You don’t have time to go to church, or you just haven’t found the right faith community?  The good news is that there are many ways to stay connected to God without going to church.

The reality is that God is all around you.  God is in the plants, trees, animals, people, insects, water, air and more.

God communicates with you when you quiet your mind, open your heart and feel the Spirit’s presence in your body.

It may seem at times that God has abandoned you, but, God has never left your side.

 

Here are four ways to connect with God without going to church:

1.      Quiet your Mind:

If God is going to get through to you, it is essential to quiet your mind.  There are many ways to find inner peace.

Prayer is a powerful way to relax your mind.  You might like to try Centering Prayer.  It is simple. You prayerfully come up with your sacred word or phrase which you will use to quiet your mind whenever it gets busy.

Ideally, Centering Prayer works best when you give yourself a minimum of 20 minutes of silence once or twice a day.  Quiet yourself down with prayer and three deep breaths. Once settled, stay quiet for the allotted time. Every time you get stuck in thought, focus again on your sacred word.

Your goal is not to rid your head of all thoughts. It is more about letting them flow by without getting stuck in any of them. 

If you have never meditated before you will want to start slowly, you might want to try-- five minutes a day. As you get more comfortable with meditation, lengthen your time until you get to 20-30 minutes.

There are many resources available to help you meditate. My favourite App is called Insight Timer. You can get it from the App Store and Google Play.  You can access it for free.

There are many other ways to quiet your mind, including walking, gardening, cooking, listening to music and anything else that helps to quiet your mind other than drugs or alcohol.

Learn more about how God can help you to have a better marriage: Click Here

 

2.      Remember to Breathe:

Thankfully we don’t have to think about breathing. We do it without thinking.

You are probably like most of us and don’t always breathe deeply. Under stress, you are more likely to take shallow breaths. When you are not breathing deeply, you are more likely to feel exhausted, overwhelmed and anxious. 

Why is something like breathing properly so hard?  You would think it should be easy. The good news is that the solution is not hard.

Throughout your day, check your breathing and make sure you are breathing deeply.

If you take time to meditate daily, this will help you build better breathing habits.

With practice, you will notice a big difference. 

Life will seem to flow easier because your body, brain and heart are getting all the oxygen they need.

 

3.      Notice:

You have a busy life. There is always something to do. 

 You live in a world whose motto is “more is always better.” But God has a different plan.

 God desires you to slow down and notice what is going on around you and within you.  God requires you to take time to do nothing.

 The Spirit requires you to learn to live in the moment so you can pay attention to the Holy.  It is hard to stay focused on God when you are stuck in the past and future.

 When you live in the moment, you can pay attention to your three energy centers, the head (quiet mind), the heart (emotions) and the body (sensations).  God provides a wealth of wisdom through these God-given gifts.

 When you are open in your three energy centers, you will know without struggle what God is calling you to do.

 

4.      Risk:

God will speak to you!  The only question is, will you have the courage to follow through on God’s call.

 With practice, you will know the difference between the voice of God and the voice of your ego.  Your ego is usually loud, condemning and hard while the voice of God is quieter, calm and loving.

 The voice of God will lead you into new adventures, experiences that you never dreamed of having.  Your life will be changed.

 All you have to do is say YES!  Faith helps you to risk doing the work of God.  With time you will learn to trust this inner voice.  But the only way to overcome your fear is by moving ahead and taking a leap of faith.

 You will probably not hear a clear message. But you will discern God’s will through the wisdom of the Spirit coming to you through your mind, heart and head.

 The more you risk your faith, the closer to God you will become.

Learn More About why it is hard to connect to God when life is going well: Click Here

 

You can do all this without going to church. But you always need a community found in family and groups such as churches, mosques, synagogues and temples.

 You need your family, friends, colleagues to help you live a good life. You need others just as much as God needs you.

 Remember, there is no one way to connect with God. An excellent place to start is to learn what your faith tradition offers.

 If you come from no one faith tradition, learn about some of the religions of the world and try out different rituals to see what is meaningful for you. It is always best to learn from people who are familiar with the rituals and beliefs.

 If you meet a person who wants you to be obedient to their beliefs, be careful.  Remember God gave us a brain for a purpose.For a healthy relationship with God, you need to question beliefs and actions if your intuition is telling you something isn’t right.

Keep your mind quiet, breathe well, notice what is going on in and around you. Take the leap of faith when called upon, and you will build a strong bond with God.

If God keeps speaking to you in ways that uphold the great commandments which is to love God with all your heart and soul, love yourself and love your neighbour as yourself, you will know you are on the right path.

I am, Roland Legge, an Identity Coach here to help you to connect with the Spirit and find your calling from God.  Click Here to can join my private newsletter and/or take my Free Online Enneagram test