SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 195

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF DELIGHT

+ This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

-- Psalm 118:24

+ Now is the time to be delighted and delightful.  Yes there are many things to be concerned about but they are not the ultimate reality of our existence.  I often recite and recommend The Twelve Pathways to Higher Consciousness created by Kenneth Keyes.  The fourth pathway is:

I always remember I have everything I need to enjoy my here and now unless I am letting my consciousness be dominated by demands and expectations based on the dead past or imagined future.  

I often recite and recommend the  7 steps of InterSpiritual Meditation offered by Edward Bastian.  Step 5 is: 

May I be mindful through my breathing.

It is so simple to be awake, aware and connected in the here and now, right?  Simple, yes.  Easy, no.  That monkey mind just keeps interfering.  The distractions seem to be endless.  Only, practice, practice, practice of our spiritual practices beginning with stillness can get us there, I mean here. 

+ For more inspiration and illumination from Edward Bastian, I invite you to find some time for https://youtu.be/Yy_jK7a0qBs sooner or later.  It is a 2-hour video.

+ Delight is not one of the 37 Spirituality & Practice practices BUT put Delight in their Search Engine and you come up with 85 items including 67 quotes, 16 books, 1 practice, and 1 film as of 6/14/16.  Go to http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/search/?q=Delight.  However, it is clear that Mary Ann & Frederic Brussat are big fans of Joy. Therefore, put Joy in their Search Engine and you come up with 2057 items including 867 quotes, 835 books, 160 practices, 11 teachers, 24 arts links, 29 e-courses, 98 films, 26 blogs and 4 traditions as of 6/14/16. Oh, and Joy IS one of the 37 spiritual practices. You can also be inspired by their Twelves Gallery on Joy. 

+ Joy will come up again very soon in these explorations since it is the second of 9 heavenly attributes we will be exploring.

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

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 172

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF SIMPLICITY

+ What we are really talking about here is the act of getting current and staying current with ourselves. We are talking about the act of checking in, honoring ourselves, our intentions, perceptions, and intuitions. We are talking about something very simple that is often difficult to do amid hurly-burly. We are talking about paying attention to what we love.

— Julia Cameron in The Vein of Gold

+ I think that an attitude of gratitude is a good description of a life lived simply wonderfully.  We all know these wonderful people.  You are one of these wonderful people displaying kindness, gentleness, joy, compassion, hope, freedom and you are simply amazing.  Yes, you. 

+ Julia Cameron is one of the S&P Living Spiritual Teachers.

+ Simplicity is not one of the 37 Spirituality & Practice practices BUT put Simplicity in their Search Engine and you come up with 314 items including 117 quotes, 156 books, 11 practices, 9 teachers, 1 arts link, 11 e-courses, 7 films and 1 blog as of 6/4/16.  Go to http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/search/?q=Simplicity

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Simplicity Page.   Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Simplicity” 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

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS -- 82

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF DISCERNMENT

+ I think this is how we are supposed to be in the world -- present and in awe.

-- Anne Lamott

+ Discernment happens when our attitude is gratitude, when we realize how wonderful life is, how precious, how beautiful, how awesome, how amazing.  Now that we know are practicing stillness, detachment, humility and silence, we can discern our purpose, our mission, our next step.  These precious moments of discernment are crucial in the journey of the heart and its main purpose: Healing. 

What is your unique purpose, the mission you called to accomplish, your next step?  What is your intention for today on this journey?  I do not ask these questions to burden you.  I ask these questions only to make your life awesome.  When you are in the zone of your life purpose, your calling, your mission, you are awesome and you become one with all of creation.

I invite you to enjoy “Everything is Awesome” sung by Tegan and Sara for the Lego Movie.

  

+ Spirituality & Practice offers many resources on the practice of discernment.

+ I have work to do on my Discernment page. Maybe you can help. Send an email with the subject “Discernment” 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

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS -- 55

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HUMILITY

+ Humility is an attitude of honesty with God, oneself, and of all reality. It enables us to be at peace in the presence of our powerlessness and to rest in the forgetfulness of self.

 -- Thomas Keating in The Sun and the Moon over Assisi by Gerard Thomas Straub excerpted from  http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/quotes/features/view/27978/quotations-on-humility

+ We are all humbled by events from time to time and that’s a good thing, isn’t it? But as we practice humility, we can go deeper and deeper and find an amazing intimacy with God and all creation.  This is bliss. This is peace.  This is heavenly.  

This practice moves us into presence.  For plenty of wisdom on the practice of presence, I invite you to explore the Spirituality and Practice practice of Being Present and, also, to ponder the illuminating reflections of Joseph Naft on Presence.

+ Spirituality and Practice offers a wonderful 12s gallery of images and quotes on Humility.

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