Twitter is spiritual--it really is :-)

After six weeks of writing tweets, Frederic Brussat says it is for him. To see how he is practicing his spirituality through Twitter, read his feed here or visitwww.Twitter.com/FredericBrussat. Here are 25 reasons why Twitter is a spiritual.

1.) Twitter challenges us to pay attention to what we are doing, to stay awake and totally alert.

2.) Twitter prompts us to focus on the present moment and in doing so we realize all we need is right here, right now.

3.) Twitter provides opportunities to connect with others around the world so we can sense how self and world are linked in ever-expanding circles.

4.) Twitter inspires us to practice hospitality in a time when too often strangers are feared and the "other" is shunned.

5.) Twitter enables us to share our deepest dreams and to encourage others not to lose hope.

6.) Twitter prods us to find the divine energy of joy in our daily lives and to share it with others.

7.) Twitter invites us to be receptive and to hold an open house in our hearts for new people, ideas, and organizations.

8.) Twitter draws out our playfulness and celebrates, in a variety of ways, the holiness of savoring pleasure and the lightness of being.

9.) Twitter promotes the art of listening in which we lean toward others in love, realizing that everyone wants to be heard.

10.) Twitter allows us to probe on a daily basis the significance of what we are feeling and thinking: it makes meaning makers of us all.

11.) Twitter encourages us to see spiritual teachers all around us, however unlikely or unlike us they may be.

12.) Twitter facilitates our exploration of the wider world of other cultures and wisdom traditions.

13.) Twitter reminds us to share the stories of our lives with other companions on the journey.

14.) Twitter illustrates how often when we are looking for one thing we come upon another in a moment of grace.

15.) Twitter proves that although we think we are living in a universe, it's really a pluriverse of voices.

16.) Twitter shows us why we need to cherish all parts of creation from ants to wolves to the Grand Canyon.

17.) Twitter encourages us to spell out all our days with a grammar of gratitude.

18.) Twitter elicits our wonder as we see the world moving toward us with a deluge of epiphanies.

19.) Twitter taps into the enthusiasm that lights up our lives and spreads it around.

20.) Twitter helps us banish boredom when we realize that there is always something new to be seen, felt, or made known.

21.) Twitter gives us opportunities to bless others through our affirmations of who they are and what they do.

22.) Twitter challenges us to be mindful of every word we write and to honor others as best we can.

23.) Twitter provides another space where we can be deeply moved by reverence or a radical respect for all life.

24.) Twitter, like koans, mantras, and flash prayers, teaches us that brevity can be a path of rich communication.

25.) Twitter helps us to relearn the arts of generosity wherein we give to others that which means the most to us.

For Twitter users--Seven Habits of Highly Effective Twitterers by Wayne Sutton

“Think of me as the social media lead car on the Autobahn of the Internet.”
Wayne Sutton (@waynesutton) is a Social Media Strategist, Consultant, and a prolific twitterer who’s passionate about using new media and technology to connect businesses and consumers. You can catch his tech reviews and insights on SocialWayne.com.

1. Filters and searches

Using Twitter Search and filters for your searches save you a ton of time when you’re looking for information via Twitter. Mashable has previously compared 6 great Twitter search services and Mr. Tweet’s Blog Editor, Corvida Raven, has recently posted about great ways to use filters combined with Twitter’s saved search feature to help you harness some of the benefits of Twitter Search.

The value in utilizing the filters is they help you to fine tune the results of your searches. For example if your looking for content on Twitter that fall within the niches like SEO or Social Media, you could do a simple search. But this opens up to a bunch of noise. What if you only want tweets with links? “social media filter:links” would return better results because all of these twitter messages contain a link in them along with the keywords “social media”. Louis Gray has done a nice summary of the importance of filters.

2. There are no rules, but establish your “twitter goals”

What do you want to get out of Twitter?
What topics would you like to continuously discuss?
What do you want to give to your followers?
Would you rather keep your conversations private or open to the public?
Are you going to have them between small groups of friends, or are you open to networking?
Do you want to broadcast? To how many people?

3. Understand prime tweet hours for conversations and traffic

Recommended Prime Tweet Hours: Twitter has replaced the morning email time for some. Between 7:30 A.M. to 10:00 A.M. EST Mon. - Fri. most twitter users are at work, reading tweets, tweeting, checking rss feeds and sharing information. However, this can vary when it comes to your followers and followings.

4. Setup your workflow and apps

I’m a big fan of Tweetgrid but for some, Seesmic Desktop or Tweetdeck works. I also recommend using, use Twitter web apps like Hootsuit, Cotweet and Tweetbeep. Dig into these apps and understand how they can better help you. Read the tips about how to better utlize their features. Why are you doing all of this? You want to make them work for you.

5. “Always a tweet away”

Meaning, be it your iPhone or Blackberry, you can send a tweet from anywhere, anytime. You want to appear to be always thinking about your followers or the entire twitter community. You might see something important such as breaking news, or it could be a thought; be able to tweet on the spot.

6. Sharing information and being helpful

This probably is the #1 reason I have as many followers as I have now. Before the celebrities, nba players, and music artist, I was finding and sharing a lot of helpful information or information I thought others could benefit from. Be consistent with your sharing habits and try not to make too much noise.

7. Understand what Twitter really is

For me, Twitter is a means of communication. It generates and enhances relationships through social networking. I find value in not only my connections, but also by giving back to the community (see Habit 6 for more). What is Twitter for you?

Bonus: Attend tweetups or understand how to use twitter offline as much online for your personal life or busines
[ Authors Note] We recommend checking out Wayne Sutton’s excellent post on great Twitter Conferences to attend.

Share your Twitter habits in the comments!

*Note: This is the second part of our Highly Effective Twitterers (#het) series to highlight Twitterers who have achieved significant professional and personal success via Twitter. They share their unique approach towards building great networks here!