Do you see yourself in the mirror?
Mostly you see the shape of your face, body, hair and nose. Then your critical mind appears and you see the spots, the tiny unwanted hair or in my case the wrinkles…
But beyond your body and mind, if you look closer in the mirror into your own eyes, you’ll see your soul, your inner child, your spirit or the essence of your being. This is your true self that lives beneath many layers of barriers.
Why is spiritual awareness important for meditation?
Meditation is the practice of using your body (senses) and calming your thoughts in order to get to your inner being. It’s an inward journey. But before that, we’ll need to cross some barriers.
The first one is the physical, or sensory, awareness. The second step is mental awareness, and the third step is spiritual awareness which works on training our intuition or listening to our heart. Intuition plays a major role with the state of our being and who we are or end up to be.
What is the challenge?
Our soul, intuition or heart works as a compass. It shows us the direction - the right and the wrong, the good and the bad, the important one and not so important. With this capability, we should never be confused or lost, but the problem is that we are so busy and distracted that we don’t have time to listen to our heart’s voice. OR, we don’t have the confidence to act upon what we hear.
I know trusting your intuition is not as easy, but you can train yourself. The following seven spiritual awareness activities are examples of how you do. The two purposes with these spiritual awareness exercises:
- Ask yourself a clear and specific question
- Trust your intuition when you hear the answer.
1st activity:
Ask your heart? Which one when you have choices? Don’t wait more than a few seconds to decide because then your mind will come on to play. If your mind joins the conversation, the game is over.
2nd activity:
Next time when you are buying something, anything, ask your heart, do you want this? Why am I buying this? What if I don’t buy it? Make sure that your answer does not include logic that your mind gives you. If your heart says yes you need it, then buy the item.
3rd activity:
The next time you are going to a gathering, a family function, or meeting a specific person, ask your heart, “do you really want to spend your time this way?” Listen to your heart…. If you hear a voice telling you that you don’t want to go or you don’t want to meet that person, maybe it’s time to listen to that voice.
4th activity:
When you are making a decision, any decision, ask your heart, “how do you feel about it?” What’s the hunch? Will it be a yes or no? Test your intuition with smaller decisions until you are comfortable to trust your gut with larger ones.
5th activity:
Next time when you have an argument with anyone, stop yourself from insisting on winning the argument. Part of a spiritual journey is that there’s truth to everyone’s point of view. Simply, give the other person the benefit of the doubt. Finish the argument and make the present moment more pleasant.
6th activity:
At some point when you are asking yourself what’s my purpose? What should or could I do with my life? Ask your heart over and over without letting your mind interfere. If and when your mind joins the conversation, stop and start over at some other time. Your heart knows the answer very clearly. It’s a little hard to grasp it if you have an overactive mind, or it’s hard to act on it if you don’t trust your intuition yet.
7th activity:
Detach yourself from something you love. Give away your valued possession. Go away from people and places that you love. Detachment is an important part of spiritual journey that will help you become more self reliant, confident and connected to the abundance of the universe.
What's The Next Step?
The road is ahead and the path is clear. This is the last step of the awareness activities, but the journey towards inner peace and self master has just begun. There's a lot more in the store for you.
Now, I'd like to know:
What was the situation when you trusted your heart?
Aloha!
