Posts Tagged ‘spiritual development’
THE SATVATOVE EXPERIENCE
Satvatove Institute, based out of Alachua, FL, offers groundbreaking personal development and spiritually based transformative communication seminars across the globe. Visit us at www.satvatove.com and find out more about our seminars, life mastery programs, and coach training school.
INTEGRITY AND BOUNDARIES
Excerpt From Relationships That Work: The Power Of Conscious Living
- By David B. Wolf
To assert ourselves means to know ourselves. If I want to assert myself I need to know what I believe, what I feel, what I think and what is truly important for me. Thus, assertiveness is indispensable for a life of spiritual integrity. In examining my core principles, beliefs and aspirations, it is important to distinguish between what I think “should” be my principles, feelings and values, and what my actions actually reveal them to be. Such awareness is an important part of the process of spiritual development and genuine assertive expression.
Even if Robert’s reaction to his wife’s assertive expression is some form of fight or flight, Lisa’s assertiveness has assured that she is in her integrity. She has expressed her truth with courage and sensitivity. Our responsibility is not to change others—though with our assertive expression they may change. Our responsibility is to assert our own truth in a manner that respects the rights of others.
Additionally, with assertiveness Lisa establishes boundaries regarding how she is and is not willing to be treated. It is said that we teach people how to treat us, and with assertive expression we consciously give lessons on what we are and what we are not ready to tolerate. Personal power, including the ability to create satisfying boundaries, comes from effective communication.
Non-judgmental understanding is a valuable commodity. As you become a better listener, you may find that more and more people seek you out. This itself can present a challenge, one in which it is important to know how to establish personal boundaries. Being assertive means that we are able to maintain healthy boundaries that prevent us from becoming jaded, drained and of little use to anyone, without building walls that isolate us from others.
Knowing how to say no is an essential tool in creating boundaries. Influenced by a desire to please people and to be liked, we may lack the assertiveness to say no when we really want to. Let us keep in mind that if we say yes to something, we are implicitly also saying no to other things. For example, if I say yes to working overtime, I may be saying no to family or recreation time. Perhaps I am saying yes to fear of losing my job.
Proficiency in assertive expression keeps us energized and continually inspired to relate, give and contribute. Research among helping professionals has led to the development of a new field of study—compassion fatigue. This phrase refers to feelings of depletion from constantly absorbing the pain of others. Immediately following a traumatic event, such as a natural disaster or a violent attack, a team of helpers, including doctors, counselors, nurses and social workers, is sent to the scene. Nowadays, as a matter of course, a few days later a second team of mental health professionals is dispatched to address the compassion fatigue of the first team. It is understood that after being present for and intensely absorbing such intense grief for several days, many persons will naturally need intervention. This recognizes the importance of having sound boundaries in place when it comes to emotionally charged exchanges, and indicates the value of assertive communication. Preserving boundaries is integral to steadily participating in life and relationships with joy, appreciation and compassion.
SERVICE AS OUR DHARMA
Excerpt From Relationships That Work: The Power Of Conscious Living
- By David B. Wolf
To enrich understanding of our innate spiritual qualities, the principle of dharma is very helpful. Dharma refers to “that which cannot be separated from a thing.” Fire, for example, can be used for different purposes, such as cooking. Cooking however is not the dharma of fire, because fire can exist without cooking. Heat is the dharma of fire. Heat is an intrinsic, inseparable quality of fire.
From observation we can understand that our dharma is to serve. As sugar cannot avoid being sweet, so we too cannot avoid serving. It is our constitutional nature. Where there is a human being, there is service. We may direct our propensity to service in different directions; perhaps we serve our nation, family or company, our belly, an ideology or our species. The way in which we manage our propensity to serve will greatly influence our experiences of life, and of ourselves.
If our inherent tendency to serve is applied only toward bodily functions, the spiritual self is left empty. Being spiritual, our nature is spiritual service. Spiritual service means that our endeavors enhance the spiritual lives of ourselves and others. One important principle of personal growth is to be a source for the spiritual development of others. Service is the natural activity that evokes the joy of the soul.
For our service to be complete and satisfying, it needs to address the spirit—the driver of the car. Spiritual growth is not an exercise in self-absorption; it involves determined dedication to the highest aspirations of others. We can think of our spiritual core as the root of the tree of our being. Just as watering or serving the root automatically nourishes all parts of the tree, attending to our spirit nurtures each dimension of our selves—including the physical, intellectual, emotional and social. Truly being of service to others means relating to them as essentially spiritual in nature.
THE NATURE OF SPIRIT
Excerpt From Relationships That Work: The Power Of Conscious Living
- By David B. Wolf
Great wisdom traditions affirm that our nature reflects the supreme. In Genesis, for example, it is said that we are created in the image of God. What is this supreme nature that we represent? Is it fearful? Confused? Resentful? Weak? Overwhelmed with anxiety? When I think of divine nature, I envision qualities such as power, vitality, fearlessness, contentment and compassion. In accord with the world’s major wisdom traditions, my conviction is that our fundamental nature is spiritual and sacred, inherently balanced, whole and complete. This understanding underlies the principles and process of this book.
The Vedic body of spiritual knowledge that has inspired much of my thought describes the central qualities of our spirit as sat, chit and ananda. This means that we are constitutionally eternal, conscious and blissful. We can understand something about this nature by observing ourselves. For example, whether through anti-lock brakes or thermonuclear devices, much of our energy is employed in eluding death. Why? Because as spiritual beings we are not meant to die. Each of us seeks to expand our consciousness, perhaps through a study of history, philosophy or maybe through the politics and economics of the day. We strive for happiness, knowledge and eternity in so many ways, but often do not find the joy and fulfillment we seek. This indicates that our activities may be misdirected, with respect to spiritual development, and leads us to wonder, “What is my essential activity as a spiritual being?”
