Check-in

Good morning, God, and thanks for this new day that already has started.  I'm just checking in right now--I want to say hello and thank you for all the new opportunities I have this day for new experiences and new feelings and for learning and growing.  I appreciate the fact that I have another new day on this planet to experience all that it has to offer.  I've already lived longer than a vast majority of people who ever have been alive, and I know that's a great privilege.

I would like to ask for your help when I'm dealing with issues that come up in my life.  I would like to be able to deal with all such issues from a spiritual place, from the part of me that knows peace and love.  I don't want to deal with problems from a place of frustration or anger or any other negative feelings.  There have been times in my life when I've actually been pretty good at doing so, but somehow I've come full circle, back to a place where I'm not focused nearly enough on the spirit and far too much on the world and all its problems.  Sometimes I think that all I really need is a reminder, and that the reminder would be enough to help me to focus on the good and the positive in any given situation.

Any hints?

A reply:

What you seem to want is some sort of alarm clock that can be set to go off whenever you start to feel stress.  Something like that would be similar to an aspirin that you take any time you feel a headache--you may be treating the symptoms, but you're not really getting to the heart of any problems.  What you really want is to come from a spiritual place all the time so that you're dealing with everything in a spiritual way.

I would say there are several ways to maintain this focus.  First of all, it's important to make prayer a very important part of your life.  I'm not talking about prayer for show, and I'm not talking about simple repetition of words that someone else has written.  I'm talking about regular check-ins with me and your spirit (which are one and the same thing, by the way), reminders that life is a spiritual adventure and that you can deal with any situation in a spiritual way--and that doing so will be much more effective than being defensive or aggressive or angry or anything else that promises unsatisfying resolutions to your problems.

It's also important to see other people as spirits having a human experience.  They, too, are going through problems, are dealing with issues that change their feelings and behaviors.  Once you see them as spirits, though, on exactly the same level you are, you'll be able to deal with them as such.  And they'll appreciate it, even if not on a conscious level, and you'll then treat each other with more dignity and respect.

Can you wear something to act as a constant reminder?  I'm sure you have something around that you could put on a finger or a wrist or on a shirt.  It should be something that nobody else understands the meaning of, for if they know what it is, then your reminder becomes something you're using to show other people your "spirituality" rather than a symbol that helps you to stay centered.  Kind of like the bandanna you wore around your knee at the summer camp many years ago.  That worked pretty well, didn't it?

Speaking of that, perhaps next time you can write about belonging.  I'd love to hear what you have to say about that topic.