chit chat or listening to the class, or talking of things that are not mundane, some things that are spiritual, the energy of that exchange that it raises even the relationship with each other beyond an ordinary, day-to-day lifestyle. It actually, it's almost as if you're seeing the other person as not only as a physical companion, but as a, if you wanna say, living with an angel, like you're living with someone who has very high ideals and can think outside the box that has this capacity to, see beyond the physical features of somebody else We are sharing something very special right here, what Kenny is sharing right now, and, and maybe it's interesting 'cause we we're talking about the routine, but we're also talking about the benefit of being a couple and doing the routine. Yeah. And I feel that what you just said is very beautiful and I just wanna add that, um, the vision that I have of you, and I know the vision that you have of me. Like we, I'm looking at you, I. I just see, I don't even have any words. Right. I don't even have any words. So it's like this is not ordinary, right? No, it's definitely not ordinary. But what I mean is like I feel because our conversation is so elevated and because we're both aiming have spiritual aim, our conversation is like supports the relationship, helps the relationship. Yeah. You know, everything. It's just, it's amazing. Anyway, I'm probably not making it make sense, but you said I'm living with an angel and I just, that's a beautiful word to use and I just, I'll use my own, like a pure soul, like a worthy soul, a great soul. I'm living with and I'm being with a great worthy soul who's making this effort. So it's a wonderful thing. So we can just leave it there. But to be able to do that, and it doesn't have to be what we are practicing. It could be. It could be your Bible, it could be your, whatever. Exactly. Whatever your spiritual practice is, share it together. Yeah. Even if you don't believe in a, in a particular religion Yeah. Or whatever connection with nature. Yeah. Or having, a connection with other human beings, with good feelings for them. Being able to appreciate that the, your thoughts are very valuable. Think of yourself, uh, your thoughts and your words, and your abilities are actually, can be used in a positive way. The law of spirituality, I find is that once you're thinking outside of yourself, once you're sharing your thoughts and your feelings with others in a selfless way. It brings back amazing returns, I should say, and you feel better about yourself, and it's a good way to start today. I try not to look at the news or listen to anything before eight class. Give yourself a few hours before you, before you get involved in the world. Because the feeling you have when you are starting your day off like this, the moment you listen to the news or you get into dealing with people in the workplace, you will see a big shift. You'll see a difference. Yes. So that brings us to the next thing of the daily routine. Which is the mini meditation. Yes. So now it's after 8:00 AM we're going to work, we're going to do our activities, and how do I keep this going throughout the day? How do I maintain. This good foundation throughout the day, what we call it, mini meditations or traffic control, like controlling the traffic of the mind. So every so often, maybe once an hour, once every couple of hours, just stop what you're doing become very quiet and introverted and just tell yourself I'm a soul. Maybe pull out your little piece of paper of what you remembered and, oh yeah, I'm supposed to be working on forgiveness or patience or something like that. I'm reminding myself, I'm also reminding myself that I'm a soul and by nature is peace. So I'm bringing, trying to bring back that feeling little periods throughout the day. Mm-hmm. So we go through the day, towards the end of the day, about 7:00 PM. We do have another meditation time, which is from seven to seven 30 generally, and that is evening meditation. And in that meditation we're looking at world service. So this is what Ken was saying, like thinking of others. This is where you really sit and you think, okay, I am a soul. My nature is peace. And I feel like I wish that all souls would feel peace. I want all souls to feel peaceful, all of nature, to be harmonious and peaceful. Like you feel the thing and then you're sharing it. So what are we doing? It's an unlimited, it's like you're accessing. You used the word unlimited before. It's a way of being unlimited. Whatever I'm feeling in my heart of heart, I wish that everyone would feel that. That's world service. And I usually use like five minutes of that time to review the day. Yes. And to be able to, or you could do that right before bed too, right before bedtime. Could do before bed, like a review of the day without judgment, without accusing or criticizing yourself. It's already passed, but you can learn from your experience during the day, which you did, which you didn't do what could have been better. And you can check how you did on your assignment too. Yeah. Sometimes we have what we call a chart. So if you have certain goals set for yourself, you can see how well you did and then that's, that becomes the next day maybe you can improve. And even if you do fall back a little bit, it doesn't matter. The beautiful thing about, about self contemplation is that as long as you're paying attention and you have a goal, there's no need for you to be severe with yourself. Well, you, you're learning. Yeah. Just be, we're learning and be patient and Right. And if you can understand how the mind works, and you can change a little, make little steps if you want to call it baby steps, but little, little changes in the words I use. In the way I look at somebody. Maybe your reactions will change. Maybe your reaction, maybe people around you. Basically they repeat their behavior from day to day. Maybe I can make some changes in the, relationship. And, you'll see it starts to. Well, that's what I was gonna say. Let's, let's say what now, what is the result of living like with this spiritual daily routine? Yeah, so go ahead. What do you think is the, like, what are the two main things that you get out of it? Well, I could say this about myself from the time, I started meditation when I was young, and I would say it saved me from maybe going off the edge. Yeah, because life was not that easy when I was growing up. There was a lot of changes, loved ones passing. There, there's so many things, there was a lot of challenges. What I find over the years is that the self-esteem that I, that I developed this seeing myself outside of or beyond my occupation or the role that I play, the relationship that I have, seeing myself as being related to God and being able to, consider myself maybe like a helper maybe in some way. If I could make a difference in somebody else's life by giving a good advice or an example or something like that, or teach or explain something about, or maybe if they have a problem, if I could maybe let them take a different look at it from a spiritual standpoint. I redefine myself in a way that I am proud of myself in, in, in the sense that I am happy not to be the same person I was when I was 20 years old, or 30, I have grown. I find that the money that I work for or the, or the degrees that I have or whatever, cannot match the self-esteem or the self-respect that I have. And a feeling of a sense of purposes being fulfilled. That life has even greatest accomplishment. Because I would've liked to be able to live this life. Really, I'm proud of everything, nothing to regret, and that is the benefit looking back. I would recommend that to anybody. To make this a part of your life. It does. You can still do whatever you do, whatever your job, your business is, right, your relationship that you have this self-care or spiritual wellbeing that you're nurturing, it will bring positive qualities in everything you do or touch. Very good. If I could add just one piece to that, it would be that this spiritual routine. No matter what is going on, it comes every day, just like the day it comes back. So there's always a chance to do something that's pure, something that's positive, something that has hope in it, something that's self care oriented. So no matter what has happened, no matter what's I'm going through, I know I can get up early and do meditation. I can. Study, I can remember to do my meditation. I can do the evening. So in terms of actions, that daily routine is a safe self-care positive routine. And where can we say that about any routine really? Yeah. And because the world is not really helpful. No, no. Well, that's my point. My point is that no matter what happens, you can go back and do that and it's positive and it's good. Yeah. So do this for yourself. Be kind to yourself. Yes. And make your mind your friend. Wonderful. So with that, okay, so we'll end it there and thank you very much for being with us today. Okay. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. When you walk into a room, life gets little. You.
