21 Spiritual Gateways

What Are Spiritual Gateways?

I’ve been interacting with a lot of folks recently who have expressed an interest in spirituality, but don’t know where to start. They respect and admire others who seem to be ‘spiritual’ people, and yearn for that connection in their own lives, but they say they don’t know what ‘spirituality’ means to them or which spiritual gateways they can pass through.

On the one hand, I think that ‘spirituality’ is one of the most subjective words in the books; a personal word whose definition only you know. And on hand #2, there have been spiritual traditions throughout human history that seem to point to similar themes and ways of being.

A spiritual gateway is a way of interacting with yourself or your world that allows you to touch into something deeper than your day-to-day. It is an avenue to experience more richness in life, to feel more meaning, to feel your own life journey ‘fit’ into the grander play.

If you are interested in exploring and deepening your connection to spirituality and further defining that word for yourself, below are 21 gateways (in no particular order) that I have discovered through a variety of means to be imperative on my own path.

Enjoy 

Find Which Spiritual Gateways You Resonate With

1. Cultivate qualities of heart — Gratitude. Joy. Generosity. Kindness. Love. Happiness at others’ happiness. Compassion. Forgiveness.

2. Earnestly question the nature of reality — Is reality a simulation? Does magic exist? Do my thoughts affect reality?

3. Connect with something greater — Connect with God, Life, Nature, a religion/beliefset, a community, a sports-team.

4. Deconstruct your sense of self — Use tools of inquiry (meditation, acting, roleplaying) to see through the mirage of self.

5. Identify with different parts of your consciousness — Do you usually identify as your thoughts? Or as the thinker of your thoughts? Can you identify as your sensations? As the observer of your thinker, thoughts, and sensations?

6. Be intentional with your awareness — Where do you tend to put your awareness? Where else can you put it? How much do the objects of your awareness change your world?

7. Presence — Lose yourself in flow-states of NOWness and passion.

8. Beauty — What does a gorgeous pond or breathtaking song touch in you?

9. Interconnectedness — Think about how many different human hands were involved in the components of your breakfast. Inquire into how far each action of your’s ripples outward.

10. Intimacy. Lose yourself in another person’s eyes — Share your whole being with another human. You can check out a guided intimacy meditation below if you want to practice eye-gazing with a partner as a spiritual gateway.

11. Live with virtue — study how honesty, integrity, loyalty, courage, and trustworthiness feel in you.

12. Contemplate death — The unavoidable teacher.

13. Intuition — What is it in you that knows what you want and what action to take? What would happen if you followed that feeling without question?

14. Increase sensitivity — Feel vibes and ambiances with greater nuance. Connect with other humans with greater subtlety.

15. Notice the feeling of truth — Sometimes life feels true, and the mind has no idea why. Pay attention to that.

16. Let go of control — Find spaces to relax deeply, surrender fully, and trust that it’ll be okay. This could be in a sauna, or while your partner handcuffs you to the bedframe, or while your mom gives you a long hug.

17. Unrepress your expression — Locate places of shame and express what’s hidden. Find safe spaces to emote feelings you’ve never touched before.

18. Connect with Purpose — Touch into the part of you that must give to humanity, that must express its gifts, that must fully serve its destiny.

19. Creativity — Dance, sing, paint. Let your self turn off and allow creativity to flow through you.

20. Move towards fear — Find what you’re most afraid of. Then do that thing. All of life’s magic is on the other side of your deepest fears.

21. Go into nature – be still there. Just sit with the trees, or the river, or the wind, and let the Earth whisper its wisdom into your skin.

Each Person Has Their Own Gateways

There’s no right way to find meaning in life, to feel a profound connection, or to feel the perfection of life. Find what works for you, and keep following the rabbit.

Explore Spirituality with a Partner

If you dug this article, I encourage you to try out this 15-minute guided intimacy-meditation for partners. It is an eye-gazing partnered meditation that will open a layer of profundity for you and your partner.