A Good Day, with Brother David Steindl-Rast: A Lesson in Living a Spiritual Life
In the last article, I told you of the 12 spiritual practices to honor the earth.
Not only do these practices help you feel more connected to the earth, they also will help you feel more connected to the spiritual dimension of life. And being more connected to the spiritual dimension of life is one of the 12 steps to living a Low Density Lifestyle.
How do we define spirituality? You can say that spirituality is the divine force that is the pulse of the universe, and this force is unlimited, infinite, undying and eternal. This divine force goes by many names: Universal Spirit, Universal Mind, Universal Consciousness, God, and the Zero Point Field, to name a few.
This force is both outside and within; it is everywhere and in everything. Everyone is connected to it at all times; the fewer blockages and densities a person has in their body, heart and mind, then the closer is that connection.
Every time a person allows himself or herself to relax, be silent and still, the potential to connect to the pulse of the universe is there.
When someone is living a Low Density Lifestyle it is much easier to feel that connection, because the static does not overcome the silence, whereas when living a High Density Lifestyle a person will have a harder time feeling that connection, because the static and noise are always there.
Mother Theresa said, “We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.”
Feeling the connection to the spiritual dimension also means holding love in your heart—loving yourself, those close to you, and all the inhabitants of the planet. Love is the ultimate truth at the heart of the universe, and when you feel love in your heart, you create an open energy circuit that connects you to the sacred flow of the universe.
Rumi said, “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” The barriers you have built within yourself that stop you from feeling love are the very same densities and blockages that stop you from living a Low Density Lifestyle.
It is so important to surrender and let go of the things that hold you back from feeling love in your heart, because when you do, you can come closer to the Universal Force and be FREE.
There are many ways to feel connected to the spiritual dimension; for some it occurs from attending a church, synagogue, temple or mosque, while for others it is more personal—prayer, meditation, silence, walking in the woods, or some other way.
However you find your method of expression, one thing you need to understand is that spirituality is an everyday affair. You are not just spiritual when you go to church, synagogue, temple or mosque; or when you do the more personal way of expressing your spirituality.
Spirituality, and feeling connected to the spiritual dimension, is something that should be realized at all times. For instance, in the Zen tradition, there is no distinction between spiritual and non-spiritual moments. “Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes,” is a Zen saying.
When that understanding is embedded in every cell of your body, your connection to the spiritual dimension becomes second nature, and all your actions will be directed in that way. You are in the flow and every movement you take and every achievement you make is done with effortless effort.
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