11.  Offering Time

Is there any time required for your spiritual practice which is different from, or in addition to, the time you spend on normal everyday living?

Yes. In Cafh, we practice a daily meditation, we meet in small groups on a regular basis, there are periodic retreats and there is time for personal spiritual direction. I usually meet several times a month with members of Cafh to serve in providing spiritual direction. So, the time I spend in spiritual practice, in addition to the normal activities of family and work, is not insignificant.

I don’t ever recall feeling that these practices steal time away from something I’d rather be doing.

Since time is indeed precious, the offering of time is a way of offering oneself. To my mind, offering oneself is an absolutely essential component of spiritual consciousness.

Even if I were to spend a half hour in a meditation which I did poorly, with my mind wandering all over the place, the action of offering that half hour which I might otherwise have spent on a trifle has a spiritual consequence.