Spiritual Path

I was reminded today, that one of the roles I play is to assist others in their spiritual quests, their spiritual paths.  I can, figuratively, turn around on my own path and say “try going this way”.  This is a role that is a vital part of my life.  Making a connection with people and then helping them find their own path is something I am quite passionate about and a role that requires that I have genuine respect and love for whoever I am connecting with.  The role feels important to me.  I think it important that, as a species, we advance spiritually and emotionally, perhaps then we can adjust to the technological and scientific changes that have already taken place.

Getting My Ego Out of the Way

Once again, I got quite explicit instructions/guidance on things to say during a visualization with one of my clients.  I simply followed instructions and tried to be an open conduit for the benefit of a fellow human being, my client.  I put myself aside and made an effort to be of service.  The result was almost magical, more than I could have imagined.  The fact that I take note of this is because I did not resist at all and that my efforts were largely selfless.
The other thing that I was quite conscious of today is that I am really enjoying the solitude while my wife is away, in addition to missing her presence, conflicting feelings that are both present.

Being Open to New Ideas

People seem to have a distinct tendency to believe their own stories, rather than incorporating any conflicting reality based on the evidence.  The stories are generally based on culturally or societally held beliefs rather than evidence.  For example, the idea that science will provide all of the answers we need or that western medicine will provide all of our health needs, regardless of clear evidence to the contrary.  The same can be said for a variety of political and environmental situations.  Meditation has been very helpful for me to see past my own stories and be open to the alternative realities.
The most familiar way that I had to overcome my own stories was with respect to my health.  I used to rely solely on western medicine and believed that it would address all of my health concerns.  Then I began to experience some health problems that western medicine could not help me with so I turned to alternative medicine, which in this case was based on love and the power of visualization.  I attended a workshop where people were using these techniques, successfully, to deal with AIDS and HIV.  I have done the same, also successfully.  For me, this has opened the door so that I can make use of both western and alternative medicine.

Honesty 2

In the past I have made use of what I called “white lies”.  For example, when people would greet me with “how are you doing” or my wife would ask “does this outfit look good on me?”, I would answer with things like “good” or “yes” when it wasn’t really true.  I answered with a white lie, supposedly, to avoid hurting the other person.  What I have since realized is that I used white lies as a convenience to avoid the difficulties and complications of being both honest and loving in my response.  I have since realized that if I am to be loving and respectful of others, I owe it to them to be honest with them.  I also certainly realize how difficult it is to be loving and honest at the same time and that it is quite possible to miss-use the ideas I am talking about.

Honesty 1

The topic for the meeting tonight was honesty, which is one of the ways that my view differs from most people.  Most people mention that it is not kind or loving to be honest at all times, that honesty at those times can be overly cruel or blunt.  I carry with me an attitude/feeling of love at all times, the way I used to carry an attitude of judgment, criticism and anger.  By a loving attitude I mean that my focus is always on the growth and well being of others.  I find that within that attitude/feeling it is not possible to be overly cruel or blunt, and that other people know, respect and value that.  My feeling is that within love I actually owe it to others out of respect for them, to be honest with them.  People actually seek me out to talk to at times, precisely because they know I will be honest with them.  My wife values that aspect of our relationship.

Path With Heart

A good day.  Maria, my wife, is gone, so it was a day of solitude, missing her presence and noticing and enjoying each.  All in all, it felt very peaceful.  I watched the birds, sat on the porch, exercised, took care of the plants, did some cooking and cleaning.
I also have a strong feeling that we are both in the process of moving forward  (whatever that means!) and that we are heading in the right direction.  In other words, it feels to me that we are each following the “path with heart” (Castaneda).

Embrace Being Human

I feel discouraged today, which is a clear sign that I need more rest.  In the past I have generally concluded that my feeling discouraged was due to some external event and it is certainly true that in many arenas of life people “keep doing the same thing and expect different results”, which makes it easy to feel discouraged and easy to justify.  However, that sort of “insanity” has been going on as long as humans have been alive, as far as I can tell.  We are what we are, and humans, as a group, tend to learn, grow and change slowly.  I find it best to embrace the fact of being human and get the rest I need!

Speaking My Truth

The specifics don’t matter, but over the last several days I have encountered several situations that seemed problematic, which I then considered as “road blocks” that I simply needed to accept, as is, rather than take any sort of action.  I was fairly certain that even if I voiced my opinion about them, that nothing would change.  I felt a vague uneasiness about my decision, so I decided that I would meditate about them.  What “felt  right”, as far as my options during the meditation was to “speak my truth quietly and clearly” (Ehrmann) and let go of the results, which, very likely, will not change.  That is, during meditation, my intuitive voice suggested that I consider these situations as hurdles rather than road blocks.  My sense is that I will be stronger emotionally and spiritually if I speak my truth and then let the results go.

Faith Versus Fear

The topic for the meeting was “faith versus fear” and I commented that my brain usually generates thoughts based on fear and that my heart usually generated feelings based on love/faith.  I also commented that, over the time in recovery, I have learned to have my brain serve my heart rather than the other way around, which is what I was taught.  Put another way, I strive to begin with love/faith and attempt to act and think accordingly, a simple but not easy concept.

Love & Respect Versus Fear & Judgement

I was reminded today of the very different feelings and outcomes due to personal interactions based on love/respect/understanding versus interactions based on fear/judgment/ shame.  This is something I have much personal experience with, both toward myself and others.  It is also something I have witnessed many times.  Generally speaking, interactions based on fear/judgment/shame result in feelings like hurt, defensiveness and anger, with no or limited growth.  There may also be compliance, but at a cost.  The same sort of interaction, based on love/respect/understanding could also result in compliance, but through willingness, a win-win situation, frequently coupled with growth.
Two examples come to mind.  In the case of a child who has broken something in the act of being a child, meaning exploring his/her world.  It is possible to yell at the child, tell him/her they were bad and punish them in some way.  It is also possible to understand that part of the role of a child is to, sometimes clumsily, explore different ways of doing things, point out what happened and offer to help the child fix what he/she broke.
In the case of adults, when an adult takes some sort of action which has an undesirable result, it is possible to tell the person that he/she was foolish or stupid and then tell them to do it over again differently, sometimes resulting in a more desirable outcome.  On the other hand, it is also possible to believe they were doing the best they could, given their cultural or personal history and then to make a suggestion as to how they could do it differently.