Spirit Matters

Let's get back to the basics. Sometimes the greatest service we can do for anybody is to make sure we are anchored and nourished in our spiritual life. This creates space for Krishna to move in miraculous ways, guiding us to nourish positive motivations and to fan the divine spark of devotion in everyone's hearts.

  We are in a spiritual amnesia, clouded by a veil of forgetfulness due to our binding material activities. Our sadhana is a process of deep reminders of our spiritual essence as pure, eternal spirit souls connected to the Supreme Source. As our false ego gets cracked, our effulgent soul gets uncovered and can shine through.   

No one is ever too lost for transformation to occur. Krishna never gives up on us. When we repeatedly ask ourselves meaningful questions and create space to digest everything we are learning, we can arrive at deep answers and realizations. Our growth widens our lens to see life differently, allowing us to experience it from a place of compassion, connection, empowerment, joy, and gratitude. Once we get a taste of these nourishing qualities, we become inspired and hungry for more!   

The incomplete feeling we experience in the material world can be challenging, leading to a search to find the missing piece. The solution to the God-shaped hole in our hearts isn't material though, but this homesickness we experience can be our compass to finding where our heart truly feels at home. Our hunger for spiritual truth will guide us on a journey where we can reconnect with Divinity and our inherent wholeness.

The mind is such a powerful tool, but if not properly utilized, it will use us, catapulting us into undesirable waters. When we intentionally absorb our mind and senses in ways that positively affect our consciousness, we can more closely connect ourselves to our true nature, separate from the mind and body. At every moment, we have an opportunity to try again and connect spiritually by using our gifts to honor that divine source.   

Life can get really busy, and as a result of that, we may find ourselves caught in its chaotic currents. It's a conscious effort to stay connected and disrupt the pattern of reactive responses. Before we start our activities, we can carve out intentional time to prepare for battle, making sure we have enough nourishment. Krishna is the root of all causes, so when we take the time to water the tree's roots first, everything else will fall into place.   

There can be many events in spiritual life, and as a result, we may experience fear of missing out or place pressure on ourselves to attend as many as possible. However, it's less about the quantity of attendance and more about our quality of consciousness. We don't need to go anywhere to experience Krishna's love. We have everything we need to be spiritually connected right here at this moment because Krishna is in everything and everything is in Krishna.

We all have a magical spark to offer, and the environment we surround ourselves in, both internally and externally, plays a vital role in igniting that spark. By assuming positive intent and seeking to understand where others' expressions may be coming from, we can create space to respond with more love and acceptance.

Clouds of illusion cover us when we fall into the trap of thinking we have to do it all on our own. It's no doubt that the path of spiritual realization is difficult, so we need guides, mentors, and teachers to help direct us. We shouldn't blindly follow any leader and surrender our intelligence. With our intelligence, we can check our sources before approaching a spiritual teacher with our questions and service. We are all connected to that Divine Supreme, and through our spiritual practice and inquires, we can learn to open ourselves up to see this truth in every moment.

Life can be really hard and overwhelming at times, but fortunately, it doesn't have the power to crush our soul. At any moment, we have the ability to write a new story of never being alone and always being loved, sheltered, and guided by Divine hands. Material miseries diminish when we let go of the idea of things belonging to us. Everything ultimately belongs to the Supreme Person and we've been entrusted with gifts for a period of time to use in service beyond ourselves.

Whether things go or don't go our way, growth is possible at any moment when we practice letting go of the things that hold us down. Sacrifice is an opportunity for us to detach from our identification with narratives, feelings, and thoughts that no longer serve us. We can uncover our true identity as eternal spirit souls when we sit in the driver seat of our mind and senses.   

Spirituality is an invitation to lead a thoughtful life. When we get clear on our goal and what we want our life to feel like, we start surrounding ourselves with inspired associations to mold our consciousness. Everything can become spiritual when connected to a spiritual purpose. Happiness and fulfillment are the natural byproducts of us aligning with our eternal purpose.   

Humility does not mean to think less of ourselves but to think of ourselves less. It's joyfully understanding our smallness with an attitude of gratitude, and knowing that we are inherently valuable as a spirit soul connected to the Divine. Nothing external can ever affect our eternal nature. As we use our natural position to practice Bhakti and to realize our lasting identity, Krishna reciprocates with us!

Humility and pridelessness are the prerequisites to knowledge and approaching a spiritual teacher. By deeply applying the simple lessons learned, we can experience profound effects and a transformation of our character. Our understanding will shift our vision, allowing us to let go of misgivings and to see the unity within our diversity.   

We suffer because of the false ego armor that hardens our heart. To combat our negative narratives and chip away the interference of the mind, we can bring Krishna's names into our lives. Krishna is like our Divine Janitor that cleans up our mess so we can get in touch with our soul's frequency. Chanting brings us into the light and dispels the darkness. As we hear about spiritual topics, reflect upon the lessons, and put it into practice, our knowledge can be transformed into realizations.

Direct your compass towards Truth. It may not always be easy, but sometimes it's more beneficial in the long run to face an uncomfortable truth than to stay in a comfortable state of self deception. Higher Love and Truth from our Supreme Best Friend are waiting and available for us at any moment, but it's up to us to turn towards it. It's never too late spiritually! Spiritual growth skyrockets when we take personal responsibility.   

Self-realization is the highest priority in our life, but the greatest obstacle to obtaining it is to think that something else is more important. When we keep the goal in mind, it provides direction and allows us to refocus our energy. The environment we associate with subtly affects our values, so surround yourself with people who are aspiring for love from a higher source and inspires you to do the same. Have faith in the small steps and release the pressure for quick results. Growth occurs overtime through small, consistent steps. Krishna is on the other end!

Plenty of pressure is placed on ourselves pertaining to our job positions, working ourselves to oblivion or stressing too heavily to find a purposeful career. It's an act of trusting God when we take a day off to engage with what truly nourishes us. Everything does not depend on us because we are not the controllers. Instead of making work our purpose, we can bring purpose into our work. If our goal is to develop a heart eager to serve and build our connection with Divinity, we can do that anywhere!   

Everyday can be a sacred pilgrimage if we carry the mood of spiritual consciousness. The Divine Person is benevolent and the cause of everything, and even if we can't yet see how our situations are happening for our betterment, we can trust that it is. Every moment becomes beautiful when we can see it as a gift happening for our spiritual evolution.   

No one, even the spiritually advanced teachers we look up to, is exempt from the shifting seasons or has a clean record of never stumbling on their path. Thankfully, we are beyond our material identities, and the realization of our permanent position as a spirit soul connected to a loving, divine Higher Power gives us a new perspective to tolerate our changing circumstances. As we practice making Krishna our shelter and start simply serving, we come closer to our goal of love.   

The list of responsibilities, set of rules, or prescribed regulations can get so overwhelming sometimes. The immense pressure to get everything done or to follow every guideline can bring us to a place where we should ourselves into oblivion, taking out the joy in our work and bringing in self-judgment. Replacing “I have to” with “I get to” is a mentality shift that affects our approach.  It's never about our perfect performance. It's more about our enthusiastic mood of devotion!

There's a healthy balance of accepting ourselves where we are at and pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zone. While leaning into where our heart is calling us, the check points that allow us to ask, “Do I feel better going through this? Is this moving me in the right direction?” aids us in focusing on the essence, so we don't lose the thread of connection while endeavoring. When we do experience alignment, we will feel it resonate within the cells of our body.   

While zooming out to see the bigger picture of our life, it's important that we don't forget to zoom in, so the moment-to-moment miraculous minutiae isn't missed. With the nature of inevitable changes, rewriting the script in our mind to see what went right allows us to live a grateful life. Our life experience is our responsibility. We don't need to depend on outside circumstances to fall into place to appreciate Higher Love's presence in our life.  

Periodically, we all experience tension within, a lower vibratory baseline that may initially protect us but ultimately affect the way we approach life's circumstances. Our pieces of brokenness are a natural part of being alive, so instead of rejecting them, we can learn to embrace all our parts. With the precious, gold lacquer of love and kindness, the pieces can be mended together, and through regular contact with spiritual wisdom, the gradual buildup of knots in our heart can be untangled.

Seeing the world through the eyes of gratitude is the breeding ground for spiritual life and happiness. When we pause to remember our Transcendental Bestie's gifts that are ever-present, we can be blown away and humbled by the wonderful creation. Even the most routine occurrences can truly be extraordinary! By surrounding ourselves with people who practice this mentality, we can learn the art of gratitude for Divinity's hand in our life.

As big as our problems seem right now, we will outlast them all due to our eternal connection to Divinity. We all have a serving propensity which can be directed to a focused point of shelter. By doing everything centered in pure love, we can simply do our best and leave the rest to our Supreme Best Friend.   

God's graceful hand is guiding us, but with life's current challenges, it can be very difficult to see how all the dots of our present situation link together, looking forward into the future. Even though it doesn't seem probable at times, the dots always connect because the Supreme Person has an amazing and sweet plan for us. We can align more deeply with this divine design when we check in with ourselves to ask, “what went right?” throughout our day.

Even in spiritual communities, there's inevitably going to be some disagreement or conflict that arises when our layers of false ego rub up against each other. Fortunately, taking a step back to regain perspective allows us all to understand our situations in their proper context. It becomes easier to be less caught up in the petty minutiae when we make space to embrace our mutual alignment to Source.   

All the things we have anxiety about are constantly changing. Sometimes it feels like everything is falling apart, not going according to our false ego's plan, but fortunately it's going well in our true ego's way. Nothing can hurt the true self. We can deepen our eternal identity when we relinquish the false ego and embrace our true constitutional nature of being a loving servant of Higher Love.

The fast track to spiritual advancement is to get clear about our motivations. It's less about the actions and more about the mentality and consciousness behind it. When we prioritize serving ourselves over the common center, the journey of our material life becomes arduous due to this conflicting contrast. Our job is to redirect our desire towards reconnecting everything back to source and finding divine purpose in our daily actions.  

We are living with each other's projections based on the stories we've either directly or indirectly agreed to about who we are and the nature of reality. However, it's too small to hold our entire expansive experience. We are not permanent characters in this material movie of ours. It's not our story because it's simply material energy interacting with itself.

This is not our first rodeo. Our soul is eternal, but we've been like kids playing on the material lawn for lifetimes. The greatest gift is that Higher Love, Krishna, is on the porch, calling and ready for us to come back home.  All it takes is our willingness to clean up the dirt, drop the heavy rock, and let God do His work. When we become more aware of our dis-ease from the disease, we can start taking doses of spiritual medicine and illuminate this dark material world.  

Our environment affects our consciousness, and sometimes those outside influences have very narrow ways of defining and valuing various varieties of intelligence. The wonderful thing is that we all have something to contribute in this world! When we embrace the gift of our human nature, we can understand that although we can't be anything we want, we can be everything we are! When we engage ourselves according to our unique nature, there's harmony and alignment.

Material enjoyment is like an intoxicating sugar rush. Qualities like wealth, beauty, and education are not inherently a problem but become one when they invoke a sense of superiority and confuse us of our real value. On the other side of the rainbow of our material pursuits, vices and unwanted habits isn't a true connection. A spiritualist is one who gets tired of the quick fixes and empty calories and instead feast on the real nutrients that offer true, lasting love.

We're all good people made of pure, spiritual energy, but our material encasing fuzzes up the perspective of our eternal nature. Behind our behaviors, there's a deep desire for love, pleasure, and connection, and ultimately unmotivated and uninterrupted devotional service. It's possible that at times though, we may be looking for Krishna in all the wrong places. To release the grip of our Chinese finger trap like situation, we can go inwards to really ask: “Why do I want the things I want?”   

Our greatest fear is rejection and disconnection, and to combat it, we often put effort into raising ourselves to a certain standard to qualify for love.The great news is that we're already qualified. Krishna accepts us exactly as we are! He is love without abandon. Even if we have any gloop, He gobbles it all up. Through Divine Partnership, we can travel the desert of seeing the truth about ourselves and move the mountains in our heart. It simply boils down to us sincerely believing in Krishna's unconditional acceptance.

Spirituality is a process of tilling the soil of our heart through the practice of service for the seed of love to grow into a beautiful vine that bears fruit. While it grows, the unwanted weeds in the heart may strangle our creeper of love, and to clear out the weeds, we can unkink the hose to allow our negative emotions to flow and be acknowledged. When we are rooted in a secure sense of self, we can extend more acceptance to ourselves and others.   

  Relationships sometimes go through seasons of doubt, confusion, and figuring it out, providing an opportunity to check in about purpose, importance, and direction. The key ingredient to meeting the change with respect is acceptance. We all owe it to ourselves to become more self-aware and to spell out what support looks like for us. Regardless of any relationship status, everyone is eternally whole and complete.   

Entering relationships and spiritual life inherently means that we're no longer solely thinking about ourselves. In the committed process, we can practice self-nourishing habits, so our selfless service propensity can be extended to inspire others' transformation of heart. As we build our spiritual bank account, any spiritual investment is eternally credited and to our benefit. There's no loss or diminution when we engage on the journey of allowing our false ego to dissolve and our life to center around Krishna.

The soul is inbuilt for relationships, the training grounds on how to really serve and love. Oftentimes, these relationships are challenging because it can be like a mirror that reflects back all the things we need to face about ourselves to grow. The discomfort felt when the honeymoon phase ends or expectations changes is a great opportunity for our ego to be cracked and purified. When we don't quickly press the eject button and instead stay with it, we begin to see ourselves and others in a whole new light, the way Krishna sees us.

Part of spirituality is accommodating for personalism. There's a supreme and divine person extending love to us, and we can open ourselves up to receive it by taking a vulnerable step to be emotionally available and take down the walls built around our heart. Even if we have shortcomings and doubts, Krishna doesn't see any faults because he goes beyond the material. We can unveil ourselves to the effect of spiritual life by celebrating our experience, fanning the spark, and building new neural pathways.

  Problematic situations in the material world are often aggravated by our additional involvement in it. Our experience becomes similar to the rabbit in the 1800s story who kept getting entangled the more he fought with the tar and turpentine doll used by the fox to entrap him. This cycle of material interaction and karma can be cut with spiritual solutions by walking towards soul-fulfillment, re-writing our narratives, finding the sweet spot for discomfort, and anticipating gratitude. Krishna is inviting us on a two-way street, and we can develop attachment to whatever degree we feel ready for.  

  Many of us experience attachment to maintain what we have and to procure more. Since we can't get rid of attachment, we can be selective with them. Engagement with the world is still necessary, so we can transition from a “me centered” perspective to a vision of service by partnering with a Higher Power and offering our best for another's benefit. Without material attachment, we have nothing to lose. Our worth isn't tied to the results. Our value goes beyond because our soul is indestructible and eternal.  

Spiritual practice is making ourselves the most available to give and receive love. Regardless of our background, nothing disqualifies us. As we journey towards the gateway of love, our heavy baggage is left behind when we pour in positive patterns. We never lose our permanent individuality through the process because it allows us to exchange adoring affection with God who can intimately reciprocate with us all indefinitely.

To transform theoretical knowledge into self-realized knowledge, we can get in the laboratory and put ourselves through the experiment. Repetition creates deep impressions and grooves in the mind. Krishna wants us to experience the most powerful conviction which can only be developed through our own direct perception.  

We are all meant to delightfully dance in the beautiful boxes we're comfortable in. At times though, we may get envious, not feeling like we are enough, comparing the size, shape, and appearance of our box to others. We can replace our envy with appreciation by seeing that the source of all glorious qualities is flowing through each and every one of us. This vision connects us and allows us to celebrate everyone on their personal journey.

Although we are more than our bodies, it's still a big part of who we are because it's a vessel for our soul. When we become more balanced and well situated in our lives, we arrive at a comfortable place to spiritually progress. Taking care of ourselves is a spiritual act. When we show up healthy and strong, we create more opportunities for inspired absorption, so we can hear Krishna's subtle guidance more clearly.

Real humility is not thinking less of ourselves, it's thinking about ourselves less. It's the confidence of knowing that we and everyone else is a beautiful spark of God's splendor. We can shine beautifully bright when we partner up, plugging ourselves in to Krishna who is the generating power source. Krishna reminds us to be ourselves and that we have the potential to emit our light through our bulb's unique shape and wattage.

Real humility is about playing it big and knowing who our real self is, not repressing ourselves into molds according to self-identification. We are here on this planet to evolve, but sometimes the resistance of our false ego inhibits us out of fear of our own power and internal light. When we partner with a power greater than ourselves and allow God to flow through us, we can dance with resistance and overcome it. As we trust our shine and play it big, we dismantle our false ego and give permission to others to do the same.

Happy Gaura Purnima! Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the golden avatar, appeared in this world to demonstrate that a life of Bhakti is practiced through a sensitivity of heart rather than understood through the intellect. As we move past the fragility of our false ego and discover our true position, our judgments and condemnations get replaced with sensitivity and compassion for every living being's journey and circumstance.

We are in an uncomfortable material climate, struggling very hard with the six senses including the mind. Nothing in this world can satisfy us because we were made for another world. When we pause and put into context our position as spirit souls who are sparks of the source of a greater fire, we can engage in loving relationship with transcendence. Love is the highest reality, and Krishna is playing the flute to lure us back with his sweet song.