SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 287

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.

+ When you think of the people who have inspired you, changed your thinking, altered the course of your life, are they not the ones who spoke and lived from the heart? Are they not the ones who stand before you with the courage to be simply who they are, to share their visions, their struggles, their fears? This is the stuff of spiritual authority - this transparency, this risking, this willingness to say, “It's a new frontier here, and not one of us has a map, but with what we know together, we can surely make it.”

-- Jan Phillips in Finding Ourselves on Sacred Ground

+ I think it is helpful to see our relationships as mysteries.  I am a mystery to you and you are a mystery to me.  None of us know all we need to know about another person or even ourselves for that matter.  So, relationships can get better and better as we seek to find new ground.  The familiar is good and even necessary.  But we gain so much more when we are open to the new.  This definitely takes courage and risk but it’s worth it.  This amazing journey we are on is always full of surprises, wonder, infinite possibilities.  Let us enjoy the familiar and the unfamiliar as keep walking in faith.

+ 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