Focus on what Matters

Dear readers,

Compliments of the season! I hope you all had an amazing New Year celebration. I hope that this new year brings in all things positive and beautiful in your lives. Since it is the New Year I felt I share something in the light of staying focused on our real objectives.

One important factor about paying attention to matters that are important is that it helps us to weed out things that are a distraction. If there is one thing that slows us down it is being fixated on things that do not contribute to our objectives. To focus on things that really matter is to technically put on “blinkers” that shade out the distractions. One of the many ways to try to focus on what matters is to have a clear objective on what we are really trying to achieve. To have a clear vision of what we are trying to achieve we need to set them in key goals that are specific and date oriented. This concept is so versatile that it is not limited by scope or field.

As a spiritual practitioner, we have to be clear on the goals we need to achieve and then be clear about how we want to achieve them. To be engaged in an activity without a clear goal in mind is to be engaged without a clear destination. To be engaged in an activity without a specific result is to expect no specific results. Thus to focus on what matters is to streamline things that don’t. So in a more practical way, I’ll shed some light with a few examples. Let’s say our objective as a spiritual practice is to find and sustain inner peace throughout our journey, then we have to stick to practices that enable it.

Now inner peace isn’t something we can put a deadline on, however, we can put a deadline on things that reflect turmoil, disturbance or unrest in our lives. So we can say for example, by so and so time, I want to argue less with people about things that don’t have any direct relationship to me. Arguing works me up and when I am worked up, my inner peace is disturbed. This a clear objective and we have put a target on it. Now we go on to engage in an activity like say meditation to assist us in being more centered, as we consciously try to disassociate ourselves from such arguments. The other important factor is we have to check up on ourselves from time to time to see how we are holding up. How many times did we slip into an argument because we didn’t have the resolve to walk away? Or how many times did we start and then catch ourselves midway?

We can look at another example; say we want to take up a more sustainable diet that is cruelty-free. So we establish compassion and love as the objective and the key result is to make sure that our diet reflects that. Then we set conscious dates with landmarks we want to achieve on this journey. We can start by removing red meat from our diet while sticking to poultry and fish. Then watch our progress and then set another time frame to take out poultry and repeat till we are done with any form of flesh in our diet. So whether the goal is material or spiritual, focusing on what matters is an art that saves us time, energy and lots of resources if we have clear objectives set.

In our everyday lives, the results that we can achieve by paying attention to what really matters has become a million dollar industry. Today the principle behind paying attention to what really matters has been developed into books and seminars and is being used by even Fortune 500 companies. One interesting part of this process is the feedback system. As compared with other methods of achieving our objectives, this method enables us to have a feedback system that is less judgemental and more solution oriented. Part of this is because we eliminate a good deal of the distractions when we tie our goals directly to our objectives. This helps us see things as they really are; either helping to achieve the objective or NOT helping to achieve it.

When we take a minute to really look at things, we can see that most of the things we think are important really don’t matter that much. However, because we have given them that power over our lives. I hope this dissertation helps someone in reorganizing what really matters. Till next week; read, share and follow for more.

Circle of Influence

Dear readers,
I hope you all are faring well. It is a pleasure to be able to share with you all yet another interesting blog today.
In the last few days, I have been deliberating on some thoughts and I felt I share them with you all, more in the mood of trying to bounce off certain ideas and reflect on ways to improve communication and also integrate these ideas into our spiritual lives. The principle of our circle of influence is one which has been explained in a great detail by authors like Steve Covey in his books. To fully grasp the concept of the circle of influence one has to understand also the circle of concern. Both circles work and influence us in ways we know and may not know. In simple words, the circle of influence is those things we have some direct control over like our health, children, work etc. while the circle of concern is those things which are beyond our immediate control. These include the Government, National laws, etc.
There are two kinds of people who deal with these two circles; those who are reactive and those who are proactive. People who are proactive focus more on the circle of influence and expend their energy on things they have some control over and can influence. They know it is futile to spend energy outside this circle trying to fix things in the circle of concern. The circle of concern is outside their immediate influence and as such they do not spend their energy there. On the other hand, reactive people focus their time and energy worrying about things in the circle of concern and this worry translates into nothing tangible as there is almost nothing they can do to change anything in this area. The nature of reactive people is that they wait for a problem to happen before trying to do anything about it. Proactive people try to anticipate the problem and see what viable options are there for solving it before it even occurs.
In other to be able to anticipate a situation, one has to be abreast of what is happening in that situation. The activities and factors in our circle of influence are things we can keep an eye on and work to improve in some way or another. If we are distracted by things outside our circle of influence then it is certain that we would miss the opportunity to adequately prepare for those things inside our circle of influence. Many of us go through life subconsciously worrying most about things in our circle of concern, and as such find it difficult to live a successful and meaningful life. We worry about every other thing besides those things that really matter. As a spiritualist or someone one a path of spirituality we also would have to encounter this dynamic in our daily endeavor. There is a constant internal debate in the mind of a spiritualist as to which energy to feed; the lower or the higher. He has to consciously choose to feed his higher energy daily, as this is what he needs to grow and advance in his spiritual journey. Similarly, the spiritualist has to be careful to make the right decision when it comes to feeding one of the circles.
His daily spiritual activities and life choices would reflect if he is sober enough to be a proactive person or if he is unsteady and more of a reactive person. Now the beauty of spirituality is that it enables us to calm down, focus and place first things first. There is no doubt that the circle of influence has certain areas such as family, health, etc. however when one embarks on a spiritual journey and begins to understand the real nature of the self then he sees things as they are and pays more attention to things that really matter. In that light, the spiritualist has some more addition to his circle of influence. It includes all that is to be found in that circle normally but a little more. His circle of influence reflects how he uses those things that matter to better his spiritual practice. So, for instance, the family is a part of the circle of influence and as such he tries to see that his immediate family at least supports or partakes in his spiritual journey. This enables him to pay more attention to this circle because it also supports his spiritual journey. Understanding that he is not the body but the soul, he maintains the body to be fully functional to serve the Lord in his spiritual journey.
Thus, the Lord becomes a driving factor for the circle of influence for him and this makes his endeavor successful. If for some reason he comes to the path of spirituality as a reactive person, then he is sure to improve if he takes advantage of the process fully by applying himself. The process of meditation, mantra, positive self-affirmation, regulated and cruelty-free diet, prayers, association with like-minded spiritual people, yoga, etc. can also help re-center his purpose and make him a proactive and sober person. The non-spiritualist on the other hand who is not regulated in his bodily needs has little or no control over his emotions and as such it comes as no surprise when he is constantly reacting to matters that are outside his circle of influence. The materialist is preoccupied with the circle of concern because he is not even aware of whom he really is. When there is a lack of clarity about the real self then the foundation for positive growth is shaky, because decisions and life choices are made based on a false identity.
For instance, if one thinks they are their body instead of the soul then it is normal for them to worry about things that pertain to the body. From the misidentification of the body as the self, such people may become overly sentimental about nationalism, racism etc. They feel that being true their real self is to do everything that enhances the bodily identification. This, however, brings nothing but misery, as there cannot be lasting happiness based on temporary objects. The body is temporary and as such the happiness we derive from it cannot be permanent. To experience lasting happiness, we have to position ourselves in a situation that allows us to make choices that are lasting and from a place of peace. We can only experience real peace when we are sober and proactive. It is difficult to be peaceful when we are reactive and in distress.
Till next week, read, share and follow more.

Pseudo Quintessential Spiritualism

Dear readers,

I hope you all are faring well. It is always a pleasure to be able to share with you all yet another exciting blog every week.

This week I’ll like to harp on a topic that is quite interesting and a source of concern for neophytes on the path of spiritualism. Often times either by false perception or transferred thoughts of misconstrued idealism, many newbies on the path of spirituality create a utopia of what they seem as the quintessential circle of spiritualist. In their minds and activities they wonder about from faith to faith, religion to religion waiting to find that sphere of the above described spiritualism, all to little or no avail. This reminds me of the famous novel “Animal Farm” by George Orwell, wherein he uses the perfect allegory to pass across the situations of a trouble State and the results therein.

A lot of people new to the path of conscious spirituality, (and I mean one that has for focus the concept of a personal relationship with God), often get caught in the web of differentiating pseudo spiritualists from the real ones. The externals are not an issue, as many people can easily figure their way through this part. The difficulty starts when the philosophy meets practice and practice meets the everyday way of life. It is at this junction the pillars that hold the faith of many start to wobble and eventually collapse. When the exciting “conscious chants” are over and the mind starts its rampage and reality sets in, the new spiritualist begins to wonder what happened to the promise of “eternal high”. When the delicious communion of cruelty free meal is over and the newbie sees that the seasoned practitioners and old timers are not so free from violence in their discussions, his doubts seem to crawl back.

Many newbies will play ostrich at this point and bury their heads in the sand of hero/mentor worship, self-denial, misinterpretation of the philosophy, and “adaptation according to circumstances”. The pseudo spiritualists in such a religion who is but a quintessence of Napoleon from the Animal Farm will usually try to fake the practice of the philosophy with the hope that someday they make it. This may work for a while for some people, for some time for most people but not every time for everyone. Truth be told, many people are not ready for the truth because it disrupts the reality of their ignorance. So what could the truth be? Why is it so difficult for the newbie spiritualist to figure it out? It takes intelligence to be able to separate grain from chaff. As easy as it may sound in real life, many neophytes and even seasoned spiritualists find it difficult to make this separation. The reason could be varied however when the basics are not learned properly, then it is hard to even grab intermediate matters talk less of the advanced stuff.

It is apparently cool and flashy to put up a show of being “woke”, filled with the spirit or being on the platform of spontaneous love of God, however what is not cool is having to deal with the reality that sets in after these imposters see that their charade is not getting them anywhere. Let’s take an example of someone who attends a party of world class swimmers held on a cruise ship. At high sea, the ship starts to sink and then he sees all of the “seasoned swimmers” panicking. Only to find out that they can’t really swim.  There is a mixed feeling of anger, betrayal, and even amusement when such a guest has to witness the pseudo swimmers struggle for their lives in water. The neophyte in spirituality is sure to witness such scenarios at some point in their journey into spirituality. The choice is theirs however what they want to do with such a lesson.

The best recourse will be to take the path seriously, to train body, mind and spirit in the true tenets of whatever spiritual practice they are into. It will be in the interest of this practitioner to look for a real seasoned practitioner that understands the theory and practice of the path they are on. The neophyte must also make sure that the seasoned practitioner lives a life that reflects a balance of both theoretical understanding and practical application. When that is done, then he has to address the most difficult part; himself. Like it or not the larger percentage of work to be done in order to progress in spirituality, is the effort we put in when there is no one looking. Those things that we do when we are alone with our minds and the Lord in our heart.

Amidst this rubble is a few percent of those who are “woke” or say aware of the feeble phantasmagoria presented by these charlatans who parade as God conscious people. This few understand that in every spiritual circle there is bound to be the struggle of light over darkness and both never coexist. This few “woke” individuals know that sometimes there is joy in celebrating small private victories as opposed to the general opinion of making a show of advancement. They understand that spirituality is a silent inner journey where the aim is to go as deep as possible, way beyond the superficial flowery externals; floating on the surface that people confuse as the real thing. We can say they have surmounted the tendency to be distracted by the byproducts of spirituality. As it is with every endeavor that exposes the malignant nature of darkness, these few individuals will face their portion of the soul’s dark night. In their purification the neophyte will be deceived to think of it as tribulations and as such ridicule them. However just like the proverbial phoenix, they eventually rise from the same ashes they were reduced to.

The secret lies not in personal prowess, expertise, erudition nor deceit, but in sincerity that cannot be purchased by anything besides genuine intent and perfect understanding of who and what God really is.

Till next week, do read, share and follow for more.