One noticeable aspect of modern, secular life in the West and elsewhere is the strong division between what are considered activities of the world, and those that would be called pursuits of the soul. To illustrate, a day job, going to a movie, washing the dishes, cooking a meal, spending time with friends, are all generally thought of as irreligious, non-spiritual affairs. Whereas going to church, praying, meditating, undertaking a pilgrimage, reading holy texts and spiritual authors are squarely in the realm of the soul.

Obviously, this is quite understandable living in a secular society, which in it’s very definition means a separation between mundane and religious affairs. Mixing these divisions can often be frowned upon in society, or can receive judgmental, mocking looks or comments. So in general, people tend to treat worldly and religious affairs as two completely separate and unrelated areas of life.

But for one who is spiritually inclined, these two spheres of life do not necessarily need to remain apart from one another. Indeed, for someone interested in the mystical path, a life centered around God, or even just getting the most out of daily life, it might actually be quite important to reduce this distinction between spiritual and secular activities and undertakings. In other words, it can be beneficial to recognise that all we do has the potential to be a sacred, holy act.

Both esoteric and exoteric dimensions of a religions (see an earlier post here for a deeper look at this) encourage the follower to do this. The path of the mystics, the esoteric aspect, generally guides one to see God in all things and in everything he or she does. To gradually nullify the sense of “I” and behold the Absolute all around them, the gradual process ultimately leading to union with God and self-realisation. So invoking God in your everyday activities and actions is a key part of any mystic’s journey regardless of religion. This is also important for the everyday religious folk, the exoteric side, dedicating what one does to God or bringing to the surface whatever one’s belief is will help make that person a better Muslim, Buddhist, Taoist, Christian, Hindu, whatever.

Perceiving one’s actions as sacred and a means of getting closer to ultimate reality is well founded in many of the world’s sacred texts and writings. Perhaps, it is most explicitly and frequently discussed in the Bhagavad Gita, one of Hinduism’s most important books. The path of Karma Yoga, a critical idea in the book, prescribes doing work and actions without regard to how it will benefit the individual as a separate self. Instead, one does work to please God and all action becomes a sacrament and is dedicated to the divine. This reduces the sense of “I” by pursuing selfless, God dedicated action.

All actions are disinterested. All are directed along the path to union with Brahman.

You must perform every action sacramentally, and be free from all attachment to results.

– Chapter III: Karma Yoga, Bhagavad Gita

Scouring through the Bible (and with the help of Google!) I came across numerous verses on these matters, on the importance of dedicating one’s actions to God. In the Book of Proverbs, one indicates that dedicating your works to God is fundamental to the successful completion of it. This seems to be more directed to the average, worldly follower of God.

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

– Proverbs, 16:3

In this following quote from the New Testament, it appears to be more mystical and in align with the writings of the Bhagavad Gita in the sense that it encourages the follower to dedicate what they do to God for it’s own sake rather than in order to receive any worldly gain.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

– Colossians, 4:6

Moreover, there is a focus on allowing the Holy Spirit to work through the follower as he or she goes about their actions and life, indeed, quite an important aspect of developing oneself as Christian.

God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him.

– Philippians, 2:13

The practice of dhikr in Islam, known as remembrance of Allah is an important means for a Muslim to see God in all things and in their actions. It is the idea of constantly having Allah in one’s mind. Commonly used phrases such as “God willing” and “God is greater” are just two used by Muslims to constantly evoke God in their minds as they work and go about their day. Since one of the pillars of Islamic faith is to pray five times a day, it reveals that focusing on God is of paramount importance to the religion and being a successful Muslim.

Therefore remember Me, I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and reject not Faith.

– Qur’an, The Cow, 2:152

Notably, Dhikr is a particularly central practice to Sufis (Islamic mystics), where the names of Allah and verses from the Qur’an are used ritualistically and repetitively to invoke ecstatic union with God.

In Taoism, there is less emphasis on devoting your actions to God, considering the concept of God is a lot less personal than the above mentioned religions. Regardless, it is encouraged to break down the notion of oneself as separate to the Tao, and allow the Tao to flow through their being, guiding their action. This can be known as wu wei (无为) – non-doing. In a sense, one begins to see their actions as sacred, in tune with the Principle that sustains the universe. Be it through the tea ceremony or crafting a fine sword, each act has the Tao flowing through the actor and thus making it divine.

The Tao never does; Yet through it all things are done.

– Tao Te Ching, Chapter 37

The highest virtue is to act without a sense of self; The highest kindness is to give without a condition.

– Tao Te Ching, Chapter 38

So with this brief look at some of the world’s religions and their approaches to action, it appears all are largely in align with one another. All emphasise abandoning activity as a means to achieve something one wants, and all encourage one to abandon an individual sense of self. The religions that have a more personal God as their focal point tend to recommend that we dedicate all of our activity to the divine and have it frequently on our minds. This leads the Absolute, whatever name it goes by, to work through us, to flow through us in order to achieve its purpose – be it as seemingly purposeless and mundane as playing a video-game or as noble as feeding and caring for the poor and suffering.

Whatever the religion, it appears that the means to do this is to try and remember the divine during whatever activity we’re doing. When cooking a meal, become aware of the processes occurring, how everything involved has part of the divine within it, how God works through all of your actions from the slicing of vegetables to placing the meal in the oven. Also, a good deal of gratitude for the blessings and challenges one receives is important. Taking whatever comes and whatever is done with a sense of joy that one is doing the divine’s work. Moreover, one needs to be present centered, as the Eternal can only be found in the Now, rather than in the past or future. This helps by freeing one from concern about the results of their actions, instead dedicating it to the Sacred. Becoming more present also assists in surrendering one’s individual will by putting their life in the hands of the Absolute.

All of this can bring us closer to God, make us more in align with the Tao – whatever the analogy – giving us a better relationship and ultimately towards union with the Ground of All Being. And for those who are of a secular mind, taking the time to do things with less worry about how its going to fare out, as well as to see how interconnected and incredible life is, can make us more satisfied, at peace and happier.