DOER'S LUCK

Nothing esoteric to report here. The common but  wise cliches  are”we are what we eat” or “garbage in, garbage out.” Well balanced meals consisting of lean meats, leafy and other vegetables and fruits are typically good diets. The Mediterranean Diet approach is popular and effective. Keep sweets to a minimum. Drink plenty of  “good” water daily to stay hydrated. Be judicious with the use of alcohol.  Supplements, tinctures , probiotic “shot” and immune boosting and protein drinks are great. Avoid the more fattening and sugary drinks unless you need to put on some weight. 

 Balance proteins and carbs. Moderation and “the Middle way” is a great rule of thumb. A lot of this is common sense but it takes discipline and common sense to get it right. Read up on it. It won’t take long to get it figured out. It just takes maturity and self-care to eat well. I probably missed some good stuff that didn’t get on the list.

The body is the vessel that carries Consciousness so treat it with respect and reverence. We cannot live without it.  Move your body. There are a thousand ways to do it but strength, endurance and flexibility  are the three key elements. Sports are fun, challenging and socially inter-active. Of course, age, gender, the state of your current health are all to be factored in but some form of all three apply in almost all case. It helps regulate your weight, improve your sleep patterns and calms the nervous system. Regular exercise builds self-confidence. 

Going to a gym can be great, in part, because we are around other folks who are committed to their physical and mental well-being. Equipment is fine and dandy but it is amazing how simply working with your own body can be  the best piece of equipment. I’m a big fan of Yoga, Tai Chi and Chi Gong, and incorporate one or more of these into my daily exercise routine. They are excellent enhancements of our spiritual Being, having been part of the ancient traditions for thousands of years.  The bottom line here is use it, lose it, or ruin it.

Be it physical labor, mental and intellectual pursuits, to work at something, either as a career, a volunteer or raising a family, a job well done is a thing of pride and self-respect. Work suggests effort. It builds income, or purchasing power or a sense of responsibility to self, family or community. It is a natural desire  for people to work. Clearly, the more we find work that “lights us up” and is in alignment with our talents and learned skill sets, through education or experience, it keeps us in the game of life. Here is another example of making mindful choices whenever possible. If you are currently doing work that isn’t your cup of tea or necessity dictates staying with the work you are presently doing, find a way to make it more pleasurable and challenging or find other work that suits you. 

Don’t be afraid to stretch and take reasonable risks to ascend toward your ideal dream job if possible. It takes some self-esteem to do so, but doing so also builds your self esteem. We manifest what we focus on, good or bad. Know yourself. Learn more about yourself.  You make the better choices when we operate in the world with clarity and confident presence. A relaxed presence. But mindful, with the capacity to respond to whatever the situations and circumstances of our existential lives.

Rest, relaxation and time to just chill and shut it down for a while is a major supplement to good sleep. It might be reading a good book, or a walk in nature is ideal. Television and computer or cell phone activity is generally not the best choice for attempting to relax. Rest the brain and body. That’s the simplest way of putting it. Hug a tree.

Sleep is one of the core needs of the body and brain.. We have to sleep. The body will eventually take us there even if we fight it. Restful, sufficient sleep restores health and vitality, rests the mind and gives a break to our hard working organs. Too much can make us sluggish or can indicate depression and avoidance but not enough over a long period of time is  a health risk and will affect every other aspect of our  lives. Depending on age and other variable factors, different people need a different range of hours for a good night's sleep. Short power naps during the day can be very helpful to the mind and body. Find that right amount of sleep time that makes you feel alert and alive during the day/

This is a big aspect of focus for human beings as essentially social animals. Frankly, probably accessively so. It has been  a major topic in my twenty years as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist( LMFT) and more recently as a Life Coach and renewal as an AMFT. It is the territory of love, hate, friendship, competition, intimacy, cruelty, sharing, swearing, disappointment, pettiness, blame, tenderness,  projection, companionship, service and joy.

One’s level of consciousness  and maturity determines how it all goes and there are phases and stages, beginning with childhood environments , modeling of behaviors  by care takers and personality and temperamental traits. Early Attachments. Relationships are complicated. It takes active listening,empathy, allowing others to be who they are, healthy boundaries and tons of patience both in our personal and work related areas of involvement. 

Too often, folks feel psychologically threatened by other people because the conventional wisdom is that we are all separate entities called humans. while the Ancient Radical Wisdom teaching pointed out by their own journeys that there is another realm, another dimension of our being that  is our True Nature, Hard to believe.  Maybe at first but the more we turn inward  and begin to sense and experience something different. THe energy is different. It’s hard to but your finger on it.

The Transpersonal Realm. This is the all too neglected and even unrecognized  Inner Dimension in which we Inquire into the Nature of our truest Self, that which is beyond  the Realm of the senses and The Witness to the existential angst and problematic nature of everyday life. It is ineffable, mysterious  and beyond description or conceptual knowledge but a felt sense that all humans know as ‘I” or ‘I Am” in the spiritual lexicon. The vast world out there is a mere aggregate of choices and energies colliding and entangling with other energy sources as if projected on a movie screen. We are the screen and the world is the movie. Life is  enthralling and easy to get drawn into the psycho-emotive dramas. 

Nevertheless, the Transpersonal is beyond a personal subjective response to life. as the steady-state unaffected observer of all that arises from this grounded center of reality. The ancient and contemporary traditions and practices all lead to the same conclusion as pointing instructions. We Humans are the contracted, more narrowly focused points of view of the Source, endowing us with a stepped-down but powerful version of the Source. We are ultimately not flesh and bone but energies and frequencies that are connected to all other energies and frequencies. By stepping back and witnessing ourselves in the world, we begin to discern the difference between illusion and reality.

Awareness is the means and the end of the story as to what we call a spiritual life. How we get there is different for each of us that seek the Answers to who we are, the ultimate irony Being we have been what we are searching for all along. When all aspects of our existence in both the Existential/Personal Realm and the Transpersonal Realm merge, Transformation occurs and transcendent Consciousness  becomes the base-line of our existence. The world of form is seen as  the playground  for the I Am to discover and recognize Itself as the Source, the Causes and the Affects, based on our level of Consciousness and the choices we make that interact with ,is affected by and affects all aspects of life.

Stimulation is an inherent response to life. The things that get our primary focus of attention stimulate our nervous system, create positive excitement,  get us all jacked up, become fixations or addictions and give us a sense of aliveness, be it fight, flight or focus. To remain calm at our center whatever the level or degree of stimulation is  artful and difficult. Over-stimulation can wear us out over long stretches if we don’t stay mindful. Under-stimulation affects our sense of aliveness and we lose the animated responses that move us toward productivity and creativity.

The antithesis of self-absorbed, narcissistic  and selfish focus is our development of a greater sense of the ONEness which, removes the illusion of separation, so that the higher our level of consciousness dominates the more we see ourselves in all things and beings, and naturally choose to serve life, all life, and act accordingly. The ways in which we operate in the world are a reflection of self-love, radiated outwardly. The conscious choices we make as to  how we interact with our environment, conduct ourselves around others and exercise our God-given talents and developed skill sets, bring the most satisfaction when it supports and contributes to a better life for all.

 Whether we are artists, parents, folks who work the crops that feed us or innumerable ways in which we are a positive influence on humanity, we feel better about the world when we are part of the solutions and not the problems. This work is all about  becoming the best version of ourselves in the world, while acknowledging the highest purpose  we can attain is simply to discover the Higher Self that naturally cares compassionately for our worldly self, and shines that inner light out into the world. THis is the essence of our evolution as a species.

Not all people see themselves as born leaders and it is to some degree  a product of personality, temperament, modeling of others and desire to serve and contribute. Leadership of the highest order can change the world. Leadership that is distorted by self-interest and craving for power clearly has the opposite effect. Leadership can be vocal and demonstrative or quiet, unassuming but powerful in its own right. The world needs both types. No  one has nothing to offer in the way of leadership. Even how one handles hardship can inspire and lead others to emulate their courage and ability to overcome. Leaders can be A Jesus or a Buddha, a brilliant teacher or  an individual in a concentration camp that keeps the spirit of life alive  for others under the most dire circumstances. How should we lead? Give our gifts with humility yet unapologetically.

Knowing what we are a part of and participate on every level is crucial to transformation. Be it the planet, our country, our local communities, our families and both secular and spiritual communities, we all count and influence the environments because we are not separate from them.Be a sphere of influence for good, learn to both lead and follow, and know that each of us are connected to everything else.