In a world full of distractions, noise, and endless to-do lists, it’s easy to feel spiritually disconnected. We often search for complex methods or expensive retreats to reconnect with ourselves and something greater — when sometimes, the deepest practices are the simplest.
Neem Karoli Baba, the beloved Indian saint and teacher of Ram Dass, once said that spiritual practice is just three things: Love. Serve. Remember. That’s it. Three words. No fancy rituals, no long checklists. Just a way of living rooted in intention.
Let’s unpack what that really means — and how it can guide us toward clarity, purpose, and peace in the middle of our busy lives.
Love Without Conditions
To love in this practice doesn’t just mean romantic affection or caring for those who treat us well. It means loving without conditions — starting with ourselves.
Self-love isn’t indulgent. It’s necessary. When we’re constantly criticizing ourselves, chasing perfection, or comparing our journey to others, we distance ourselves from the truth of who we are. Love in its purest form is acceptance, not performance. It’s seeing ourselves, flaws and all, and choosing compassion anyway.
And when we begin to love ourselves deeply, that love spills over. It becomes easier to forgive, to hold space for others, to choose understanding over judgment.
Serve from the Heart
“Serve” doesn’t mean giving until you burn out. It means offering what you can, when you can, from the right place inside.
Service rooted in ego says, “Look what I did.” But true service says, “How can I help?” It doesn’t need a stage or a reward. Sometimes, the deepest service is listening without fixing, holding a door open with a smile, or simply being present for someone going through darkness.
In giving, we dissolve the illusion of separation. We begin to remember that we are all connected, that your pain is my pain, and your joy is my joy.
Remember Who You Really Are
This is perhaps the hardest part. In the grind of daily life, it’s easy to forget that we are more than our roles, more than our productivity, more than our past.
To remember is to return — to your spirit, to your truth, to your light. It’s a quiet whisper reminding you that you are already whole.
Rumi said, “The moon stays bright when it doesn’t avoid the night.” The darkness is not something to fear. It’s something to move through with awareness. Your challenges, your shadows, your doubts — they don’t dim your light. They shape it. They teach you to shine through, not avoid.
When we remember who we are — love in motion, a soul having a human experience — we stop trying to become someone and start being who we’ve always been.
Final Thought: Keep It Simple, Keep It Sacred
In a complicated world, there’s deep wisdom in simplicity. You don’t need to have all the answers. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to come back — again and again — to the practice:
Love. Serve. Remember.
It’s not about doing more. It’s about being more present in what you do.
TheSpiritualExplorer 