When the soul forgets its practices, the world forgets its peace.

There’s a quiet ache running through the world right now.

Maybe you’ve felt it too—the feeling that something essential has gone missing. That we’re moving faster than ever, but somehow going nowhere meaningful. As if the collective is a great ship at sea, unmoored and directionless.

It’s in these times that spiritual practice becomes not just important, but urgent.

In my own life and work—including what I share in From Knowing Better to Doing Better—I’ve come to see that practices like meditation, prayer, breathwork, and inner inquiry are not “extras”. They are essential tools for navigating both the noise of the world and the complexities of our own minds.

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”
— Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Modern science is catching up to what sages have known for millennia. Neuroscience and epigenetics are now showing that contemplative practice not only soothes the nervous system—it can actually shift how our genes express themselves. Trauma can be softened. Peace can be encoded.

And the beauty of it? These practices don’t require perfection—only presence.

🕊️ A Practice to Begin Today: Stillness Before Screens

Before you open your phone or laptop tomorrow morning, try this:

• Sit quietly for 5 minutes.

• Place one hand on your heart, the other on your belly.

• Breathe in gently and repeat inwardly:
  “I remember who I am.”

• Breathe out slowly and whisper:
  “I am anchored in peace.”

Let this become your rudder—a simple act of self-remembrance before entering the world’s waters.

In my work through The I AM Project, I guide individuals and small groups into these kinds of practices—building not just mindfulness, but spiritual resilience. And while the book offers reflections to explore on your own, the project is for those who want companionship and structure on this path.

But even if you do nothing else today, do this:

Pause. Breathe. Remember.

You are not lost. The rudder is within.

In stillness and strength,

David Gilks