Spiritual PracticesA Clear Starter Guide

Every chapter follows the same pattern: what the practice is, its roots and history, what people report side by side with what research has and has not found, a simple version to try at home in 5 to 10 minutes, and where to go next.

The practices include meditation, breathwork, prayer and contemplation across traditions, mantra and chanting, journaling and gratitude, nature and forest bathing, moon rituals, drumming, sound baths, yoga, caring touch, reiki, qigong and tai chi, fasting and simplicity, Celtic spirituality, altars and ritual, dreams, tarot as reflection, crystals, the turning year, silence and retreats, and service and kindness.

There is a chapter on pilgrimage and sacred places close to home, including Iona, St Andrews, Culross and the Fife Pilgrim Way, plus a guide to building your own daily practice with a 30-day starter plan, and a safety and wellbeing page. Many of these practices are sacred to living communities, and the guide describes them as fairly as it can. Nothing here replaces care from your GP or a mental health professional.

• Where should I start?
• Meditation, breathwork and prayer
• Mantra, journaling and forest bathing
• Moon rituals, drumming and sound
• Yoga, touch, reiki, qigong and tai chi
• Pilgrimage: Iona, St Andrews, Culross and the Fife Pilgrim Way
• Celtic spirituality, altars and ritual
• Dreams, tarot and crystals
• Solstices, silence and retreats
• A 30-day starter plan
• Safety and wellbeing