How do you manage to find life spiritual?

[7luminaries]

Re: flowers...the hardiest ones are often considered weeds, LOL. I planted loads of "full sun" flowers...but I get way more than 4-6 or 6-8 hrs...so only some "full sun" will make it. It is hit or miss...I find my neighbour's stuff (a master gardener with cairns built and all that) comes over to my patch of yard sometimes, and those are the ones that will stay, hahaha. Even of the same plant, some colours are hardier and those are the ones that can make it. Nature teaches you and it seems you have to be open to that and excited to figure out what (finally) works

About spirituality...the bottom line is that it is just us and it's all that is.
It's no more and no less than life itself...and the unfolding process of knowing who you are at centre...
Which to me is simply this...
1) knowing what is right-aligned...(i.e., striving to apprehend What Is more deeply) and
2) doing and being that in the moment.

Regarding #1, this BTW is NOT going to be what society tells you is "ok" or "good" in frankly a majority of cases, it seems. The truth of What Is and what that means to you in right-aligning your personal life in the most private and intimate of ways is not going to be handed to you. Not in our mainstream culture. Not by a long shot. In fact, it will largely 100% misdirect you from the truth of who you are at centre. That is somewhat of a hardship for most, TBH, because most folks actively choose misalignment in the way they live their lives & interact with others, certainly in large part because mainstream society has directly guided them and supported them in doing so.

Regarding #2...ultimately, nothing matters more than kindness...even truth. Truth does not trump kindness...because lovingkindness is the core of truth, as is equanimity.
I was having a conversation here on another thread and I disagreed with a fellow about his guru. For reasons clearly stated, I didn't resonate with the "guru" but allowed that some folks did and that was fine for them. To each. And that IMO always needs to be conveyed with respect. I.e., with courtesy and simple kindness which honours their humanity as equal to my own.

Even when I strongly disagree, if I ever disparage the person who says I think or feel or believe differently with name-calling or base slurs on their sanity or intelligence and so forth, then shame on me -- because that is misaligned and I would absolutely need to take ownership and make amends. On that note, that same fellow and a few others were almost perniciously hostile to other folks (not to me) in defense of their position. On that point, there is almost no way I could reasonably consider any defense of their position justifies that behaviour. Even if not directed at me.

In other words, that is the being and the doing...and if the lovingkindness and equanimity are lacking, then the message or the truths of "this is a message of lovingkindness and equanimity" are most likely not going to come through from that direction. Because the example, the being and doing of lovingkindness and equanimity (in active support of the highest good of all), is every bit as important -- if not more so -- than the message to do and be lovingkindness and equanimity, in support of the highest good of all.

That is what spirituality is to me, in a nutshell. It is nothing more or less then the core of who I am at centre. The simple and stark truth of my being. And of everyone else's as well.
I think Hillel and Jesus said it like this, the first being straight from the Shema:
1) Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.

And the 2nd bit being the most-repeated commandment in the Torah, which says love your neighbour, AND the poor, the vulnerable, and marginalised (the widow & orphan, and stranger amongst you) as yourself.
Jesus includes them all as "your neighbour", whilst Hillel referred to them as "(all) others":
2) And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

So...IMO those folks (for example) truly guide us in the way of the heart, the awakened heart-led consciousness, because they lived and manifested lovingkindness and equanimity in their words and deeds, their relationships, and their interactions with others. And not at all simply because they had a nice or even profound message to share.

The way of the awakened heart (with awakened mind in service to heart) is the way of integrity and presence in our day-to-day being and doing. Our conscious alignment with lovingkindness and equanimity in our day-to-day being and doing.

Peace & blessings
7L

[WildHairedWoman]

Originally Posted by Honza

There are so many influences at work which seem to stop life being spiritual. It is like I exist within a void which repels light. In many ways life seems very profane.

How do you manage to keep your life spiritual? Do you find it comes naturally? With me it is a constant struggle.

It is a mental thing. There is no such thing as "non-spiritual". How could there be? There are things you think are wrong and things you think are right and you will be able to get many to agree with you on both, but not everyone because none of us experience this planet in a human body the same as anyone else. You need to remove the mote from your eye (or as it is paraphrased somewhere, don't concern yourself with the mote in your neighbors eye, remove the plank from your own eye). Perception is 80 % of our experience. You have the choice to change how you think about things, but you cannot change anyone else. As for influences, you are the one who chooses that as well. You can notice it but you don't have to react to it.

[7luminaries]

Originally Posted by WildHairedWoman

It is a mental thing. There is no such thing as "non-spiritual". How could there be? There are things you think are wrong and things you think are right and you will be able to get many to agree with you on both, but not everyone because none of us experience this planet in a human body the same as anyone else. You need to remove the mote from your eye (or as it is paraphrased somewhere, don't concern yourself with the mote in your neighbors eye, remove the plank from your own eye). Perception is 80 % of our experience. You have the choice to change how you think about things, but you cannot change anyone else. As for influences, you are the one who chooses that as well. You can notice it but you don't have to react to it.

Nice quote...here is the source. I am not a Christian, but you have to admire this gent, and I do -- I myself just quoted him 2x directly above

Luke 6:41-42 41"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." -- Jesus/Y'shua

LOL....

Peace & blessings
7L

[WildHairedWoman]

Originally Posted by 7luminaries

Nice quote...here is the source. I am not a Christian, but you have to admire this gent, and I do -- I myself just quoted him 2x directly above



LOL....

Peace & blessings
7L

Yes, that was the quote I was thinking of. I have read a lot of the bible just to defend myself from my relatives and others who misquote it to beat people down verbally to make themselves above life or what ever they think is wrong.

[7luminaries]

Hello WHW :)
We all need to be able to discern for ourselves what is right-aligned and misaligned. That said, there is a broadly universal core of right-aligned and misaligned behavior which we will need to support and stand by if we are to participate collectively with others in ways that equally support the highest good of all.

There's nothing wrong with saying, as I see it, this is misaligned. There is awful lot of misaligned stuff in the world today, for certain. Many folks want all due consideration and scrupulously fair and ethical treatment from others but cannot and actively seek not to give the same in return. This group is broadly predatory but may utilise great deceit, manipulations, and machinations to avoid taking responsibility and ownership for their behaviours. Large swaths of society, economy, and polity fall under this predatory, infantile MO/worldview/lifeway.

But if those making critical discernments about what is right-aligned and misaligned do not also say "...and here is my lovingkindness and balanced support in equanimity for concrete change, concrete assistance, and concrete help for all persons on the ground so that they may find their way to right-alignment without harming self or others"....then it is also fair to call them on their bull poo. Punitive discernment is not helpful and can be weaponised.

However misalignment is itself already largely punitive. Misalignment is aggressive, violent, and coercive in its engagement with the weak and vulnerable...so by definition misalignment is already weaponised. So we can't do without discernment. Without discernment in right-alignment, humanity is lost to its worst nature and its most vile instincts. And there would be no one to stand up or bear witness to the onslaught.

The key is discernment from a place of lovingkindness and compassion. That's what my post at top is about (item #1), discerning or apprehending more truly what is right-aligned, and then doing and being that in the moment. Jesus calls folks out for speaking to discernment of right-alignment (good) but not first doing and being that themselves (integrity gap, hypocrisy). He's standing on the hill of right-alignment and he has a good view.

Those who can apprehend and discern right-alignment but who cannot yet rise to it in their own lives are only one (valuable) step up from plain old misalignment, where we cannot even tell the difference between right-alignment and misalignment -- and loathe and mock others who tell us there actually is a difference. But it's still not adequate because if it's only something we say then it is not yet the lived truth of our doing and being.

The integrity gap (between what we say and what we are and do) certainly gives those who actively promote misalignment an easy way to scorn discernment and truth-finding as hypocritical and "therefore" an excuse for them to live in misalignment, using and harming self, others, the environment, etc.

Of course, (purely for example/hypothetically), your hypocrisy is never an excuse for my misalignment or my mocking you, LOL. But, you are 1 large step ahead of me...and this is generally how I (in misalignment) work at this level, through blame and misdirection to avoid ownership. Jesus is speaking to you (as he can't even reach me), since you already took that 1st big step. But, you are still just a hypocrite if you don't live and do lovingkindness and equanimity -- including toward me and solutions for me to progress in productive ways on my own path toward right-alignment.

This is where it's at. And yet, we all ideally require one another to recognise our humanity from a place of right alignment at the top of the hill. Even if many of us are as yet too selfish to give this in return to others. And even if many of us are nowhere near the top of the hill. This is the challenge of humanity...we have to be here now at the top of the hill. So we need to be one with What Is, in order to step truly on our paths toward the top of the hill. It's not the end. But it's the hilltop in front of us at this moment.

Discernment in equanimity can never be omitted or cast aside. It's a big step forward, to apprehend right-alignment and to make distinctions between right-alignment and misalignment. But neither can lovingkindness in equanimity be cast aside. Jesus said what he said because he WAS living his discernment and his lovingkindness. Though, it was bluntly stated and that is necessary at times He didn't say "you're damned" or "you're bad folks"...he said, you're a hypocrite -- this is why and this is what you need to do. He was giving "you" (hypothetically) a road map because you are reachable, once you accept or realise that discernment, like compassion, is a core aspect of truth and that right-alignment with Source is the way to your own centre, the way to authentic love and One.

So, it's not the same when "I" from the very bottom of the hill call you a hypocrite for your discernment in truth, which you (in misalignment) may levy on me without kindness or caring for my being -- just like me, neither of us caring for & thus able to reach one another. I am calling you out but not with lovingkindness from the higher position on the hill...I cannot even see what you can see. I am at the bottom of the hill simply trying to tear you down before you figure out how to integrate your truth, your discernment into your doing and being and get past your hypocrisy. You on your part can then say to me, well you're blatantly using and harming everyone and you don't know or even pretend to care what you're doing...there is neither discernment nor love or kindness in your book; it's only whatever benefits you. So..we're both pieces of work...LOL ...and we both need to continue to take ownership for our words & deeds and their impact on self and others. We both need to act and speak with lovingkindness and equanimity...challenging as it may be for us as we're starting more or less from scratch. And we both need to look to those who are being and doing the morality and ethics they stand by on the ground, day-to-day, as living examples of discernment and lovingkindness centred in equanimity.

Because just as darkness cannot conquer darkness...only light can do that...so too hatred cannot conquer hatred...only authentic love (equanimity and lovingkindness) can do that. Or, that's how it strikes me off the cuff

Peace & blessings
7L