Spiritual Guidance Blog

“Live your own life. That is to say, where you are, with what you are, and with who you are.”

… Swami Prajnanpad

When will we learn that no one, and no thing, outside of us controls how we see the world? When will we learn that we are 100% responsible for our lives? When will we learn that we are 100% responsible for the world we see and how we react to the world we see?

In our ego-based existence, we become trapped in a thought system that informs us what is happening outside of us influences how we feel and react. This thought system frames our existence. We are easily persuaded that our existence, our well-being, is entirely dependent on what is happening around us, outside of us. This thought system sees us reacting to everyone and everything as if we have absolutely no control over our lives, how we see the world, how we react to the world we see, and what role we play in the world we see.

Like with most everything in the ego-based world, it is almost completely opposite to truth and reality. Take for example how we ‘see’ the world. In the ego-based existence, we think we see with our eyes. This is a commonly accepted truth about our world. Yet science and spiritual teachings inform us differently. We see with our mind. First comes a, or the, thought. A thought about a person, place, event, thing, or whatever it is we think. This thought is projected outward and our eyes, being the receptors of our outward projections, receive the cues from our projected, outward reality and bring it back inside for our brains to process. But the convoluted process begins with a thought, our thought.

Who made this thought? Who created this thought? Where did it come from? Did you need permission to have this thought? If so, from whom?

Every thought we have comes from us; no one else. No one, and no thing, outside of us gives us our thoughts. We are the source, creators, projectors, and receptors of our thoughts. There is a Zen saying… “If you do not get it from yourself, where will you go for it?” If we are not the source, creators, projectors, and receptors of our thoughts, then who or what is? It certainly is not someone or something outside of us.

When we begin to take responsibility for our thoughts, our lives, we initiate a process whereby we can cultivate peace. Swami Sivananda shares “A desire arises in the mind. It is satisfied; immediately another comes. In the interval which separates two desires a perfect calm reigns in the mind. It is at this moment free from all thoughts, love or hate…complete peace equally reigns.” For as long as we think what is outside of us controls how we see the world, our opportunity for peace is jeopardized.

So what do we do with these seemingly external events and experiences in our lives? We simply observe them.  Nothing more; nothing less. No judgement. No expectations. Simply observe. Hsu Yun says it best… “The best way is just to observe the noise of the world. The answer to your questions? Ask your own heart.”

Our mind is an amazing instrument; powerful beyond most people’s comprehension. But our mind can get us into all sorts of trouble. Quieting our mind not only facilitates inner peace but it makes it possible for us to see our outer world more peacefully. When Dogo was asked about the mind’s extraordinary powers, he responded… “If you want to see, see at once. When you begin to think, you miss the point!”

When you begin to take responsibility for your life, you have begun to understand you are responsible for what you see. When you begin to understand you are responsible for what you see, you begin to understand you can create to world you want to live in. When you begin to create the world you want to live in, your life, and everyone’s life around you, is transformed.

Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,

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What, exactly, have we lost?

“Death is intrinsic to life. Our impulse to grow is closely allied to our intuition that death is inherent in life. To live fully we must open, not only to life but also to death. This is both a literal truth, since death inevitably follows life, and spiritual truth, since the body dies to the spirit. Death and life are inextricably bound. Breathing in, we invite life; breathing out, we touch death. Our lives move between and embrace both. To be truly alive is to be willing to die, because only when we are open enough to give ourselves totally to each moment do we emerge, refreshed, open, and available to the present.” (Richard Harvey, Your Essential Self, p.174)

In December 2013 a great soul and spirit passed through the veil. This great soul and spirit went by the name of Nelson Mandela. By most standards his life was extraordinary. He was credited with changing an entire nation—maybe even changing the entire world.  He was internationally recognized for his unwavering devotion to peace and reconciliation.  But it is not the life and time of Nelson Mandela I want to talk about here. Many of you likely know far more about this great man than I do.

In the days following the passing of Nelson Mandela, newspaper and magazine headlines were devoted, in their way, to honoring the life of this man. TV and radio all dedicated newscasts to his passing. I remember glancing at our local newspaper headline the day after his passing. The headline read “The World Has Lost A Great Man.” I read the headline slowly, several times. My eyes focused in on the word “Lost” in the headline. I knew what they were trying to say, but I just didn’t see it. Or should I say, I just didn’t see it the way they did.

While I have great compassion for anyone grieving over the passing of a loved one from this time and space, to imply we have ‘lost’ them because they are physically not here, no longer makes sense to me.  Take Nelson Mandela for instance. His passing has not ‘lost’ us anything.  His passing has ‘given’ many of us something we didn’t have when he was living in this time and space. We have ‘gained’ deeper insight and appreciation for this man, his life and his legacy.

As for Nelson Mandela’s physical presence…yes, he is no longer with us in physical body form, in this time and space. However, any of you who work with energy know that his soul, his spirit can be reached at any time. Anyone can be ‘with’ Nelson Mandela, or any other soul on the other side of the veil, at any time we please. We can still talk to the soul(s) and, if we learn how to listen, we can receive their response.

Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying people should not feel a sense of loss, or grieve, over the passing of a loved one. People should feel whatever it is they feel. I am merely suggesting that to imply we host ‘lost’ someone when they have passed over the veil is not a truth. Just because we cannot see someone or something with our physical eyes does not mean that person or that thing no longer exists. My spiritual teacher, Richard Harvey, offers us some beautiful insight to the relationship(s) between the concepts of life and death, in his most recent book Your Essential Self:

Passing from life, we are born into the unknown we call death. [p.175] Life and death comprise a single process. The moment of death is any moment. There are only moments before death and moments after death. So where is death? Death does not exist. It is merely the dark mirror, the empty screen on which we may project our fears. All that scares or attracts us about death is really about life. [p.176]

I am blessed to have been brought the gift to communicate with souls who have passed over the veil. This gift is offered to humanity each day during my daily meditation and prayer vigil service through the Buddhist practice of Phowa. Through Phowa I have learned that our loved ones live on in another existence and can be reached at any time.  We can communicate with them, and they can communicate with us. It is not like ‘speaking’ with someone here in this time and space, but it is communication just the same.  It is also through the Phowa practice I have been brought the wondrous awareness of what we call the moment of ‘death’. And I can share with you that ‘death’ is nothing.  We simply take on another form of existence—an existence that is only pure peace.

Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,

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By this do I deny the loving light that resides within me. And I would rather know peace than see this unfair treatment, Which by the light of Divine Source within me shines away. 

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“There is a solution to all of this--and it is right around the next corner. A few weeks from now you will not even be facing this problem. A few months from now, you will have forgotten you ever had it. A few years from now, you will wonder why you let yourself worry so much. I'm not trying to make light of it here. I just want to put it in perspective. Okay? Trust God here. Trust life. And breathe.”

… Neale Donald Walsch

I recently had an epiphany. It was quite simple. Life is mandatory, but worrying is optional. To some this may sound childish and silly; to others obvious; and yet to others easier said than done.

To those who think this thought is childish and silly, you may be right.  It is rather child-like to think it is optional to worry. Children have a far greater capacity than adults to live for the moment, to not get caught up in the future, to not worry. We adults could learn a thing or two from children!

To those who think that the saying ‘worrying is optional’ is obvious, you may be right. For these people they realize in every moment of every day we have a choice how we feel. And worrying is a choice; nothing more, nothing less. When we realize this simple, yet complex, truth we free ourselves from the anxiety and, sometimes, crippling fear associated with worry. We simply can choose to feel whatever it is we want to feel in any given moment. This is the gift of free will.

To those who think that ‘worrying is optional’ is easier said than done, you may be right and you are not alone.  Many of us, including myself, know that worrying is a choice; but sometimes we have difficulty mastering our mind to allow the light to enter and wash away our illusions. Recently, during a bout of worry, my perception of the worry shifted when I realized the following…

Any worry I may have on any given day WILL one day no longer exist.  Something WILL happen to remove the worry from my life.  Because any/all worries will some day no longer exist, I did not want to waste my life worrying about whatever it was I worried about.  I want to use my time for loving service…not devolving worry.  I decided then and there that no worry was worth wasting my time over because ALL worries will some day no longer exist.  These realizations DO NOT justify or condone irresponsible behavior.  These realizations simply allow me to free myself from the, sometimes, paralyzing grip of the fear that is at the root of my worries.

No matter what your worry(ies), you, and only you, can make your worry go away.  The most potent tool for making your worry go away is your mind. No ‘thing’ and no ‘one’ outside of you controls how you see the world. If you continue to choose to worry, that is okay.  Do not judge yourself. Just know you equally have the option of not to worry.

Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,

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“Since it is all too clear it takes time to grasp it.”

… Wumen

Have you ever headed out on a day-or-other-trip, not knowing where you are going?  I did recently, and the lessons learned were profound.

A few of months ago my partner and I headed off on a day trip to a (relatively) near-by location to visit with his family.  These daytrips were becoming increasingly rare, as the side-effects of my partner’s parkinson’s drug regimen increasingly keeps him (us) close to home.

Before leaving on this day trip, I used the wonderful on-line utility, Mapquest, to map out our journey.  My partner had also written down directions; but his constantly-tremoring hands made it difficult for me to decipher the instructions.

It was a beautiful drive, northward, to a mountainous region of a neighboring province.  We were having a great time enjoying the scenery and each other’s company.  The warm, summer air was still blessing and caressing us with its healing energy.

My trusted Mapquest directions served us well, right up to the point where we were on the road that the destination cottage was supposed to be located on…

As we turned on to the road where the cottage was to be located, we began to look for the cottage where my partner’s family were situated.  We read the numbers on the cottages and began to realize that the numbers did not, as is normally the case, increase sequentially as one proceeded down the road.  This confusion and frustration on our parts grew as we were not able to locate the number of the cottage we were to visit.

We drove up and down this road a couple of times, more and more baffled by the irregular civic address numbering schema, or lack therefore, and began to wonder if we were ever going to the find the destination cottage.

We had been driving for a couple of hours and this turn of events felt anti-climactic to say the least.  I began to wonder if, or how much, we were lost.  Was it possible there was more than one “Chemin de la Lac” in this province and we were at the wrong one!?

After driving up and down this road several times, I gestured to my partner that we should pull over at a point in the road just up ahead.  I wanted to take a little mental rest, catch my breath, and review our directions and instructions. 

I remember thinking to myself… “Oh dear God, where are we!?”  I asked my partner for his hand-written directions and we began to compare notes.  To my dismay, it appeared we had two, very different sets of instructions.  My thoughts of if, or how much, we were lost began to rise up like a volcano preparing to erupt.

As these emotions reached a crescendo, an arm thrust itself through the opened passenger window and wrapped itself around my partner’s neck.  I was momently shocked by the scene…but when I heard a giggling voice associated with the arm’s motion, my fear backed off.  And it was then I realized the arm was that of my partner’s sister who was greeting him with joy and excitement.

As the scene unfolded over the next few moments, we both became aware that the spot we had stopped at to check our bearings was directly in front of the precise cottage we were to have visited on that day.  We had arrived!  Hallelujah!!!

We are never not exactly where we are supposed to be.  Said positively, we are always exactly where we are supposed to be.

Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,

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