What is spirituality?

 

photo: Dan Tataru Dreamstime 

Spirituality is not a religion, belief system, doctrine, dogma or ritual. 
Spirituality is knowing who you really are as your own personal reality.
And then living and integrating that true and higher reality into every present moment of this life journey.
- P Smith

Sunday is my only day of complete rest and I value and guard it religiously, as it is the only day of the week that I can simply allow myself to just 'be'. Not to be dictated by the number on the clock but to just flow with the tide of the day. In this fast-paced age of immediacy and material bombardment, this practice is sacred to my body and soul, in addition to my daily yoga and meditation. This one particular Sunday morning as I was lying on the grass under my jacaranda tree, blissful after my yoga and meditation, I remembered being told about a certain Tibetan Buddhist temple near my home. "The meeting starts at 10am", I was told. Having always had a deep spiritual connection with the Himalayas I naturally had a strong desire to go and check out this temple. But this morning the tide did not feel like it was quite flowing that way. As I turned my head while lying on the warm grass, a 'willy wagtail' bird next to me was busily foraging for bugs and worms. Turned my head the other way, and my dog Charlie was snoring in utter contentment. I observed the detailed velvety like patterns etched on his moist black nose that moves gently with each breath. Turned my head again, looked up and I beheld the vast clear blue skies with soft billowy clouds, soft jacaranda leaves on the tree dancing in the breeze, and the bees and insects circling above me full of buzz and life. I was left with nothing but awe. The message was profoundly clear to me in the midst of such joy and peace that morning, "Ha! Why this is my temple! Nature and this connection for today is my temple, thank you." I still got myself to the Tibetan Buddhist temple one day, just not that morning.

What is spirituality and why do we need a spiritual practice? For some, this means the ritual of going to a particular place of worship or gathering, and adopting or practicing particular rituals and beliefs. This is noble, helpful and gives us an identity, a sense of well being and belonging. Belief systems evolved through the times with mankind's creativity and adaptation. However the true essence beneath and before all the beliefs, rituals, teachings and dogmas is simple, universal, pure and unclouded. So keep a check on your spiritual practice to make sure you always stay true to the elements of your core and essence.
True spirituality anchors in the core of your higher reality. It does not judge, blame, differentiate, destroy or place yourself above any other. It simply exudes peace and love.


Your pure and true essence is

1. unconditional love - hence your true reality inevitably flows and translates into unity, oneness connectedness, respect and compassion. With that comes sharing, giving and loving.
2. infinite and unbounded - hence it transmutes into joy, freedom and creativity.
3. silent, still, undefinable - hence you naturally connect and are at peace when you simply just be.
4. whole, no beginning and no end - hence you do not live with fear or lack, but with trust and faith.

A spiritual practice is part of your spirituality, it is sacred for it maintains your connection to your core being, your true reality. It feeds your soul and nourish your spirit, so you stay anchored in the sea of this ever changing life. Without your anchor, you easily get swept here, there and everywhere, sometimes you may drown.
So what is your spiritual practice? Perhaps it is meditating or daily prayers? Or perhaps it is spending time in nature, creating a piece of art, playing and creating music, giving time and help to the needy unconditionally.
Spiritual practice is also being fully present in the moment. For in being totally and fully here and now in mind, body and soul - you are essence itself. And life manifests all around and through you in all magical wonders.

Have an awesome week !

Blessings and Light,
Patsie
Connect with me on www.facebook.com/AwakenOurSpiritWithin

Being present

 

                                                  (Ilustrated by Elaine Smith)

"The present is the only reality. Everything past or future resides only in the head. The choices we make in this present moment determine our future and can heal the past. We miss out so much on the beauty and joy in life if we are not here and now, but lost in thoughts. If we are fully in the present, here right this very moment, pure, fresh, and untainted, that is us in our spirit essence. the choice is ours whether to live as our pure, infinite spirit or in the limited mind." (Excerpt from Awaken Our Spirit Within - Chapter 8 The Human Mind)

"When there is silence, one finds the anchor of the universe within oneself." - Lao Tzu

Hi all,

I share a comfortable home with three beautiful young adult children and five enlightened beings - our dog Charlie, tortoise Gordon, budgies Mr Frodo and Yuki, and Siamese fighting fish Bruce!

Charlie's days consist of waking up at the crack of dawn, a series of yoga stretches, greeting me with joy and then all full of spark ready for his walk. On his walk he sniffs every stretch of lawn, pavement and post, pees at almost every tree, empties his bowels, and says hello to his doggie pals. He returns to the same type of breakfast dish everyday, then lie and chill in the sun all day punctuated by fiery bursts of barking from one end of the garden to the other when another human or dog walks past his territory. Totally content until he pipes up again late afternoon ready for his walk. Same sniffing routine (you see, Charlie's a beagle) then back for dinner, more guarding and barking, and then snuggle up in his soft bed. 

Gordon walks around the whole garden and devours his piles of vegetables and lettuce in summer. Gordon is blind in one eye so when he eats his lettuce it takes him about 5 attempts with his open jaw before he finally scores a mouthful. But he spends all day simply doing that, then back into his shell when he's had enough, and out again for more food  and a wander after. In winter he simply refuses to poke his head out of his shell at all, but half buries himself under my oregano bush in complete hibernation.

Mr Frodo and Yuki love and can't bear to be apart from each other. They spend all day eating, drinking, chirping and grooming each other. Then snuggle their heads into their wings for their sleep before coming out of their cages for their fly-around. And so they keep going.

Bruce is a beautiful red fighting fish with enormous frilly fins. He has his huge fish bowl on my kitchen bench all to himself' If he was to share bowl space with another fish, there would be a mega fight. Bruce too swims, eats, parades his fins, sleeps tucked in the fronds. And so he keeps going.

Animals are simply in-the-moment. They eat to survive, sleep and rest to rejuvenate, and behave instinctively for protection and security. If you watch them for awhile you will find that they remind us that this is our natural state. Everything else is just extras we have chosen to pile on and accumulate, including our complex minds. When an animal eats, they just eat, not eat while thinking "where is my food going to come from tomorrow?" "will I find a right girlfriend/boyfriend?" "who's going to take care of me when I'm old" "will I get fat?" "how much money do I have left in the bank?" At least, they don't look like they have these thoughts. In fact, they don't look like they're thinking at all. Simply being and doing. And what pure joy and contentment in just simply being and doing.

We are privileged as humans to have evolved to more than just instinctual beings (although some may contest to this statement). We have the gift of more developed and complex analytical, problem-solving and creative intelligence. But these are our tools for expanding and progressing our lives. We are the ones in charge of our tools and we should choose when to use them and when to put them aside to rest, to allow our natural state to simply be. For our natural state is the silence, anchor and ground that allows us to thrive.

Remember everyday, allow yourself some time to just Be!

Love & light to all,
Patsie
www.patsiesmith.com
 PS: Just started a Facebook book page, please feel free to connect with me on facebook.com/AwakenOurSpiritWithin   will post writings, quotes, offers, info etc.

Integrative Health

"Good health is all about balance. It is about the integration of many levels of our being, not just the physical. But the three most obvious and significant are the mind, body and spirit. The human body is not just flesh and bones but also a brain and mind that control the body. The spirit is the living essence or life force in the body. Attending to one aspects without the others is limiting and creates instability. When we awaken we naturally flow toward aligning the mind and body with our living spirit." (Excerpt from Awaken Our Spirit Within, Chapter 13 Health)

As a therapist in the holistic health and healing industry for the past 12 years, part of my meditation every morning continues to include the mantra to center in "..May I hold myself with compassion, may I meet the ignorance and suffering of others with compassion."

As I treat clients from all walks of life. I witness the pain, suffering and amassable fear that most humans choose to be engulfed in. In the area of health, especially in the affluent west, we are experiencing increases in cases of chronic illnesses and imbalances of mind and body. Could this be because the third, or perhaps more rightly, first element in the complete picture is absent? Where is the spirit? Do we know who we are? Do we know and are we connected to the core of our true self?

Perhaps we ourselves or people we know, friends and family are living with cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, migraines, hormonal disorders, auto-immune conditions, allergies, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, addictions, and the list goes on. Meanwhile the massive pharmaceuticals and medical industries are ready and available to cater for the sick and diseased. Illnesses and diseases are big business. And with the advent of technology, every minute imperfection or disorder is pinpointed into a diagnosis. Then when one is 'diagnosed' with something it is often misperceived as the infliction of an unjust attack or a random curse, the deliberate intention of life to destroy us, resulting in immense fear and suffering as a powerless victim.

Let's step way out and look at the big picture. If we are awakened and know who we truly are, then the big perspective is clear: imbalance is an inevitable possibility in this physical world that we humans have consciously and unconsciously driven to disruption. These chronic dysfunctions, illnesses and diseases are simply symptoms and products of our choices thus far in our lives and our world. The truth is, the depletion in the quality of your foods, environment and lifestyle is playing havoc with your internal bodies. The fast paced materialism and consumerism we allow ourselves to get caught up in push our bodies and minds toward endless striving, competing, exploiting and self-centeredness. So it is not a random curse or an unjust attack by life, nature or God. It is the karmic cycle of life. The choices we make in what we allow into our lives, bodies and mind, and what we project out to others and the environment, is simply what returns. The higher purpose of our short or long journey in this particular life is also part of the big picture. The lessons we obtain from healing on all levels of our being - mental, emotional and physical will awaken, evolve and mature our spirit. That is our true purpose. As painful as the reality is, we are actually not here to be immortal. Each journey of life contains experiences and roles we enjoy and play toward our higher purpose.

So with the big picture in mind, and staying aligned with our source and true being, we are conscious and aware. We make well informed, wise and conscious choices for the well being of ourselves, others, our environment and our future. We choose wholesome organic foods and pure water for our bodies, moderate exercise to expand our lungs, oxygenate blood and pump our lymph.We ensure adequate sleep and rest for repair and rejuvenation, lots of sunshine and fresh air for energy and Vit D. We choose positive and empowering thoughts for creating joy and peace for self and others. We do not suppress but allow ourselves to feel all range of human emotions, then express and release them safely. We choose to heal from painful past and let go and forgive. We make time for connecting with others - sharing, hugging, laughing, helping, giving. We follow our passions and enjoy things that make us smile on the inside - go dancing, singing, running, painting, camping, etc. We can't help but not suffer, we enjoy every present moment to the full and are at peace with whatever turbulence that arises for us to learn and change; for we choose to anchor in what is real and unshakeable, our true source, our infinite being.

"Within you is the infinite and the infinite is contained in this present moment." -Patsie Smith

Thank you for connecting.
With Love and Light,
Patsie
www.patsiesmith.com
www.goodreads.com

What & Where is Life Energy?

 "The primordial creative energy affects the whole person and not just a mere fragment - it is creation uncontaminated by thought; the creative tide in us that flows outward."
 - martial arts legend Bruce Lee



In this current electronic age it would be a rarity for one not to posses or depend on, a computer or some kind of technological product. As with any machine that serves us, we naturally take care and maintain it. Our laptop, i pad, i phone, mobile phone are only 'alive' with power surging through them when plugged into a power source or after being charged up from a power source.Then we install all sorts of programs to enable us to perform multitude of functions, accomplish tasks and connect far and wide. We have the ability and power to make choices on what to create, store and delete.

Likewise, we human beings are not too different in many regards. This body is our physical capsule in this journey of life. The life force, living energy, chi, prana is what propels that capsule to being alive. But the living human capsule is not just an empty shell. With life force surging through each organ, vein and cell, a whole myriad of compounding systems of energy continues into microscopic, atomic and subatomic levels. The living universe within us is as infinite as the living universe out there beyond us. We are energy and all around us everything alive and living is energy.

Like a computer we need to care, sustain and maintain our living machine, for while this living energy is contained in a limited human capsule, it is subjected to excess (power surge), depletion, malfunction and total break down.We need to recharge by plugging into our power source. What is our power source?

Nature exudes life. Life energy surrounds us in the pure air, water, sun, trees, plants, animal, other living beings. Getting out there and inhaling fresh air and sunshine into our bodies, soaking them in through our senses, consuming wholesome pure foods, sharing and receiving love and laughter; all recharge and revitalize our life force. Regular moderate physical activities and energy arts like yoga, taichi, qigong and martial arts aid the flow of our life energy. Taking time to slow down, maintaining our own spiritual or peaceful practices where we directly plug into our source of being is essential for replenishing. This then naturally allows clarity and resourcefulness to arise effortlessly. As with a computer, continuous usage without recharging will simply deplete until it goes flat. Likewise, we can choose to discard and delete unwanted files of memories, thought patterns and emotional wounds that don't serve us but pollute our system. Cleaning out old unwanted files will allow more space for new, and improve the overall efficiency of our system.

The gift of living energy as a human being enables us to experience, enjoy, create and connect. Let us be wise and exercise our choices in maintaining that balance viz that connection to our source. Stay in tuned with the flow and balance. For unlike a computer, this journey of life in this particular human machine cannot be thrown out and replaced with a newer model every time we run it to the ground.

Love & Light to all,
Patsie :-)
www.patsiesmith.com