SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 331

WE ARE EXPLORING THE HEAVENLY ATTRIBUTE OF LOVE

+ We are called to create and enjoy a realm of compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance for all.

+ Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It is the ultimate source of success in life.

-- His Holiness The Dalai Lama in The Path to Tranquility by His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Renuka Singh, editor

This quote is one of the Spirituality & Practice spiritual quotations.

+ We are on a heavenly path as we continue this journey because we are simply receiving and giving Love with the increased awareness that this is heaven right now, right here. Be still and simply be who you really are, a heavenly being here on earth receiving and giving Love abundantly. This is bliss. Now. Here.     

+ We explored the practice of Love & Compassion during our exploration of Heavenliness as a practice in these SE posts: 241 | 242 | 243 | 244 | 245 | 246 | 247 | 248 | 249 |250 | 251 | 252 | 253

+ Spirituality & Practice offers plenty of resources on the practice of Love, on the practice of Compassion and on the practice of hospitality and other related practices.  You can also be illuminated and inspired by their many 12s galleries of memes including the 12s Gallery on Love, the 12s Gallery on Compassion and the 12s Gallery on Hospitality. The meme for this post comes from the Compassion gallery.

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post.  And, I have work to do on the Abundancetrek Love page. Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Love” or “Heavenly Attributes” 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 – 330

WE ARE EXPLORING THE HEAVENLY ATTRIBUTE OF LOVE

+ We are called to create and enjoy a realm of compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance for all.

+ I think the practice of compassion is like a medication that restores serenity when one is very agitated. The great tranquilizer is compassion.

-- His Holiness The Dalai Lama in Destructive Emotions: How Can We Overcome Them? by Daniel Goleman

This quote is one of the Spirituality & Practice spiritual quotations.

+ Everybody needs compassion. It is good to give yourself compassion or more accurately it is good to receive the compassion so freely given in the heavenly realm we inhabit and then see how often you can offer compassion to others. Most of us can increase our receiving and giving compassion. It takes practice but it is not beyond any of us to be very compassionate. It is actually natural, simple and gentle.  Be still and simply be who you really are, a heavenly being here on earth receiving and giving Love abundantly.

+ We explored the practice of Love & Compassion during our exploration of Heavenliness as a practice in these SE posts: 241 | 242 | 243 | 244 | 245 | 246 | 247 | 248 | 249 |250 | 251 | 252 | 253

+ Spirituality & Practice offers plenty of resources on the practice of Love, on the practice of Compassion and on the practice of hospitality and other related practices.  You can also be illuminated and inspired by their many 12s galleries of memes including the 12s Gallery on Love, the 12s Gallery on Compassion and the 12s Gallery on Hospitality.

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post.  And, I have work to do on the Abundancetrek Love page. Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Love” or “Heavenly Attributes” 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 – 170

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF SIMPLICITY

+ Kindness . . . has many facets. But its essence is as simple as can be. We will find that kindness is a way of making less effort. It is the most economic attitude there is, because it saves us much energy that we might otherwise waste in suspicion, worry, resentment, manipulation, or unnecessary defense. It is an attitude that, by eliminating the inessential, brings us back to the simplicity of being.

— Piero Ferrucci in The Power of Kindness

http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/quotes/quotations/view/33789/spiritual-quotation

+ Perhaps His Holiness The Dalai Lama said it best when he simply said: “My religion is kindness.”  Isn’t that it? We can find so many ways to avoid the basics, the truth, the Golden Rule.  I know I do.

+ Kindness is one of the 37 Spirituality & Practice practices. Also, there is a Twelves Gallery on Kindness.

+ 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 – 152

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HOLINESS

+ The four ripening factors refer to the four principal factors that bodhisattvas employ in attracting disciples and enhancing their spiritual potentials. These are:

1. Giving material aid;

2. Speaking eloquently;

3. Always giving the right counsel; and

4. Setting an example by living the principles taught.

It is through these skillful means that the compassionate bodhisattvas work for the welfare of all other beings.

— His Holiness The Dalai Lama in The Path to Bliss by His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Christine Cox, editor

> http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/quotes/quotations/view/19704/spiritual-quotation

+ The archetype of the Bodhisattva is one of the greatest gifts of Buddhism to the planet. I liken it to the biblical archetype of the Suffering Servant which is introduced to us in the Servant Hymns of the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-6; Isaiah 49:1-7; Isaiah 50:4-9; Isaiah 52:13-53:12).  Other wisdom traditions also offer this archetype in a variety of ways.  The main idea is that the holy person becomes totally enlightened and, rather than keeping this bliss to herself or himself, she or he vows to save all creatures everywhere with this wisdom.  There is even an insistence that it is impossible for anyone to be saved until everyone is saved.

So, becoming a Boddhisattva or a Servant of the Lord is ultimately mandatory. I like how A Course in Miracles puts it:

This is A Course in Miracles. It is a required course. Only the time you take it is voluntary. Free will does not mean that you can establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect what you want to take at a given time. The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence, which is your natural inheritance. The opposite of love is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite.   

Learning how to be holy and practicing holiness is an obligation.  Sooner or later, everyone gets the call to be a devoted participant in bringing our planetary evolution to a more holy level of compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance for all creatures everywhere.  I don’t believe anyone can avoid this call nor would anyone want to avoid this call once the bliss of holiness is experienced.

+ Holiness is not one of the 37 Spirituality & Practice practices BUT put Holiness in their Search Engine and you come up with 460 items including 227 quotes, 168 books, 28 practices, 14 teachers, 12 arts links, 7 e-courses, 3 films and 1 blog as of 5/11/16.  Go to http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/search/?q=holiness.

+ The Body gets a lot of attention from Spirituality and Practice as you can see when you go to a link to “Body” on their search engine. You will find 1611 items as of 4/26/16.

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Holiness Page.   Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Holiness” 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 – 140

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HOLINESS

+ The essence of all spiritual life is your emotion, your attitude toward others. Once you have pure and sincere motivation, all the rest follows. You can develop the right attitude toward others on the basis of kindness, love, and respect, and on the clear realization of the oneness of all human beings.

-- His Holiness The Dalai Lama in The Path to Tranquility by His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Renuka Singh, editor

+ As a Christian, I am inspired by our scriptures, what we call The Holy Bible.  And I am inspired by the many Holy Teachers or Saints down through the centuries.  Adding a Buddhist or a Muslim or a Jew, or a Hindu, a Native American or an Agnostic to what I like to call my Heavenly Council has been a labor of love for most of my adult life.  His Holiness The Dalai Lama is certainly one of my favorite Buddhists.  When I think of him I see his smile.  See what Mother Teresa said in SE 137. I also think of his genuine Simplicity which is the next practice we will explore after a few more posts on Holiness. 

Holiness is closely linked to Love which will be the focus of quite a few SE posts when we explore the heavenly attributes of abundance, joy, wisdom, beauty, love, truth, peace, justice and freedom.   

     

+ Holiness is the ninth of the twelve Abundancetrek practices and the final practice of the Journey of the Body which began with Solitude and then continued with Devotion.

+ Holiness is not one of the 37 Spirituality & Practice practices BUT put Holiness in their Search Engine and you come up with 460 items including 227 quotes, 168 books, 28 practices, 14 teachers, 12 arts links, 7 e-courses, 3 films and 1 blog as of 5/11/16.  Go to http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/search/?q=holiness.

+ The Body gets a lot of attention from Spirituality and Practice as you can see when you go to a link to “Body” on their search engine. You will find 1611 items as of 4/26/16.

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Holiness Page.   Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Holiness” 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 -- 50

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HUMILITY

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?

-- Micah 6:8 NRSV

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

-- Matthew 5:5 NRSV

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
-- James 4:10 NRSV

… lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

 with all humility and gentleness,

 with patience, bearing with one another in love,

 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

-- Ephesians 4:1b-3 NRSV

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,

clothe yourselves with 
compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

-- Colossians 3:12 NRSV

My religion is kindness.

-- The Dalai Lama

The (true) servants of (God) the Most Gracious

are those who walk on the earth in humility,

and when the ignorant address them, reply with (words of) peace.

-- The Holy Quran, 25:63.

Found at http://theislamicworkplace.com/positive-quotes/

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said

“(God) has revealed to me that you should adopt humility so that no one oppresses another."

-- Riyadh-us-Salaheen, Hadith 1589.

Found at http://theislamicworkplace.com/positive-quotes/

+ Humility is more than an essential spiritual practice.  It is an essential attribute of holiness, of  heavenliness.  The teachers of the great wisdom traditions emphasize being humble over and over again.  It is an attitude which makes it likely that you will see every person including yourself, indeed every creature, as divine and absolutely neither inferior nor superior.  When we are humble, we can see clearly.    

The essential spiritual practices of stillness and detachment lay the foundation for the practice of humility which makes it possible to live according to the Golden Rule: “Treat others the way you want to be treated.”

+ 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