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What the pond and the fish show us about acting on purpose...
How Spiritual Accountability Helps Us Navigate Life's Challenges
There is a story of a young woman I would like to share with you.
Before I begin, think about a time when something happened out there - in your life - that made you think, "Man! Someone otta do something about that!" There are a lot of things in our world for which we have ideas on how it could be done better. For example, I was recently in a grocery store that I had never been to before. Unlike the store which I frequent usually, I did not know where the pasta isle was or where I could find the milk and bread. So I thought, “An interactive map like the ones at Barnes & Noble Book stores- where you type in the book you are looking for and the screen shows you a map of where you can find it-would really help people out in a grocery store to quickly locate the items they are looking for”. Then again, I could spare a few extra minutes to find my items or ask a store personnel to help out and I would go about my day without spending any more thought on it. It is not an issue which rages passionately for me.
Then, there are other things out there that really speak to us deeply. These are things that turn us into our very own versions of Martin Luther King or Erin Brockovich or Jane Goodall. Something that stirs us so deeply in our soul that not only do we think, 'Someone otta do something about this', but it also moves us into action.
This capacity to be moved and then to take action relates to what the author and teacher, Caroline Myss, calls spiritual accountability. It is that inner-most voice which I believe is the direct instruction or nudge from the Universe, God, Spirit, that guides us towards right action. Yet, it does that not just for any issue. It only does that for those issues or situations that relate most directly to our purpose here on Earth.
Issues related to our purpose
What is common among legendary activists in our history, is their passion to serve the larger global good and what distinguishes them is the kind of issues where they bring in their particular emphasis and play out their spiritual accountability. Dr. King's focus was on racial equality and justice, for Mother Theresa it was caring for the disadvantaged, for Erin Brockovich it is environmental justice, for Jane Goodall it is the welfare of the primates in the wild, while for Dr. Mohammad Yunus it is financial equality and freedom to receive fair credit terms for all. Their focus is on different issues yet they all acted from their inner-most pull of spiritual accountability.
And so this reminds us that spiritual accountability is not about all the things which could be better. It is often very clear and focused. This becomes evident when you think of how some people are dedicated to caring for children, or some who work fervently for economic justice. They do not branch out in several directions at once, both marshaling for marriage equality and saving the dolphins, helping rainforests as well as inner-city kids. They are focused and on target with that which is in complete alignment with what moves them the most. And this is often also what gives them the most joy and happiness when they take actions towards that theme or situation.
This accountability really is to one's own self. It is the answer to the question, "if no one was watching and there is something you know must change, what would you do?" And understand me right, it does not have to be something big. It could be a "small" action such as picking up a piece of trash lying in the park that has a butterfly-effect across the globe.
So spiritual accountability then is:
- something that comes directly from the inner-self, spirit, source-energy;
- is in alignment with our sense of purpose, or soul-contract;
- is focused and narrow in terms of theme, such as environment or justice;
- and the size or impact is irrelevant, meaning it can be a single incident in your life - the single starfish thrown back into the sea - or a series of actions that you take during the course of an entire lifetime.
The Protagonist of this Story is Kim
With this background on the concept of spiritual accountability as I relate to it, let me now share the story of a young woman and how she experienced this on her own journey:
This is the story of Kim who is both a friend and a client of mine. Kim is someone whom I would consider a gentle yet strong spirit. Gentle in the sense that she is acutely perceptive to the needs of others and strong in the sense that she brings forth immense spiritual strength to support her through challenging times while running a deep nerve of optimism throughout her being.
The story takes place at a pond. There is a big man-made pond in the front yard of the house next to Kim’s. This house is empty, on the market and owned by the bank. She often sits by this pond, observing the birds that come to visit it. A big blue heron visits the pond daily, connecting to Kim in its own unique way. I myself got to catch a glimpse of the blue heron when I was visiting Kim one day when I was reminded that helping even just one fish makes a world of difference. That is another story all together.
To continue with our story... Not too long ago, Kim noticed that the water-level of the pond was receding. All the fish along with the large koi fish in the pond were immediately affected by this. She contacted the real estate agency, called the bank officers, and anyone related to the property to inform them of what was happening so that they could help stop the dwindling water levels. Alas, to no avail! In spite of numerous attempts at getting their attention, nothing seemed to work. It seemed that people were taking a laissez-faire attitude.
In the meantime, the water-levels were rapidly dropping. The fish seemed to be gasping for dear life.
The Spiritual Accountability Emerges Boldly in a Crisis
Kim watched this day-in and day-out and was deeply troubled by this sight. She felt anger about the plight of the pond. This is when Kim faced that question we talked about earlier: Man! Someone otta do something about this! And fast.
She became quickly aware of the intensity of that statement. And as a result, instead of pointing her finger outwardly, she brought it inward, pointing it to herself. "If someone is going to do something about it", she thought, "then it will be me." Powered by the fury and anguish she felt about the situation of the fish and the pond, she tapped into her enormous confidence and resourcefulness and began talking to people. Among the people she spoke with, her brother understood what Kim was communicating and feeling her passionate plea, began raking his brains for solutions. He then connected Kim with the contact info of someone he knew in the animal control department. Now the water-level in the pond was so low that it was nothing more than a pool of muddiness. Time was running out. And something needed to be done NOW.
Kim spoke directly with her guiding force. She said, "Please help me help the fish. If nothing else, I will myself put the fish in coolers and carry them to the French Broad River. I am prepared to go knee deep in mud but I am not ready to let these fish die." She had tears in her eyes and deep pain in her heart.
Then, she made the last phone call to the contact her brother had given her. Miraculously, within minutes an animal control personnel appeared in front of her door. He assessed the situation to quickly identify the problem with the pump that regulated the water supply to the pond. He fixed it and immediately the pond began to fill up. It would take a few days before the pond would be back to its natural health, but one thing was clear: the fish were going to be safe, after all. Kim, with tears of gratitude and relief, looked at the man and started thanking him profusely.
Throughout this episode, Kim was completely in alignment with her deep purpose of service to those in need when she was faced with the plight of the fish. Her spiritual accountability surfaced to aid her in form of unrest, anguish and anger- emotions that would eventually become her allies in resolving the situation. And just when she thought someone ought to do something, she realized that it was she who needed to be that someone. She needed to step-in and step-up and instigate the change she was yearning.
We were standing outside one of the studios of Asheville's River Arts District, when Kim narrated this story to me. And then she began laughing. She said, "When the pump was fixed, I had tears in my eyes and was thanking the man for helping out. The man was tall, big and strong. He looked at my teary eyes and said, 'Young Lady, I have helped dogs. I have helped cats. I have helped other animals. But this..." He paused. "This...is my very first Fish-Rescue."
It sounded so funny that we began laughing and people around us giggled as well, at the sound of "This...is my very first fish-rescue."
To spiritual accountability and to this very first fish-rescue!
- Love, Sophia!
Uplifting Positive Reminders: Place where you will see 'em!
There are moments when the eyes glimpse the empty wall or the front of the refrigerator. And in these moments, you read something that is uplifting. It changes everything.
For just such moments, I prepares this set of uplifting positive reminders. A sense of peace and joy flows over me when I read these words. Take a look:
John Kehoe: 3 Gifts from the Book, "Mind Power Into the 21st Century"
Watch this video offering with 3 Gifts.
Gratitude and Creative Visualization
Have you ever wondered about the connection of gratitude and creative visualization? In our live visualization gatherings we often begin by sharing what we are grateful for. And it can be something like: "I am grateful to have a warm, comfortable home". Or "I am grateful to have a positive-attitude". Or something like, "I am thankful to have a nice night of rest."
Just becoming aware of what we are grateful for in our life, changes our energy, our vibration and uplifts our spirits. With this renewal of energy, creative visualization becomes even more powerful, effective and transformational. And to help us all to get into gratitude mode, I have created gratitude cards and a video introducing them.
So I invite you to begin your visualization sessions with a simple statement of gratitude or two. Just answer the question: In this moment what are you grateful for?
What are your BIG FIVE for LIFE?
Have you heard people say that your writing your dreams and your desires down, helps in the manifesting of these in your life? Steven Covey has written in one of his book about a woman who made a scrapbook full of her dreams and desires. At places using found images from magazines, at other places writing detailed descriptions of what she wants her husband to be like, how she imagines her home and family to be like. And looking back at only a couple of years, she has seen all of this become real.
Well, earlier this year I read a book by John Strelecky called "Big Five for Life". It is a moving story with nuggets of wisdom and inspiration tucked within the plot of the book. One of the things I picked up is a simple exercise, in which you write down the Big Five for Life.
Here is what you do:
Brainstorm some of the things you love doing. Then, write down 5 things you absolutely want to do/be/have in your life. And then simply list these 5 things. Make it specific and clearly express it.
I did this activity earlier this year and one of my long-time desires came true. There is a really interesting story to how it all happened and I will share that with you soon. Right now, I do want to share that my desire was to touch a tiger baby. And within four months, this dream came true.
All I did was to write my five most important desires at the moment. Today, these 5 have slightly changed for me as I have become more aware of what I desire. And the fact that making an explicit request does make things happen, has been a revolutionary realization for me.
Visualize Your Life Story
Imagine you are writing the script of a movie. You draw up the characters. You think of the plot and the storyline. You also imagine how the relationships between the characters is going to play out in the movie. You spend some time on the overall plot and the storyline as well as the small details. It is all in the screenplay you are drawing up. You have protagonist who is hero/heroine of the film who has a goal to achieve or an obstacle to overcome. There is drama in the film to highlight this process of overcoming the obstacle. And depending on whether you want to uplift your audience, you find a climatic way to resolve the story that ends with the obstacle overcome and goal achieved.
Now, imagine you are writing the script of your own life. Which character will you be and what obstacles do you want to overcome? Are you the protagonist of your life story? Whose support do you need to achieve the goal of your life, to follow your heart? And what evolutionary changes will you undergo? What will your transformation story be? How do you live a life of contribution? How do fully express and enjoy yourself in this life?
This visualization can entail images, sounds, smells. You can imagine the textures, the tastes,
feelings, the ambiance, in all its facets and dimensions. Try it out. Explore. Experiment. Enjoy.
Do you have an Ideas Folder?
One thing I would like to recommend to you is to work with a place where you collect your new ideas, hints, dreams. If you prefer to have it in a journalist's notebook which you can carry around everywhere, that is great. If you like to have it all digital for easy sorting and finding key words, then absolutely make an ideas folder. This folder can contain one mega-file where you simply list your idea in a phrase or a sentence. Then each of these ideas can have their own file where you can expand and extend and stretch the idea at another point. These idea folders are essential for your creative growth and mind training.
Have Positive Expectations
Expect the positive. Positive Expectation is one more nuance in our positive-thinking tool box. Essentially, it calls us to only expect the positive. It is slightly different than setting positive intentions. Positive intention-making entails clearly setting out what is desired, what do we want to manifest in our day or in our life.
Positive expectation varies from it because of the open-ended factor. It is not predefined and all perfectly delineated. We allow for an unplanned, unscheduled resolution or development of a situation, yet expecting clearly that what happens next will be in the highest good of all involved.
Remember that the positive intention-making and positive expectations are not replacement for action. Infact, they are predecessors to any action. Conscious action is important and necessary for change. But it cannot begin making an impact for good without positive intention and expectations to begin the process of change.
So give it a try and see how expecting the good, the better and the best is a real gift.
Overachievers in a Community of Overachievers!
Have you ever overplanned, cramming in too many things to do into your day, week, month, year???
I have done that in the past leading only to feeling overstretched, out of time, rushed and completely stressed out. Looking back, I have come to understand that being part of the Indian American community has played a role in this pattern. I had allowed pressures to overachieve seep into my way of being and doing things and in the end did not feel satisfied at all. I am very happy that in the last few months and years, I have been able to streamline, focus and scale down.
Being focussed on one thing at a time, has greatly simplified my life. I am now very aware when there are forces that want to pull me in different directions and it is easier and easier to stay focussed on my path. This has allowed for many moments of peace, joy and a sense of well-being that feel refreshing and rejuvenating.
If you were raised in intense communities or families, watch this video below from the Daily Show. It is hilarious to me and hopefully, you can find a sense of humor in this all and make your own choices and decisions about how much you want to commit to. So here it is, a glimpse of this "overachieving" theme in Indian culture from a clip where Aasif Mandvi is portraying some common expectations among Indian families. Take a look:
Resolving negative emotions during meditation
Fears, doubts, annoyances, and other forms of negative emotions can be resolved during meditation. These emotional patterns are very important pointers for us. They serve as lighthouses to show us exactly what we need to resolve, release or let go. And once these are released from our bodies, from our emotional landscapes, we make room for receiving abundance in all its forms.
Try it out. Take your meditation time to dissolve your fears. One absolutely amazing method that I highly recommend is that of Byron Katie called, "The Work". You can go to her website and download the questions that make up The Work and go through them during your meditation. Or for starters just take a look at some of the videos of Byron Katie using her method to resolve negative emotion in people. Absolutely Amazing!
Contemplation to Cultivate Qualities
Meditation can also be a tool to cultivate certain qualities within us. If we want to be more receptive to love, or become more compassionate, forgive ourselves and others or build focus, we can use our time during meditation to do so. This is a unique way to allow the qualities of a certain kind to transmute into you by contemplating about them.
Let us say you want to reveal the compassionate quality in you. Then, contemplate on compassion. You can repeat the word "compassion". You may visualize the life and actions of compassionate people. Think about a certain individual who you think exhibits high levels of compassion. Imagine their compassionate qualities spreading into you. Stay with this for as long as you need to. And come back to this practice again and again.
At the end of each session, you will sense a greater feeling and presence of whatever it is that you were contemplating on.
Life as a Meditation
Well, we have heard of sitting meditation where we set aside part of our day to settle our "monkey-mind", to calm down our mind and tap into the emptiness, or the vastness of the subconscious. The effects of this meditation practice certainly pours into the rest of our day. It affects positively our mind, our outlook on life and our physical health and vitality.
Now how about taking meditation into the rest of the day? What if we could meditate during all the waking hours? And how about doing that without sitting and being for that entire time! If we can take the principles and teachings of our meditation practice into our engagement with the world, then our entire life would become a meditation practice.
How to do it? Try this as an experiment. We are bringing complete focus to whatever we are doing or however we are being in the moment. For some this can mean dropping the temptation of multi-tasking and focussing on one thing. For others, who require multi-tasking in order to be completely present (emergency health professionals for example or a one-man musician playing the drum, the harmonica and the guitar!), becoming acutely present in the moment to fully give themselves to the task at hand.
Try this for half a day or an hour. Whatever you are doing, do it with utmost focus and concentration. Become aware of all the thoughts that emerge that may not be necessary at this moment. Let them be. Let them dissolve. This can be the moment when you drop into flow, become open to intuition and allow your creative energy to flow into that which you are doing.
Let our lives become a meditation.
Jon Kabat-Zinn: 3 Lessons from Wherever You Go There You Are
I did a review of a wonderful book some time ago. It is called, "Wherever you go there you are". It is beautifully written book with easy-to-read 1-2 page chapters filled with inspiring and profound questions. I read a chapter every morning to set the tone for the day. I highly recommend it.
Prepare for 2013, now!
With the changing of the calendar each year, we are given a fresh start to steer our lives, enjoy our time and make a contribution. How will you harness the momentum, the dynamism and the impulses of a fresh year to transform your life?
There is a wave of thought that has a catchy phrase: Thoughts become Things. It is because of author and speaker Mike Dooley that this has become more and more popular. The idea is simple. What you think of, becomes your reality. So, if whatever we think about becomes a reality, then let us choose our thoughts wisely. As the new year approaches, let us set our intentions for our lives. Let us choose our thoughts and set them into motion.
I am a firm believer of taking action. What precedes action is reflection and conscious choices. This is where your time in introspection is necessary and extremely important. Because what you learn during your introspection session is what will help you become clear about what is really important to you and what you want to intend into your life. Next, this clarity will guide your action plan and you taking the action steps.
This is what I recommend:
1. Set aside a block of time for deep introspection. Take a day for this if you have been done this before. If this is your first time, allow yourself the luxury and the gift of three days. This is the time where you go deep into every aspect of your life and explore your values and your desires.
2. Meditate. Begin your introspection with a meditation exercise. Do a 25 minute silent meditation. Or pick a guided meditation to get you into your space. In your meditation, you can ask your subconscious this question: What is it that I want to create and intend in my life? Let the answers come to you. Write, paint, record in anyway you can, the information that you reveal. Do not judge. Just record.
3. Identify your Rocks. Rocks are your most important goals and desires in your life. Take each important area of your life and note down your important rocks. Look at your Physical, Emotional, Mental, Spiritual parts of your life. Look at your roles as a husband/wife, son/daughter (in-law), brother/sister, and so on. Look at your career/business life and your financial life.
4. Select 3 important goals in each of your roles that you want to intend and create in your new year.
5. Set you intentions. Write out in sentences what the completion of these goals feels like. And write these with a sense of gratitude. For example, you want to set an intention for your Emotional Life and you are a single person. Your intention may be something like this: Thank you for sending me a loving partner with whom I share my joy, who is a solid support to me and who makes me laugh.
Remember to write these intention in a positive tone and in present tense. Write it out as if what you asked for has already happened. So in other words, you are thanking the higher power for the manifestation of what you desire as something that has occurred.
Take this opportunity for a fresh start and go for what you desire. Your daily practice and regular introspection will help you in the manifestation of these goals.
And then visualize!!!
Keep a Calm Mind for a Healthy Life
Meditation is essentially a training camp for the mind. It builds our concentration and focus. It also has a beneficial impact on the rest of our body, both emotionally and physically. As the Dalai Lama mentions in this video, keeping a calm mind is very important because we are not influenced so much by "disturbances". If there is an emotionally wrenching situation, we are more capable to sail through it strongly. If you are exposed to a virus or disease, our bodies are more likely to be immune to them or recover from them.
Listen to this short video straight from the Dalai Lama from Dharamsala, India.
“the benefits of a calm mind”
http://youtu.be/OFn0AX4oZsc
20 Things I love about Myself
This practice is similar to our 21 Positive things I notice practice, yet with a more personal note. What you do is write down 20 things you love about yourself, things that you are just so happy about. These can be things you said, or did, or even thought about. It can be 20 things from this morning or in the last 20 years. No restrictions. Just write without stopping, without censoring what emerges. No judging, just writing. No evaluating, just writing.
Let me tell you why this is such an important practice:
We all have an ego-mind and for various reasons, it tends to be critical - sometimes extremely critical. When you hear a voice within you that says why you are not good enough or complains and nags you without pity, this is the voice of the ego. The ego mind is great friend once it is befriended. But like an unattended pet who is going crazy tearing up your living room, the ego mind manifests itself to get attention. It wants to be of service to us, yet we do not know how to use its help. Until the friendship and respect blossoms between us and our ego-mind, the relationship is build on weak legs.
There are ways to befriend the ego. And one way to do it is to start loving, appreciating, adoring and completely accepting ourselves. Yes, this is key! When you write down 20 things you love about yourself, the ego-mind is watching. Just like a pet who sees how you are making your home tear-proof. It is aware that things are changing.
It may come back to you stronger and more aggressive, in the initial days when you are beginning to take active steps, in the form of practices, to change certain things in the environment of your mind. And that's okay. This is the storm which eventually dies down. You might hear very critical voices and self-demeaning messages. Just become aware of it and come back to your practices. Your relationship with the ego is now in the process of transformation.
Once the process of transformation is complete, you will find an absolute great friend in the ego. Just like your loving dog who does tricks to amuse you, picks up the mail from the door or smells out danger for you when you are sleeping, and dives into the water if you are drowning. Afterall, our ego-mind served our ancestors well when we needed the fight/flight response to survive. Now, the ego-mind needs to transcend its role and help us transform and transition into our new consciousness.
So begin with a step. Small step. Build on it, step-by-step. Practice-by-practice. Begin now, write out 20 loving and appreciative things about you and if you dare, about your ego :-)
Music for Meditation
Not only for relaxation, also for our meditation practice, music can play an important role. Along with lighting a candle, burning incense and having fresh flowers in the space of our meditation, beautiful music composed for meditation can be a great way to transition into a meditative mode. Surely, you feel refreshed and rejuvenated after only 15 minutes of this treatment.
I have come across come sources for accessing meditation music. www.soundstrue.com is one really good source. Also take a look at Deepak Chopra's website for music. And also www.thedailyom.com is a good source.
These are some hints besides amazon.com.
Plus, you can get Cristof's meditation music CD coming soon!
Meditation Books I love
As you embark deeper on your journey to meditation, I would like to share with you a couple of books on mediation.
1. "Wherever you go, there you are" by Jon Kabat-Zinn: I recommend this book because it is composed of small chapters that you can read and incorporate the wisdom into your life bit by bit. The chapters are 2-3 pages long only with a practice at the end of the chapter that provokes your thinking. I also love the anecdotes that Kabat-Zinn shares in this book. Take a look and enjoy. Here is also a video review of the book that I did on the book.
2. "Turning the mind into an ally" by Sakyom Mipham: I have a special connection with this book. When I was living in New York, I visited many yoga centers and buddhist centers. One day, a friend of mine, Nancy and I walked into a meditation center in Manhattan. We began talking with one of the volunteers who was helping out the center in the daily running of the place. We chatted a little and I asked him about the book he was holding in this hand. It was this lovely book with a white cover that had an eloquent script for a title. He explained to me how this book was influencing him for being more in tune with his inner world. Then, as we were leaving, he said to me, "Here you go". He was handing me the book. I gave him a surprised, joyful glance. He said that this book belongs to me now. This kind gesture was truly heartwarming and even after so many years, this gift from a "stranger" is a source of warm feelings.
I have read this book with great gratitude and joy. In the reading of this book, I have gained a sense of peace. The author offers an intimate view of meditation and in the way he describes what happens to us when we are meditating, is simply eye-opening. He uses the analogy of a horse to describe our mind, an analogy that clearly brings to me the message that meditation needs to be a practice done daily. Only then can we train our mind to become our ally. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is serious about changing their habits, improving mental health, and refining their concentration and sharpening their sense of focus and clarity.
Visualizing Abundance
I am so excited to share with you that we are releasing a new visualization CD. At this time, we are in the production phase. We have recorded the vocal tracks and added in music by Cristof !! The cello tracks are rich and soothing. I am so happy that he is bringing his sacred cello sounds to the visualizations. It is a real treat.
At this time, we are aiming to release the CD this month itself. But we will know exact dates soon based on when the CD's return from publishing. You will then be able to purchase the CDs here and also download digital versions.
Thank you for all your support and encouragement. Something really delicious is emerging and I know that this CD will serve you in your visualization journeys.
Much Love,
Sophia