ASSUMPTIONS ON THE SPIRITUAL LIFE  

1. We all have a spiritual life.

2. It is a significant act of spiritual growth when we accept responsibility for our spiritual life.

3. A healthy spiritual life assumes engagement, rather than escape; an interest in the life of the world instead of spiritual sentimentality or being caught up in illusions.

4. We are seeking a spiritual practice with roots in ancient ways and useful in modern life.

5. We need a spirituality that is both solid and resilient.

6. Our spiritual life serves us best when we understand that it is to evolve over time.  What serves us when we are 11 differs from when we are 18 and still again from when we are 35 or 60.  A fertile evolution unfolds out of forms of spiritual life that are complex, rich, and paradoxical.  They continue to grow as we increase our self-awareness, insight, and in response to changing circumstances.

7. It requires efficiency if it is to serve modern daily life.

8. It requires attention and time if it is to serve modern daily life.

9. Our spiritual life and discipline is to be based on an integrated system, a pattern, rather than series of random practices.  We are to live our spiritual life by Rule, not rules.

10. It is possible for the average church member to become competent and proficient in spiritual practices.

11. We must decide to base our spiritual life on persistence, courage, and competence, rather than on feelings—whether we feel like praying or not. A useful and faithful spiritual life requires critical reasoning and intelligences.  We need to intentionally turn away from spiritual fads and fast food.

12. One of the parish church’s primary tasks is the spiritual formation of its people. 

Used with permission. In Your Holy Spirit: Traditional Spiritual Practices in Today's Christian Life, Michelle Heyne, Ascension Press, 2011