“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 may be hard to implement as it can require some level of sacrifice and change on your part. It is to surround yourself, at all times if possible, with positive and uplifiting messages. This can be as easy as posting uplifting quotes on posters around your home or as involved as limiting what books, newspapers and television programs you expose yourself to.

This approach works and will benefit you as much as you take the time to focus on it. It will not lessen your sensitivities. It will lessen your distractions and allow you to focus on the inner peace and human compassion that you have within you. In the process it may just help to clear some mental clutter from your loved ones as well.

But, for you to free yourself of all negative messages, you must also be willing to free yourself of negative entanglements and relationships. Anything that makes you feel more negative than it does positive, be it a job, a family connection or a personal habit, is something that you would do better without, both energetically and psychologically.

What makes a zen master impeccable? It is their absolute dedication to the path of spiritual peace which they have chosen to walk. Nothing else is paramount to it. Your own peace is no less sacred and must be afforded the same reverence and preeminence if you are to use your awareness and its gifts to the best of your abilities.

Some may call this self-indulgence, and many have labeled it “escapism.” Yet those are their words for their external understanding (or mis-understanding) of something that is a deeply personal, internal experience. What bliss one follows comes from within, and any tool that allows more peace to flow into the world, through each individual’s free will, is a tool that is worthy of being tried. Peace is in every step, if the one walking the path chooses to embrace it.

Some ways that I have chosen to surround myself with positive messages:

1. There is no television in my home. We choose our viewing selectively, purchasing or downloading movies, documentaries and news programs that we feel attuned to and enriched by.

2. Our phones, generally internet based, often are not set to ring but, instead, go to voicemail, where messages and their energy can be accessed at times we feel are appropriate.

3. Family members and old friends who live in a loop of self-created negativity or who are critical of our beliefs/relationship/diet/lifestyle are no longer contacted or communicated with, but have been let go with a peaceful and loving heart to follow their own bliss as they choose. Our caring for them is not lessened, though not all of them may see it this way.

4. Songs, books, artwork etc., that have negative undertones or bring up negative memories, are being slowly removed from our walls/iPods/bookshelves etc…

5. Foods which lead to ill health, tiredness or gluttony (Mmmm, pasta…) have been minimized, though not ruthlessly axed, in our diets.

6. When myself, or my lovely husband, have a negative thought, regretful or otherwise, the other does their best to bring them out of it. We remind each other of our positive intentions, our true existence as a divine piece of the Universe and the power of positive thinking, (ie. The Law of Attraction.)

7. I try to spend some time every day in meditation, whether by breath, mantra or visualization.

8. I am aiming to read, or listen to, the soothing words of a monk, guru, priestess or wise person for a few minutes every day. On the days that I do this it often sets the tone for the ensuing hours.

What experiences have you had with increased sensitivity and bringing positive messages into your everyday life? Do you have more suggestions?

“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 distracted, to silence the voice within, to reinforce your separateness from other human beings. This is the mentality that has ruled our westernized society for hundreds of years, and it has led us into many of the social, financial, moral and environmental troubles that we have today.

When we see the purpose of life as one of gaining fortune, of acquiring power over others, of conquering our circumstances at any cost, we inevitably become someone who is perpetually over-scheduled, lacking in compassion, physically or psychologically unhealthy, mentally scattered and unfocused or any of a number of other personally or socially unfulfilling things.

I am no different, having been up and down the roller-coaster of money versus fulfillment and bravado versus low self-esteem. In the past I have been someone who wants to please everyone and have vastly over-committed myself in order to try and achieve that. What it leads to is stress, procrastination and unfulfilled promises. And, if you keep ignoring your own inner truth while trying to be everything to all people, eventually to a nervous breakdown. This is a modern ailment, brought on by our externalizing contentment and looking for happiness in the opinions of others.

Recently a new approach to living more mindful, sensible and fulfilling days has been helping me to clear up the connection between who I am and what I do. The answer for me is a simple one, but is a realization that has been a long time in the making.

What I have found is that if I begin my day with “fun” stuff, such as surfing the internet, knitting, laying about and watching a movie, then I am likely to continue in a “self-oriented” way throughout the rest of my day. Obviously this leads to low productivity, but after a prolonged period of time can also lead to anger, depression and a lack of compassion. If a person is unfulfilled on the inside, it will eventually work its way out and effect their moods, relationships and even their worldview.

But, in a world so desperately in need of compassion, connection and personal responsibility, if one begins their day with actions that benefit others, then a complete change in the pattern of one’s day occurs. And this is a change that can sprout wings and flitter into positive changes for other people’s day as well.

What do I mean by actions that benefit others? Quite simply I am referencing any action that you need to do, which has an effect not only upon yourself. This can be changing the snow tires on your family min-van or washing the laundry. Having a safe vehicle benefits your whole family, having a clean environment makes everyone feel better. It can also be taking yourself to a doctors appointment or meeting with a business contact. You being healthy benefits those who love you. You meeting with someone benefits not only yourself, but the other person.

For me this concept generally means channeling readings for clients and writing magazine or blog articles. Allowing my gift to inform, inspire and enlighten others brings more light to their lives and to the world. But, as you can see, doing the things that benefit others as your first priority of the day, also means that you are bringing huge benefit to yourself. When I connect to spirit I am reminded of my own unique purpose, and the lower heart-rate, peace and contentment that it brings me is priceless.

Like I said, beginning something is the hardest part, whether it is one single task or how you choose to begin your day. Choosing to begin your day by accomplishing the tasks that most benefit others allows us to feel truly relaxed when we then sit down and do something completely for ourself. It could be that you enjoy fishing or reading or oil painting. But think of how much more fulfilling those moments of enjoyment and relaxation wil be when you realize that you have connected with others, fulfilled your responsibilities and completed all of your pressing tasks for the day.

And this mindset, this simple approach to task management, will also change you in the long run. You may find yourself becoming more open to the viewpoints of others, more willing to be charitable with your time and energy. We are all in this journey of life together, if we help others who need it then there may be someone to help when we have a need. To approach your day by doing what you can do to benefit others, perhaps the society as a whole can eventually morph into one of compassion and attention to the welfare of others.

As for myself, I hope that this idea can spread. Yet, regardless, it has benefitted me as I begin each day by benefitting others.

“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 feelings about his spiritual progress and not realizing that he was mentally putting himself at a distance (and often above) others who were less enlightened.

Opening up his heart to the path of service to others has helped him to see his knowledge and his approach to others as truly connecting tools.

The book gently guides those of us who feel a spiritual calling, but still want to know where the money comes from, to look at the oneness that makes us the same as other people, instead of the spiritual uniqueness that makes us work in separateness.

~

All I can say is: “Wow!”

I have not even finished the book yet, a book that I was only reading to bide my time until Be Here Now arrives on my doorstep, and it has already changed something that I thought was unchangeable in me.

For several years now I have struggled with my own desire to use my hard-won spiritual lessons as the basis for my career. To be self-employed in something that I thought of as a positive field.

And yet I was constantly struggling with my desire to only deal with, or only surround myself with, people who I felt were at the same (or at least a similar) level of awareness.

It was an internal battle. One that caused me much frustration and self-defeating thought. How could I be so spiritual and yet be having these exclusionary feelings towards other human beings? How could I be so conceited?

Now, in just a few short chapters, I realize that it is okay. It is not that unreasonable. Many other, perhaps wiser, spiritual folks than myself have had similar feelings and fallen into similar traps.

When we remember our oneness, how we are all part of the same spiritual stuff and each here for learning our own lessons and teaching lessons to others, it becomes easier to be in this world, but not of this world. It is possible to be on your path to awareness and still get your hands dirty in the real world. That is why you’re here, isn’t it, to make a difference?

The spiritual path being an essentially solitary one at times, by necessity, we can often end up overindulging in our “uniqueness.” We are reading and meditating and studying in order to grasp our “oneness”, but end up believing it theoretically while forgetting to implement it practically.

In just the past few days I have felt more strongly my connection to others and my desire to alleviate the sufferings in this world than I have ever felt it before.

And implementing it has been so freeing.

Now I understand, more than theoretically, the saying about providing value to the world and having faith that the money will follow. If your are doing what you do out of a genuine desire to better peoples lives, then reward is inevitable. If you are doing it for the money, get used to disappointment.

I don’t know about you, but I definitely need to read and implement some more of this book.

Namaste, Ram Dass.