Spiritual Guidance Blog

The past few years have been one of significant and magnificent transformation for me.  I have gone from a material- and financially-egocentric lifestyle and existence as a senior management / executive in corporate Canada to that of simplicity and contemplative (somewhat monastic) living as an interfaith minister and caregiver for my partner.

During this type of transformation (an ongoing process) much changes in the world around you.  From a concrete perspective, what you buy, where you shop, what you do with your free time, and even the people you spend time with, all transforms.  The way you look at life also joyously morphs into something quite unexpected.

The concrete things—what you buy, where you shop, etc.—become secondary.  What comes to the fore is how life offers to you an expanded meaning.  It is this expanded meaning that results in realizing you have a choice to ‘see’ life differently.  What once may have been a source of upset, anger, resentment, sadness, or any other host of negative emotions, can now bring about relief, peace, joy and a plethora of other positive emotions.

I recently had coffee with a friend who has maintained a connection with me during the transformation of the past few years.  As this friend waxed poetic about all the tragedies, unrest, disasters and calamities taking place around the world, I offered a different perspective on these same world events—simply suggesting there may be another way of looking at these events.

In a fit of anger, my friend blurted out “Oh come on!  You’re in denial!”  I smiled, gave my friend a hug, and went on to share the following…

First, I acknowledged my friend’s comments by saying “Yes, you may be right.  I may be in denial about all the bad things happening on this planet at this time.”  I went on to suggest that “if I am in denial about what bad things are happening on this planet at this time, then it is possible that those who only see the bad may be in denial about what good is happening on this planet at this time.”  I went on to share that “if there are those who only see the negative and those who only see the positive, and those who lay somewhere in the middle of that continuum, then logic may dictate that it is a choice how we see the world around us.” 

We have the power to choose what we see in any given moment.  Life has taught me that I am much better off seeing the good in bad circumstances; I am better off seeing the blessing and hope in what may be considered disasters or calamities; I am better off seeing seeds of peace in conflict and war; I am better off seeing the Holy instant while staring in the face of a separated soul.

We have been given a gift to make choices about our life.  It has also been said “salvation is given to us as our birthright; we only need to reach out and gratefully accept it.” 

What choices will you make in your life?  How and what will you ‘see’?

In love, gratitude, compassion and forgiveness…

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“If we lose our relationship with nature, we lose inevitably our relationship with humans.”

…Krishnamurti

Last month (May) lived up to its reputation and reminded me why May is my favorite month of the year.  It is the month in Canada that offers the most splendid manifestation of the blooming of nature’s palette of ‘creation’.

Winters can sometimes feel long and arduous.  We can have snowfall well into April and temperatures can be slow to moderate.  So it is with great joy, excitement and anticipation that May brings with it warmer temperatures and the splendour of nature’s creation.

There is something almost surreal, something awe-inspiring, about watching tender shoots peek their heads up through the ground even before all the snow has disappeared.  And as each day warms up and the sun casts its warmth on the earth, more and more of nature’s creations burst forth and bloom.

Gaia offers a painter’s palette of colour, texture, shape, size, and form.  Together, this canvas becomes a work of art for the senses.  More than that, Gaia’s creations extend a healing energy that is so palpable, even a sorrowful heart opens, gladdens and smiles.

I notice this blooming energy affecting everyone is ways that can only be described as ‘love’.  People seem to walk with a lighter step, seem to have a closer connection to nature, and seem to be more compassionate and caring toward one another.  There is demonstration after demonstration of people being more loving to one another.

As I watch the splendour of Gaia’s creations bloom and blossom, and as I watch this life-giving energy be passed among everyone around me, I ponder how these gifts of creation offer abundant healing potential for humanity.  What is it about the ‘event’ of Spring that fills our hearts with joy and lifts our spirits to new heights?  What can we take from this time of year—Spring—and apply to everyday of our life?  What would life be like if the blooming and healing qualities of Spring—nature’s creation—were with us in every moment of every day?

I invite you to ponder the possibilities of what this time of year offers you and how we may extend this blooming and healing to everyone and everything around us.  What would this form of unconditional, loving existence mean for you?  What would it mean for humanity?

Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,

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And so it is with anger: We are never angry at what we think we are; and anger is the ego’s attempt at making someone else feel guilty for our own inner pain and grief.

A dear soul and I recently completed a project that, for some, would be considered stressful.  On one particular day during this several-month-long project, we were both having a trying day and upon my making a comment that was perceived as an attack against my brother, he snapped and yelled at me.  I tried to remain calm, step aside and let the anger pass by, and simply got on with the task at hand.

Later that day I forwarded the following passage to my brother, along with love:

You are still asleep if you blame others, situations or events for your stressful feelings.  Stress comes to tell us there is something we need to change within our self, not in the other. All stress is self-created regardless of the circumstances.  Every time you blame others for what you feel, it means you are asleep to the truth that your thoughts and feelings are your response, therefore your responsibility or ‘response ability’.  The awakened person accepts full responsibility for their thoughts/emotions/attitudes/actions…everywhere and always! Not easy, especially when almost everyone seems to find it easier to point the finger, which means they have learned to believe ‘it’s not me, it’s them’.

Much to my delight, this was my brother’s response:

On the other hand one could say all emotions are self created - sadness, joy, love; but of course they are not. The potential to experience these emotions is always there but lays dormant until awakened through human or non-human (nature) interaction.  That’s the beauty of the human condition.  Blame and stress are a lethal mix but they are not co-joined.  Often, and certainly with me, the anger and blame and subsequent stress I feel are self directed.  I blame no one but myself.  (One can feel stress without anger and anger without stress).  My snapping at you yesterday was  a moment I felt stress, anger and shame...but my anger was at me for creating a situation over which I do not have full control, my haphazard manner in which I do things, and shame for lashing out at you and the people I love most in life.   So while it may seem as though I was pointing my finger at you, my finger was pointed directly at me.

And so it is with anger:

1. We are never angry at what we think we are.
2. Anger is the ego’s attempt at making someone else feel guilty for our own inner pain and grief.

The next time you feel anger welling up inside you, you will do well to remember the lessons above.  If possible, step away from the situation and be still, quiet, for a moment.  Bring yourself back to your heart place—where love rests to be shared with all those around you.

Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,

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“Acceptance, trust, and patience are symbiotically intertwined to create the condition I call faith.” 

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This story was 20+ years in the making. Fortunately, it will not take as long to share.  For some, this will seem like a silly, little story.  However, the lesson embedded in the story is one I hope I have finally learned. And in sharing it with you I hope you can learn it too.

Many years ago, decades ago, I had a rare plant in my life.  For you budding botanists out there, the plant was an Epiphyllum Ackermannii; the common name for this plant is ‘orchid cactus’.  The orchid cactus is an exquisite plant.  Untidy in appearance, the flowers that are produced are extraordinary in every way.  The sheer size of the fluted flower (some 3” x 5” in diameter) is awe-inspiring and the deep, deep red color of the flower is enchanting.  The plant was in my life for a few years, faithfully producing exquisite bloom, after exquisite bloom, each year it was in my life.  When I moved, the plant did not come with me.

Many years passed and I moved into a new home that provided ample natural light for house plants.  As I was going through my antique plant encyclopedia one day, dreaming of all the plants I could adorn my new home with, I came across the orchid cactus.  Remembering how much joy it brought into my life in the past, and thinking I could provide the proper conditions for such a plant to thrive in my new home, I sought to bring an orchid cactus back into my life.

Much to my surprise and disappointment, no floral stores or greenhouses in my city carried this plant.  I searched, and searched, and searched some more, and not a single store or supplier in my city or province carried or bred orchid cactuses.  Not wanting to give up on my dream, I turned to my good friend Mr. Google of the internet-family of search engines and found a botanist in California who bred a hybrid form of orchid cactus.  We exchanged a few emails and I was fascinated to be informed that the international botanist community had stopped breeding the rare and exquisite orchid cactus many years before.  However, this California-based botanist had made her life passion in breeding a new, hybrid-form of orchid cactus for mass enjoyment.  Without hesitation, I had a few cuttings of this hybrid orchid cactus shipped from California, United States, to Ottawa, Canada.

The cuttings arrived a few days later and I immediately planted the cuttings, carefully following the California-botanist instructions for soil, water and other care.  It was late summer and I had no expectations the plant would produce any growth for the remainder of the season.

The following spring arrived, and one day I noticed a flower bud starting to form on one of the cuttings planted the previous summer.  I became very excited!  The thought of being able to see an exquisite orchid cactus flower brought great joy into my life.

As the weeks went on, the trajectory of the sun was shifting fast; too fast in fact.  During the winter and spring months, the orchid cactus was getting full sun.  But now that summer was hinting at its forthcoming presence in our lives, the sun rose so high in the sky, so quickly, that the sun no longer was shining directly on the orchid cactus.  And then one day I noticed the flower bud that had been growing, and growing, and growing, started to change color (not good!) and starting to shrivel up (not good!).

It was now late April and my partner suggested I place the orchid cactus outside in the front garden where it would get full sun all day.  While this seemed like a reasonable suggestion, I balked at the idea of placing this precious (to me) plant outside in the elements.  I feared the temperatures (it was still quite cool at night) would stunt the plants growth, or that nature’s creatures would take up residence in the cactus and leave it battered and broken.  So I resisted the idea, I held on.

Each passing day saw the flower bud shrivel more and more.  I was saddened.  My dream of seeing this extraordinary flower in full bloom was fading with every day.  Again, my partner suggested I place the plant outside in the front garden.  Again, I resisted.  I held on.

Finally, I had nothing to hold on to.  The bud shrivelled up and fell off the stalk.  Not to sound too dramatic, but it was a day of mourning for me.

My partner suggested again, “Put the plant in the front garden.  Maybe other blooms will sprout.”  Knowing that blooming plants like orchid cactus have cycles of blooming each year (and typically only once per year), I realized that my opportunity to see my orchid cactus in full bloom for this year had passed.  With the acceptance of this in mind, I ‘let go’ and placed the plant outside in the front garden.

As I placed the orchid cactus in its new home for the summer months, I thanked the plant for gifting me with the joy and excitement over seeing this rare species of plant sprout and flower.  As each day passed, and I walked by the orchid cactus in the garden, I gave it thanks for all the joy it brought into my life.

A couple of weeks had passed since I placed the orchid cactus in the front garden and one day I noticed a little growth coming out from the side of one of the stalks of the plant.  I looked closely at the growth and to my delight I realized it was a new bloom sprouting!  As I examined the plant more closely, I counted a total of 8 new blooms sprouting!  And that turned into 12 new blooms a couple of days later.  I was so excited at this turn of events.  And then it dawned on me…

Look at what I gained by letting go!  I had held on, and held on, to the idea of placing the orchid cactus outside in the front garden.  I held on so long that the very thing I wanted to happen, the flower to bloom, I prevented from doing so.  When I finally let go, a whole new world of possibilities opened up for me.

I hope to carry this lesson with me as I move forward in life.  How about you?

Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,

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