SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 216

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HEAVENLINESS

+ What is indispensable is for us to recognize that this world is not self-evident. The visible is nothing more than a path to revealing the invisible — light serving to disclose the hidden light of light itself.

 -- Rabbi Nilton Bonder in Yiddishe Kop

+ 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.

-- Kenneth Keyes

This is the fourth of his 12 Pathways to Higher Consciousness

+ We often experience life as a mystery.  Truth has a way of hiding.  This is true because we have a lot to learn.  We need to keep detecting the meaning of life and our purpose in it.  I don’t think I would want it any other way.  Let our lives unfold in the here and now without any “expectations based on the dead past or imagined future.”  So, let’s embrace the mystery of life as a gift as we continue to explore these heavenly realms.  They are not hidden forever.  We can and will find more and more truth, meaning and purpose.

+ Spirituality & Practice offers an abundance of resources on the practice of Mystery. Also, S&P offers a 12s Gallery on Mystery.

+ Spirituality & Practice emphasizes 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 “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 – 181

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF DELIGHT

+ Delight and joy must accompany your every spiritual endeavor. Only when you delight and rejoice in each fine and positive deed will you have the enthusiasm to act in the most ideal manner and add to your deeds every day. Only when the delight and joy in your heart are bound to your fine and positive actions will they be anchored in you.

— Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook in Every Day, Holy Day by Alan Morinis
< http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/practices/practices/view/27116/delight-in-positive-deeds

+ As the song says, Delight is the direct result of a simple life.  I find it very easy to see the profound relationship between these Journey of the Soul practices of Simplicity, Delight and Heavenliness which we are now exploring. 

We are now beginning to explore a practice which is really heavenly, so heavenly in fact that we can see and taste and touch heavenly realms like never before.  I was delighted to find this quote because it uses the two words that I use in these explorations of 12 spiritual practices and 9 heavenly attributes: Delight and Joy.  We are now very close to the next stage of this amazing journey where we explore  the 9 heavenly attributes:  Abundance, Joy, Wisdom, Beauty, Love, Truth, Peace, Justice and Freedom.

The more we are delighted, delightful and joyful, the more we are experiencing heaven. Heaven is not some far off place but it is our greater reality right now, right here.  It simply takes a lot of practice to become aware of this greater reality and that’s what we have been working on.  Rabbi Kook tells us that delight is indeed essential and leads to the deeds which expand heavenliness awareness in ourselves, in each other and beyond.

+ 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.

+ 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 – 178

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF SIMPLICITY

+ In her book Choosing Simplicity, Linda Breen Pierce offers a list of common lifestyle patterns in people who live simply:

1. Limiting material possessions to what is needed and/or cherished.

2. Meaningful work, whether paid or volunteer, ideally spending no more than 30 hours per week (in order to make time for items #3 to 12, below).

3. Quality relationships with friends and family.

4. Joyful and pleasurable leisure activities.

5. A conscious and comfortable relationship with money.

6. Connection to community, but not necessarily in formal organizations.

7. Sustainable consumption practices.

8. Healthy living practices, including exercise, adequate sleep, and nutritious food.

9. Practices that foster personal growth, an inner life, or spirituality such as yoga, meditation, prayer, religious ceremonies, journal writing, and spiritually-related reading.

10. Connection to nature — delighting in spending time in nature regularly.

11. Aesthetic beauty in personal environment.

12. Living in harmony with values and integrity.

+ I will never forget hearing a friend describe what he encountered on a mission trip to Nicaragua in the 1980s. He said he had never seen such poverty in his life AND he had never seen such joy.  Could it be that less really is better?

+ Spirituality & Practice offers a review of Choosing Simplicity by Linda Breen Pierce.

+ 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