So you
feel as though your life is moving in a more spiritual direction every day but
you don't like
spiritual gatherings? You find them perhaps a bit stifling? Overbearing? Too
many spiritual egos involved? Or maybe you like them a great deal, but have
little time to attend, or due to your own commitments to family are unable to
attend at the times they are offered. Or perhaps you have difficulties getting
into meditation, but are very keen on making your life a more awakened one. Perhaps you've read more
books than you care to say and seen more inspirational presentations, seminars,
workshops, and so on than anyone you know, and yet … something is lacking in
what you consider the spiritual part of your life.
Perhaps you
still get depressed at times, or have a burst of anger with someone close to
you, or get unreasonably impatient, or envious or jealous at times, when you
consider that you should already be far past these matters, because, after all,
you have recognized your own spirituality and you do want to live an awakened
life.
Here's what
I believe (and of course it's just my opinion, taken from my own variegated
life of many chapters and reinventions, as well as from experiences in many of the
above situations):
Living a
spiritually enlightened life is not so much about exactly what you believe, or with whom
you share your beliefs, as it is about how
you go about the small things in your daily life. It's not about how often you go to mass or meditate or
visit the ashram, it's about how you
are, think, react, and behave when you are not
in one of those holy places. It's about how
you live your life on a daily basis, which is why I love this Zen quotation so
much:
Before enlightenment
Chop wood, carry water.
After enlightenment
Chop wood carry water.
So what you
do (and the thoughts you have, and how you ultimately react) in any of the
following sample situations, tells you where you can situate yourself on a
scale of spiritual enlightenment:
·
a
colleague at work has taken credit for an idea that was originally yours
·
your
mother has asked you to help her - for the zillionth time - in a matter that
you know she is capable of doing on
her own
·
yet
another telemarketer is on your line - it's the third one today!
·
a
friend called to say they would not be able to come for lunch - a lunch that
had been programmed for days, and it's now only 90 minutes before the scheduled
time, and the reason you are given for the friend not coming is weak
·
your
wife returns from the doctor with very bad news: she has been diagnosed as
having Stage 3 lung cancer
·
your
son just crashed the family car and although nothing happened to him, your
insurance policy will not to cover the damages
·
the
cashier at the supermarket is chatting to another store clerk, while she rings
up your purchases
·
the
maître d' at the restaurant at which you booked a table for your 25th wedding
anniversary weeks ago tells you there has been a mix-up and your table will not
be ready for at least another hour
·
you
wake up feeling despondent
·
you
notice yourself criticizing and judging those around you - even if only in your
thoughts
·
you
find yourself worrying - again - about
your finances
·
you
run into that person at a business
lunch that always makes you feel uneasy, uncomfortable, perhaps even
suspicious, but for no good reason
·
you
find yourself becoming increasingly impatient over the course of the morning
due to little things that seem to gang up
on you
·
you
become sad as something reminds you of a long ago painful event in your life
Clearly you
recognize many of the above examples as familiar events in most people's lives.
And just as clearly, most of them are certainly not enjoyable. Yet, it is in
the way you handle these events, and more specifically, in the way you handle
what goes on inside of you, that tells you how far you are living a spiritually
enlightened life at all times throughout the course of your day, and every day
of every year. It is in these daily events - small and large - that your
enlightenment or spirituality have a chance to shine brightly.
Furthermore,
your recognition in hindsight - should you not have handled the events well -
that you could have handled them in a more conscious and enlightened manner,
shows you that at least you are well on the road to living such a life.
So what can
you do to move yourself into a more enlightened way of living? A way of living
that shows you - moment by moment and day by day - that you are indeed doing
your utmost to grow in love, compassion, and kindness, but also in connecting
more and more to your inner light - without which you will not be able to shine
light into the many dark rooms and corners we find on a daily basis. I believe
- as I point out in all my books - that more than anything it has to do with
your inner state of awareness; of consciousness of yourself and all that occurs around you and causes
you to react at any given moment in order that you may remind yourself to live in such a way. And then repeating this as
often as you can, all day long, and every single day of your life. Much also
has to do with your intention to wish
to live this enlightened life. If you truly intend it, you will truly practice
it to the best of your ability every day.
Here are
some favorite quotes about enlightenment that I have gathered over the years:
- However many holy words you read, however
many you speak, what good will they do if you do not act on them? Buddha
- Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself
is enlightenment. Lao Tzu
- You may have expected that enlightenment
would come Zap! instantaneous and permanent. This is unlikely. After the
first "ah-ha" experience, it can be thought of as the thinning
of a layer of clouds. Ram Dass
- To enjoy good health, to bring true
happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first
discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he
can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will
naturally come to him. Buddha
Image: Sunrise over Paraoro, Mo'orea, French Polynesia
Books by Dr. Gabriella Kortsch:
Rewiring the Soul
Click here to download the first chapter.
To see the Table of Contents click here
Reviews From the Back Cover:
"The masterwork of a profoundly gifted healer of the soul. Dazzling, challenging, wondrously useful." Peggy Rubin, Director, Center for Sacred Theatre, Ashland, Oregon; author: To Be and How To Be, Transforming Your Life Through Sacred Theatre
"Rewiring the Soul is one the best introductions to the spiritual life I've ever read. Not esoteric but real-world & practical. The implications are profound." Peter Shepherd; Founder Trans4mind.com; author: Daring To Be Yourself
"The human being's directory to the soul. A breakthrough for those seeking practical assistance, those of a more mystical bent & every soul awaiting discovery." Toni Petrinovich, Ph.D.; author: The Call: Awakening the Angelic Human
The Tao of Spiritual PartnershipReviews From the Back Cover:
"The masterwork of a profoundly gifted healer of the soul. Dazzling, challenging, wondrously useful." Peggy Rubin, Director, Center for Sacred Theatre, Ashland, Oregon; author: To Be and How To Be, Transforming Your Life Through Sacred Theatre
"Rewiring the Soul is one the best introductions to the spiritual life I've ever read. Not esoteric but real-world & practical. The implications are profound." Peter Shepherd; Founder Trans4mind.com; author: Daring To Be Yourself
"The human being's directory to the soul. A breakthrough for those seeking practical assistance, those of a more mystical bent & every soul awaiting discovery." Toni Petrinovich, Ph.D.; author: The Call: Awakening the Angelic Human
To download the first chapter, click here
To see the Table of Contents click here
Praise for The Tao of Spiritual Partnership
“All humans seek the illusive touch of another's Soul, which opens us to the sense of belonging to something bigger than the self. Dr. Kortsch has given us the true "tao" of relationship in this brilliant exploration of emotional tapestry. We will be grateful for this illumination of spiritual partnership for generations to come."
Chris Griscom: Spiritual Leader, Author (among others) of: Ecstasy is a New Frequency
“Eloquent and comprehensive, showing how your primary love relationship may be a sacred vessel that transports you and your partner to a place of mutual healing and expansion.”
Robert Schwartz: Author of Your Soul’s Gift: The Healing Power of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born
The Power of Your Heart: Loving the Self
From the Introduction: It is your right to live a life of love. It is your right to understand that loving yourself first is not a selfish way of behavior, but one that allows you to live that life of love. However, it's highly probable that you never got the instruction manual explaining exactly how to accomplish this. Possibly your family - and it may have been a loving family - considered loving the self an act of selfishness. Or perhaps the members of your family simply didn't practice loving the self, and of course, what you didn't see - what was not shown to you - while you were growing up, meant that you just didn't learn how to apply it to yourself. The closer you are able to move towards loving yourself, the closer you will be to living a life of love - quite independently of whether you are in a love relationship or not. A life of love can be lived with or without a partnership, because a life of love implies that you know that it all begins with you by loving the self. The more clearly you understand how to love yourself, the more clearly you will see that it is very hard - if not impossible - to love others in ways that are unrelated to fulfilling any of your needs. Loving yourself first is - for so many of us - one of the hardest things we will ever learn how to do. But know this: the benefits affect you in every particle of your being - body, mind, and soul - and are greater than you will ever be able to imagine.
Note: If you are wondering why this blog is now only appearing on alternate days (excluding Sat/Sun), it is because I also post on my other blog on the others days. That other blog is Rewiring the Soul so named for my first book. Click here to visit the blog and/or to sign up for the feed.