SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 283

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HEAVENLINESS

+ This is a post on the style of The Way of Relationships as we continue to explore Heavenliness through the lens of the 12 styles of the Mandala process created by Edward Bastian.  There is 1 more Mandala style to explore after this one: Wisdom. After that, we move on to the 9 Attributes of Heaven.

+ It is through relationships that we are able to learn how virtuous and non-virtuous intentions can affect our relative states of happiness and well-being. By experiencing joy, grief, love and jealousy—and by the dispassionate observation of these emotions—we recognize the intentions that produce lasting happiness, and those that produce sorrow.

-- Edward Bastian in the chapter on the Spiritual Style of Relationships in Mandala: Creating An Authentic Spiritual Path: An InterSpiritual Process

+ If your spiritual practices are not helping you become more loving in your relationships, then something needs to change.  It is always necessary to practice discernment  which we have explored before (SE posts 81-96) so we can become aware of what needs to change in ourselves as we make contact with others. We can find a lot of joy in solitude but it often is based on previous relationships and probably can only be sustained by the support and encouragement we get from our current and future relationships.

+ The 12 styles of Mandala: Creating An Authentic Spiritual Path: An InterSpiritual Process by Edward Bastian are listed in SE206.

+ The 7 steps of InterSpiritual Meditation by Edward Bastian are listed in SE21 and SE213. They are described fully in his book, InterSpiritual Meditation. 

+ To get inspired and illuminated by Ed Bastian, I invite you to set aside some time for these videos:  Seven Steps of InterSpiritual Meditation (11 minutes) | 15 minute introduction to InterSpiritual Meditation and the Mandala Process | 2 hour lecture & conversation

+ Spirituality & Practice offers abundant resources on the practices of Love & Compassion: The Practice of Love | The 12s Gallery on Love | The Practice of Compassion | The 12s Gallery on Compassion

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Heavenliness page.  Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Heavenliness” or “Love” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html