Any time
can be the time you truly wake up. While this is a spiritual quest, it does not
- in the first instance - require many of the activities most of us have come
to associate with a typical spiritual practice. Rather, it requires recognition
that every moment of your life is filled with the promise of an enriched
spirituality. If you want to wake up badly enough - or if you've recognized
that you've tried many different avenues to reach a better place inside of you
and nothing has worked - here are some of the things you will start doing right
now (with specific examples following further below):
- Be diligent in your practice of becoming continually
aware.
- For the above to work, be diligent in becoming mindful.
- Being aware and mindful will allow you to become the
one who is in charge of your thoughts, feelings, actions, and reactions,
as opposed to your circumstances dictating all of these.
- Look at yourself before blaming others, remembering
that much of what causes strong emotions generally has some kind of root
inside yourself - akin to what Carl Gustav Jung called the shadow,
i.e., all those bits of yourself that have not yet seen the light of
your understanding (being aware and mindful is the key). Remember that
your ego is not your best friend.
- Choose your reactions to anyone and anything with great
care (being aware and mindful is the key).
- Be diligent in your practice of being kinder, more
loving, and compassionate every day.
Surely
you have read or heard of much of the above before, especially if you have been
reading my monthly articles (subscribe at the link) that I have been disseminating since 2004 and my blog posts since 2007. Most
authors and teachers who write about these subjects refer to them in one
fashion or another.
But
let's examine some very specific things - using the most mundane examples -
that you can explore and begin to do right now as you move in your quest
to truly wake up:
- You've just been passed by another car on a very
dangerous road in such a way that you had to veer to the shoulder in order
to avoid a crash. As you observe yourself going through this, how do you
choose to react in your thoughts and feelings? What do you choose to learn
from this situation about hidden bits of yourself as opposed to
merely blaming the other?
- One of your colleagues has undermined you in front of
the boss. As you observe yourself going through this, how do you choose to
react in the first instance inside of yourself - long before you decide
how to address the issue with your colleague and your boss? What do you
choose to learn from this situation about hidden bits of yourself as
opposed to merely blaming the other?
- You are at a dinner party with your partner and notice
him/her flirting (or appearing to flirt). As you observe yourself going
through this, how do you react inside yourself? What self-dialogue do you
have? How do you speak to your partner later? What do you choose to learn
from this situation about hidden bits of yourself as opposed to
merely blaming the other?
- Your doctor has just given you a frightening diagnosis.
As you observe yourself going through this, how do you react inside
yourself? What self-dialogue do you have? How do you take care of
yourself? What do you choose to learn from this situation about hidden
bits of yourself as opposed to merely blaming the circumstances?
- A good friend has blown you off. You were meant to meet
for lunch and at the last minute gave you a feeble excuse. It's not the
first time. You are angry. You are sad. You are disappointed. But: as you
observe yourself going through this, how do you react inside yourself?
What self-dialogue do you have? What do you choose to learn from this
situation about hidden bits of yourself as opposed to merely
blaming the other?
- Your salary is tight and this morning your hot water
tank gave its last sigh. You need a new one and you don't have the money.
Your credit cards are maxed out. You feel angry and impotent, and above
all, you feel life is very unfair. As you observe yourself going through
this, how do you react inside yourself? How do you take care of yourself?
What do you choose to learn from this situation about hidden bits of
yourself as opposed to merely blaming the circumstances?
- You are working on a project close to your heart. Not
only have you not yet succeeded, but you run into one failure after
another. As you observe yourself going through this, how do you react
inside yourself? What self-dialogue do you have? How do you take care of
yourself? What do you choose to learn from this situation about hidden
bits of yourself as opposed to merely blaming the situation?
- One of your children (small or adult) has just had a
major setback. You are in pain for him/her and are suffering. You wish to
alleviate his/her difficulty. You want to take it on your own shoulders.
As you observe yourself going through this, how do you react inside
yourself? What self-dialogue do you have? How do you take care of
yourself? What do you choose to learn from this situation about hidden
bits of yourself as opposed to merely blaming the situation?
- You know you are absolutely right in that argument you
are having. As a matter of fact, you can prove it. But no matter what you
do, you aren't able to sway the person with whom you are speaking. And so
you battle on, trying to convince them. Finally you get righteously angry.
But then you catch yourself. You remember that much of what is going on
has to do with you. Why is it so important that you are shown to be right?
How much of your ego is involved in this transaction? And therefore you
check how you are reacting, you correct your self-dialogue, and you begin
to free yourself from the need to be right.
Such
situations are frequently dealt with by most of us in ways that are neither
aware nor mindful. We don't choose our reactions; we simply react blindly. In
so doing, we lose precious opportunities that life offers us in the guise of
such struggles, not only to grow, and to understand ourselves better
psychologically and emotionally, but to move forward in our spiritual path because
such awareness of the self, and such using of those opportunities is a
important and precious part of what it means to live a spiritual life and to
wake up.
Any time can be the time you truly wake up. Start by being aware and mindful and then
apply it to absolutely everything that happens to you. You choose.
***************
Also visit my book website: www.gabriellakortsch.com where you may download excerpts or read quotations from any of my books. My latest book Emotional Unavailability & Neediness: Two Sides of the Same Coin is available globally on Amazon in print & Kindle. You can also obtain it (or any of my other books) via Barnes & Noble.
Angefangen mit Rewiring the Soul - auf Deutsch: Deine Seele und Du, jetzt weltweit erhaltbar als Taschenbuch oder Kindle E-Book (Blog hier), werden auch meine anderen Bücher in Zukunft auf Deutsch bei Amazon erhaltbar sein.
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 The Tao of Spiritual Partnership, so named for another one of my books. Click here to visit the blog and/or to sign up for the feed.
My blog posts are also featured on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest & you can find me on Instagram
Bücher von Dr. Gabriella Kortsch (Deutsch) ... JETZT bei Amazon (Taschenbuch oder E-Book) erhaltbar
DEINE SEELE UND DU
Libros por Gabriella Kortsch (español) ... próximamente en Amazon en versión bolsillo y E-Libro para Kindle
Empezando con Rewiring the Soul - en español: Reconectar con el Alma (blog aquí), se podrán encontrar mis libros en español por todo el mundo próximamente en Amazon.
My blog posts are also featured on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest & you can find me on Instagram
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