When The Spirit Moves You

Whenever things turn tough in my life, the only way I can get through it with any semblance of grace is to go within and re-connect more deeply with spiritual practice. Yeah, I love a good party and I’m shameless when it comes to shopping, but bottom line I feel most myself when I’m connected to something greater than myself. Holy paradox, Batman! It’s just the way it is – too much worldly focus and somehow we become less ourselves. By returning to an inner connection we come to know who we really are at heart.

And nothing entertains me more than getting a dose of sage spiritual advice – apart, that is, from a new episode of The Mentalist, featuring the world-class hottie, Mr Simon Baker – but I digress ... the point is that I found a fine collection of wisdom on matters of the spirit lurking about in an Oprah newsletter a while back and it seems timely to write about it today.

Most of all, I love the common thread that runs through these pieces of advice that transcends religion or background. Each of the spiritual leaders is speaking from his or her own point of reference, but the emphasis on stillness, awareness and compassion is shared by all of them.

Eckhart Tolle, author of A New Earth – the book much-touted by Oprah herself – says “To be spiritual is to be in touch, connected with that dimension of depth in yourself ... increasingly you become rooted in the aliveness and the fullness of the present moment. That’s to lead a spiritual life.”

Marianne Williamson, celebrated author of A Return To Love, talks about compassion, saying “The most important thing is that we learn how to forgive each other and that we learn how to love each other. How to live in the spirit of blessing and not blame.” She adds, “The spiritual path doesn’t always mean an easier path, but it means a choice – a choice that we’re making to try our best and be as loving as we can be.”

From a Jewish perspective, Rabbi Irwin Kula notes “You have to practise becoming alert, becoming more conscious, becoming aware. And you have to practise becoming kinder, more compassionate and more caring.” He encapsulates those principles beautifully by adding “You have to develop your head, your heart and your hands.”

The advice of the Christian minister, Rev Ed Bacon, is to use the world to bring you back to the stillness within. He prescribes, “To be in nature, to connect with the arts and to connect with ritual. It is in moments of serenity, stillness, that we experience something much larger, transcendent, more cosmic than we are.”

The final blast of inspiration comes from that ace spiritual dude, Rev Michael Beckwith. For him, spirituality is all about soul. He says, “When one really begins to feel into the spiritual dimension of their beings, they bump into love. They bump into beauty. They bump into compassion.” When that happens, and you become grateful, then, he adds, “You see potential. You see possibilities. Then you become an open vehicle for more inspiration, more wisdom, more guidance coming from the spiritual part of your being.”

I love that thought – bumping into love, bumping into beauty, bumping into compassion – and the idea of becoming an open vehicle for inspiration. I’m going to throw in an added bonus here of a great phrase I picked up from Sandra Anne Taylor’s show on Hay House Radio the other day. She suggests you use this to summon up any quality that you feel is lacking in your life right now or that feels like to much of a leap for you to believe is possible for you. Add anything you like to the end of this mantra: “I open to my spirit’s capacity for ....”. Go for it and call in love, joy, peace, stillness, serenity, abundance, confidence – whatever you need.

This week, it’s a no-brainer. Try getting quiet and bumping into love. Or dial it up with the new ‘I open to my spirit’s capacity’ mantra. Give it a whirl and you could get fabulous results. What are you waiting for?

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