Posts Tagged ‘Compassion’
Surround Yourself With Positive Messages
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist Monk, Peace Activist and Author
As you walk a deliberate path of awareness, opening yourself to your higher nature and a deeper connection with the waking and non-waking worlds, you develop an increased sense of compassion and sensitivity to the needs and vibrations of your own spirit and of other living beings.
You also may find that this increased sensitivity manifests itself in unexpected ways. Perhaps you begin to experience psychic abilities, reading the thoughts right out of your loved ones heads, only moments before they are spoken. Perhaps you are becoming more attuned to nature, knowing what the weather will be without needing to consult the news or getting “warning” feelings just before a large natural occurrence such as earthquakes and floods. Perhaps you simply find yourself unable to hear about, or witness images of, human suffering, on large and small scales, without bursting into tears or getting tense in your body.
If any of this sounds familiar to you, you are not alone. Quite the contrary, you are experiencing a place in your spiritual awareness that is common to seekers and those who walk the path of deliberate ascension or self-development. For much of my life my sensitive nature has been a source of both frustration and suffering, sometimes for me and sometimes for those around me. Being aware on a spiritual level may put you at ease while putting those around you on edge, making them feel as if the slightest conflict, criticism or stress will cause you greater upheaval and upset than it would cause them. It can be difficult to understand and more difficult to embrace, both from within and without.
By no means an expert, I nevertheless have found some tools and approaches that seem to benefit both myself and my loved ones, whether they are folks who embrace spiritual awareness or not.
My number one piece of practical advice is a simple one, yet … Continue reading →
First Action, To Benefit Others
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
~ Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Life can be confusing sometimes. Even the simple act of getting everything that needs doing completed each day can turn our heads round and make us forget that we are living a unique life and that we are individual bits of divine spirit energy. To be honest with you I am known to be a huge procrastinator and often several days can go by without me pausing to take notice of life, spirit or my connections to others.
Over the years I have gotten much better at doing things that need doing, even if I don’t feel particularly motivated to do them, at least more often than I used to. Like when dishes need washing, I use the “just do 5 dishes” mentality and, inevitably, I end up doing 20. Starting is the hardest part.
Days are the same way. Starting them may not be as hard as picking up your tax forms and filling them out, but how you start you day most certainly sets the pattern for how the remainder of your day will flow (or stagnate.)
Oddly enough, my own busy-ness and procrastination, which are always in the way of me starting or completing things, seem to end right at the place where my comfort and desires begin. In other words, I never have trouble finding the time to bake brownies or getting up and starting a new knitting project. Those things are easy to remember and to place priority on. Yet, publication deadlines, jogging, paying bills and mopping the floors can get pushed back for weeks and even months.
I suppose you could call this self-indulgence, and in some instances our distracted mind can fall into such a “pleasure and comfort” pattern. But, in most people’s case, it is so much more than just that.
We live in a world filled with over-stimulation. The mental and visual landscape seems designed, and often deliberately intended, to keep you … Continue reading →
Compassion in Action
“Only that in you which is me can hear what I’m saying.”
~ Ram Dass, Spiritual Teacher and Author
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This article is a repost from our old blog – originally dated April 2008.
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At present I am reading the book Compassion in Action by Ram Dass and Mirabai Bush.
It was a book that I bought simply because I wanted to read some Ram Dass and could not find his classic Be Here Now at any local shoppes.
But, despite my initial supposition that it was a book I did not need and would not particularly like, it turns out that I was very wrong on both points.
In a very unassuming way Ram Dass, sixties spiritual guru, public speaker and renown all-around caring guy, explains his own self-righteousness and stand-offishness in his past work.
He details, with humility, his confusion at how to truly implement, in a practical way, the advice and teachings that he was offered by his own guru, Maharajji Neem Karoli Baba. He talks about being caught up in his own … Continue reading →
