Even though your beach towel is barely dry, the back-to-school vibe is in the air! Stores are filling to the brim with everything a student might desire. Can you feel that subtle push to begin gathering supplies for the beginning of a new season of learning? Even if you aren’t returning to the halls of academe this year, it’s natural to feel the urge to explore, to learn, to expand your mind and spirit and see what new horizons you can reach.

Both as a physical and spiritual being, you are programmed to learn and grow. Just as you have grown taller and more mature in mind and body over time, your spirit is always seeking to expand, to move closer to the light, to develop more understanding and awareness. Your job is to keep that upward movement going, to advance your spirit and to increase your health, your happiness, and your contribution. Growth feels good and sends reverberations of hope and possibility into the world around you.

Saying that pursuing spiritual growth is your “job” isn’t merely an expression. It’s the simple truth. When you work at expanding your awareness, bringing yourself into balance, experiencing greater peace, raising your consciousness, and connecting with the Divine, you are actually assisting every other person and creature on the planet to do the same. It isn’t just about you and you don’t need to feel guilty or selfish. What you think and feel is important—with every thought and emotion you have, you’re sending out a wave of energy that makes its way into the fabric of humanity’s consciousness. By embracing your growth and striving to be your best self, you contribute to the well-being of all.

Here are 5 steps you can take to activate your learning energy and pursue the growth you were born for:

1. Meditate

Step one should always be opening the channel to Spirit. Preparing the way for learning and growth begins with this universal practice to still the mind; calm, cleanse, and refresh the body; and increase your connection to the infinite Source of all information, love, and light. Learn to meditate with an experienced teacher and build a practice that will stay with you and support all your future endeavors.

2. Discover Who You Are

Begin your course of spiritual study at the heart of matters. Examine yourself to see if you know who you really are and what you really want. What are your beliefs and values? Your hopes and fears? What do you love to do and whom do you love? Because you are a unique being, there is much knowledge about yourself that only you can discover, much work that only you can do. Start a program of self-study that has proven helpful for others.

Study your unique being, but see what others have learned about themselves, too.

3. Pray

You’ll find a world of information to discover in the study and practice of prayer. Common to every culture and every people, prayer is about joining to the light, Source, God, or whatever name you have for the energy of unconditional love. Forms of prayer can include contemplation, affirmations, music, art, being in nature, and physical activities like dance and yoga—all used to connect to the Divine. Try forms of prayer that are new to you. Use affirmations to declare a shift into your higher-self qualities. “I am able to heal.” “I am an instrument of peace and love.” You can also connect to the Divine through creative activities you love by asking to be a channel for the divine light as you work.

4. Journal

Keeping a journal of your thoughts and emotions can support your spiritual growth and learning in several ways.  If you haven’t kept a journal before, you’ll discover a wonderful opportunity to express yourself, explore your feelings, be authentic, and tell the truth in a safe and private setting. It takes practice to dig deep into your experience and express your authentic self openly and honestly. When you learn to be truthful on the pages of your journal, you learn to be truthful in the world. You step into a new level of self-awareness and self-trust, opening the door to future accomplishments.

5. Study Together

Taking a class or workshop with others who are seeking spiritual growth can be the ultimate learning experience. Discovering what others are working to achieve and striving to understand can help you realize your own gifts and imagine ways to develop them. You may only wake up to the possibilities of your own life by seeing the example of other lives and by connecting with others in spiritual practices like meditation and prayer. Check out my meditation workshop, it might be just what you’re looking for to jumpstart your Fall learning.

Capture the back-to-school energy that’s in the wind this season. You won’t need new shoes or a backpack to begin a course of learning that brings joy to your heart. The world needs the contribution that only you can make, and your spirit yearns to experience learning and expansion. Grow into your gifts now!