Thursday, April 23, 2009

A small lesson


One day, I made a small "vision board". A "vision board" is a slab of cardboard or paper containing all of one's hopes and dreams, needing only for one to focus on it to make it's contents appear(per "The Secret"). I made it small so that I could look at it discreetly at work. I headed off to my place of employment, ready to make headway on my "visions".
I went about my day with glee, often pulling out my little "vision" board. Sometimes, I would sneak peeks at it while I was going about the routine of my daily duties. I almost lost track of time staring at that little piece of "visions" I had so ingeniously constructed. I left work really feeling like I had somehow made headway on all that I wanted.
The next day, I returned to work to be immediately confronted with a costly mistake I'd made that cost the representative involved and the company a considerable chunk of money. My work area was out of sorts and unorganized. To top that off, when I reached into my pocket to seek some solace in my "visions", I found that it was not in my back pocket, as it had been last time I checked (which was right before I got off the train to come to work). It seemed that my hopes and dreams had been my downfall for that day, and it had rippled into the next also.
I thought about that situation later and saw the literal lesson I had received: Don't let "visions" replace the present moment. It is only through the present moment that things take place. There was a time and a place for me to focus on my "vision board", and I did not pick my spots wisely. The fault rested with me, not my dreams.
I figure there's a time to visualize, and a time to work. Do one or the other at the wrong time and things don't work out (especially at work).

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

The Spirit is a Muscle


I was working out the other day when a thought crossed my mind. I started thinking about people who may appear limited physically, but somehow are able to "move mountains". My wife, for example, does not work out regularly, but her job requires her to lift heavy boxes, often. She says that she is able to accomplish her tasks by "using her heart". Where does that strength come from? I don't think she means her physical heart, but her spiritual one.
I also asked a question of myself: Where does the strength come from to believe in, well, anything? We all recognize that it requires a certain "push" to display faith. These questions also compelled me to ask questions about the inverse of faith. What is lacking in a person who appears to have everything but believes in nothing? The key factor in all of these questions is what we call "spirit". It is, essentially, an "invisible muscle" that we can or cannot exercise every day. Practicing Yoga can help you get a glimpse of this "muscle", but most of its work goes on behind the scenes, in the formless realm.
Much like our physical muscles, all of us use our "spiritual muscles" at least a little every day. The question usually lies in what we use them on. Some things enhance our spirits, some things do not. I am speaking mostly on perspective, because any situation, whether judged to be good or bad, can be used for the betterment of our inner selves. This means that one can constantly be strengthening their spirit if they so choose.
I cannot say exactly what spirit feels like, it differs from person to person. I can say that it usually does not withdraw energy, it deposits it. Follow your heart and it will lead you where you need to be. The first step is recognizing that you have a spirit in the first place.