Getting Started with the Feast

Thank you for observing the Feast for the Soul. Just by making the commitment to observe the Feast, you put into motion a wonderful opportunity to reflect on and acknowledge that your spiritual life is a vital part of your life, and fruits of your practice are essential to peace on this planet.

Thousands of people worldwide observe the Feast so you are in good company. 

Think of the Feast as an intensive — a spiritual practice retreat.  It’s a 40-day period during which you dedicate 40 minutes each day to your spiritual practice all while living the life you already live. You don’t have to head into a monastic setting. Instead, you’ll incorporate the deepening of your spiritual practice where you live. Though your life may be busy with work, taking care of your family, and spending time with friends, during the Feast it is possible to reclaim and put your spiritual life first.

How to embark on the Feast.

1. Set a Practice Space:  How you prepare your inner and outer spaces as you move through the Feast sets the tone for the season and the year ahead.  Find a place in your home, and make it sacred. You might create a practice space that stays up throughout the Feast, by lighting a candle, burning some incense, and playing meditative music.
2. Set a Practice Time: Choose a time in the morning when you can dive deep into your practice for 40 minutes. Or, set aside two 20-minute sessions.  Whatever your spiritual practice is, whether you choose to pray, meditate, read sacred texts, or give yourself time for reflection and creativity, you can participate in the Feast.
3. Join the Feast Meditation Support Group on Facebook:  Spiritual Practice is a solitary endeavor, however, you can benefit by practicing with others and sharing what is going on for you. If you’d like to receive support for your practice with others online, join the official support group on Facebook
4. Sign up to receive inspirational emails during the Feast, here.

Next, on the 15th, begin the Feast. 

1. Participate in an Opening Ceremony. This is a special way to begin. It is entirely optional, it’s a ritual that has been observed since the early 1900s. Here are three ways to open the Feast:
   – Watch an Opening Ceremony posted on YouTube, here. 
   – Perform your own Opening Ceremony. Find the guidelines for the ceremony here. 
2. Listen to an Attunement: Some teachers have recorded an attunement that you can listen to and be inspired by you as you begin the Feast, you can watch them here.
3. Deepen Your Spiritual Practice:  For those who already practicing a silent 40-minute meditation each day, perhaps during the Feast, you add a few new components to your daily spiritual practice, such as reading sacred texts, engaging in a creative practice, or going for a mindful walk after your 40 minutes. For those new to meditation or spiritual practice, you’ll find inspiration and guidance here.  The Feast faculty is made up of teachers from various traditions and religious practice, and together, offer hundreds of wonderful meditations to support you on your journey to being more self-aware and self-realized. During the Feast, you can choose to listen to one teacher throughout the Feast, or each day choose a new teacher and explore the offerings.  If you want to dig deeper, you can access all 700 meditations here.

I believe our work is to find and create an unshakable peaceful interior so that it resides in the altar of our hearts every day of our lives. If you somehow miss a day, or two, you can always begin again. You can begin each moment anew, each day anew, each relationship a new, and each day you can face the world with a new perspective by diving in to your personal spiritual practice. In fact, you can start right now.

This is a time of deep practice. I am practicing with you. Thank you for adding yourself to the community of peacemakers who begin a journey to true inner peace.

Offered by Sarah McLean, Director, Feast for the Soul

If you are not already signed up to receive support, you can register below. Thank you.