Jump Into Spirit

"Our individualistic culture inflames ego and numbs spirit." David Brooks, The Second Mountain Chapter 6 Jumping Into Spirit Dr. Ernest Holmes maintained it is far easier to teach the truth than to practice it. Practicing it means we have to jump into Spirit. We have to wake up to the truth of our being. We were programmed to find that perfect career, perfect mate and perfect living space. We set out to be that success. We found life to be a training ground offering us choice. Life takes discipline. Most of us have the tendency to resist change and only when we use said resistance as a signal or impetus for change do we face the dissatisfaction and wake up! This is divine discontent telling us to slow down, pay attention to the nudge. It is the Divine urge. It is said that our personal growth and evolution is motivated by inspiration or desperation. If we have a predisposition to self-inquiry, we will find our defining moments popping up in a delightful way. They will lead us to actions that honor Life. They will be answers that put us on a course of action that affirms the presence of a prevailing power for good that lies within us. A tool for discovery of our higher self is silence. Silence is a compass that can guide us to our center. It is a sacred medium through which we may fathom the infinite depths of the original self, a sacred continuum that is eternally offering itself to us. We don’t have to embark on a quest to find silence. It is a matter of uncovering it right where we are. Meditation is the simple tool anyone can use to go into the silence. Tools are required to make these life changes. Such tools include daily spiritual practice, spiritual mind treatment or prayer, meditation, time to reflect and making an investment in ourselves. We must look at life in a new way. As we do, we see the bigger picture, we feel connected, and we sense our oneness. We avoid knee-jerk reactions to people, situations and circumstances. We break the cycle of negative thoughts and fill our minds with new images. Life is no longer a series of random joys and mishaps; rather, it becomes an interactive experience constantly offering us the choice to understand and master ourselves. We cannot change others; we can only change ourselves and our reactions to others. We have to face our shadows and mistakes and look at the experiences that have caused pain, sadness or guilt. We recognize that every person is a responsible adult who thrives in the world—as we are. Seeing ourselves and others this way frees us to respond from Truth instead of reacting from judgment.