10 Keys to Spiritual Way of Life for Non-Religious People
(1)Being on Your Path
This is most important. Even when you have a very good job or a happy family that other people envy, you might not be fully satisfied or happy if you are not on your path. You are the only one who would know what your path is. Your path is what your soul (or your higher self, inner voice, true self, or whatever fits in your value system) wants. Each person's soul has different purposes or wishes. These purposes or wishes might change depending on the person's stage of life. The best way to find your path is to follow your heart. If you keep doing something you feel passionate about or what you really enjoy, you will start seeing your path.
Your career might not be your path. It could be volunteer work, raising a difficult child, creating something beautiful, etc. It's usually something that brings healing, growth, beauty, love, peace, joy, light, happiness, hope, etc. to yourself and/or others at the end. Your path could be painful at some point, but painful experiences often bring a tremendous amount of growth and wisdom to us. Some souls prefer challenging experiences in order to grow. We should not have any judgment towards other people who seem to suffer because of their choices, disabilities, serious illness, addiction, etc. They might be right on their paths. Some people might think that selfless services to others (sacrificing themselves and helping less fortunate people) should be everyone's path, but again, everyone's path is different.
Your career might not be your path. It could be volunteer work, raising a difficult child, creating something beautiful, etc. It's usually something that brings healing, growth, beauty, love, peace, joy, light, happiness, hope, etc. to yourself and/or others at the end. Your path could be painful at some point, but painful experiences often bring a tremendous amount of growth and wisdom to us. Some souls prefer challenging experiences in order to grow. We should not have any judgment towards other people who seem to suffer because of their choices, disabilities, serious illness, addiction, etc. They might be right on their paths. Some people might think that selfless services to others (sacrificing themselves and helping less fortunate people) should be everyone's path, but again, everyone's path is different.
(2) Inner Peace & Spiritual Growth
When you suffer from negative emotions such as anger, depression, fear, guilt, hatred, jealousy, etc., you cannot be peaceful. Spiritual growth happens when you learn about yourself and heal yourself. We suffer from these negative emotions when we feel we are not good enough or unworthy. In other words, we suffer when we do not love ourselves. Nobody can make you love yourself. You are the only one who can work on it. There are many different ways to heal yourself such as psychotherapy, EMDR, NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), energy healing, hypnotherapy, EFT, meditation, etc. Personally, I tried many different ways to work on myself and the best way for me to learn how to love myself was Vipassana meditation. (Self-love doesn't happen over night...)
In a Vipassana 10-day meditation retreat, you would keep meditating for 10 hours a day for 10 days in complete silence. It is extremely intense and heals you on a spiritual level. Here is the link to Vipassana Meditation Centers: http://www.dhamma.org (There are meditation centers all over the world.) I have done 10-day courses 4 times, 3-day courses 5 times, and numerous 1-day courses. I have also been meditating everyday for over 16 years. This meditation practice completely changed me. I'm 100 times more peaceful and happier now. This meditation technique is based on Buddhist teachings, but this is not a religious organization. People with many different religious backgrounds or even atheists participate in this 10-day course. There is no fee to attend their courses. They only accept donations.
NLP has been also very effective for me to release my negative emotions, limiting beliefs, and limiting decisions which were blocking me from achieving my goals.
In a Vipassana 10-day meditation retreat, you would keep meditating for 10 hours a day for 10 days in complete silence. It is extremely intense and heals you on a spiritual level. Here is the link to Vipassana Meditation Centers: http://www.dhamma.org (There are meditation centers all over the world.) I have done 10-day courses 4 times, 3-day courses 5 times, and numerous 1-day courses. I have also been meditating everyday for over 16 years. This meditation practice completely changed me. I'm 100 times more peaceful and happier now. This meditation technique is based on Buddhist teachings, but this is not a religious organization. People with many different religious backgrounds or even atheists participate in this 10-day course. There is no fee to attend their courses. They only accept donations.
NLP has been also very effective for me to release my negative emotions, limiting beliefs, and limiting decisions which were blocking me from achieving my goals.
(3)Healthy Diet
It is very important that we are careful about our diet because how & what we eat is deeply connected to our self-love which leads us to spiritual growth. "We are what we eat." Before I started meditating, my diet was not so great. As I started loving myself more, I also started taking care of my physical self more. Many people advocate for specific diets such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, macrobiotic, raw food, etc., but each person's body is different. You need to listen to your body to find out what kind of diet is the best one for you. I am not sure if being vegetarian is good for everyone. Some people might need meat or seafood for some reasons. You might want to think about what kind of food your ancestors were eating because it is stored in your DNA. I have gone through different kinds of diet for the past several years. Now I am 98% vegan & 50% raw foodist (I eat eggs sometimes...), but I never force myself to have a specific diet. After meditating for a few years, I gradually lost my appetite for meat. After I stopped eating meat, I was still eating seafood for 6-7 years. Then I gradually lost my appetite for seafood and eggs. I was 100% vegan for a while. Somehow, my appetite for eggs came back later, so I started eating them again. Do not be judgmental about other people's diet. When you become extremely rigid and dogmatic about a certain diet, you might end up generating negative energy towards others who do not share the same kind of diet or possibly ruin your health. Some people seem to think that eating meat is not spiritual or inhumane. From my perspective, plants are also alive and equally important. As long as we have physical bodies, we have to rely on other living things in order to survive. We have to be more humble about this fact.
I get my blood work done once a year to check if I am doing O.K. in terms of nutrition. I found out that I was vitamin D insufficient (because we don't get much sun shine in this area....) in 2011, so I started taking vitamin D3 supplements. Otherwise, the nutrition level in my blood is perfect. I maintain a perfect weight for myself as well. The perfect weight is also different depending on the person. You just need to feel healthy and comfortable about your weight. You might want to be careful about chemicals in foods as well. Again, after meditating for a few years, my body became very sensitive to chemicals. When I drank a cup of soda in 2004 for the first time in a few years, I felt like I was drinking a cup of detergent and couldn't finish it. I mostly eat organic food now, but I'm not obsessive-compulsive about it. I avoid GMO foods as much as I could. If you eat meat and seafood, you might want to be careful about mercury in seafood and all kinds of chemicals in meat sold at regular supermarkets. Also, think about what kind of environment the animal grew up in, how it was killed, and who appreciated/honored it. If the animal grew up in a horrible environment and was killed inhumanely without any honor or appreciation, it might carry some negative energy such as fear and unhappiness. The source of meat and seafood is important. Another important thing is that you enjoy the food you eat because it gives you joy and happiness. I started eating raw food just because it tastes delicious. (Please read the "Raw Food" section.) I avoid excessive caffeine and sweets, but I still enjoy my own raw, organic chocolates because I love their flavor! I love other raw desserts, too. (Of course, in moderation...)
I’d like to talk a little bit about alcohol and drugs use. I think everyone is aware that smoking cigarettes and using hard core street drugs are not good for their health, so I will not discuss these here. Personally, I do not drink any alcohol and do not use any substances including nicotine and marijuana. I used to drink alcohol for social reasons, but I never liked its smell and taste. I did not have much tolerance for alcohol anyway due to genetic factors. I consciously stopped drinking after I made a stupid mistake just because I was drunk. I realized that alcohol definitely impaired my judgment and chose to not live like that. You cannot mediate when you are drunk. The same thing would happen when you use marijuana. Some people seem to think that they can get “spiritual” experiences when they use hallucinogenic substances. In some cultures, people use hallucinogenic substances for spiritual purposes, but they use in a disciplined way under the supervision of a shaman, a medicine man, etc. There is nothing spiritual about recreational drug use or being drunk. When you have enough clarity in your mind and self-discipline, you do not need to rely on anything external to connect with the divine. If you use alcohol or marijuana to cope with painful emotions, you are actually moving away from spirituality. Please go back to (2)Inner Peace & Spiritual Growth and work on yourself. Some studies indicate that there might be some health benefits of alcohol when it's used in moderation, especially red wine. It would be your choice.
I get my blood work done once a year to check if I am doing O.K. in terms of nutrition. I found out that I was vitamin D insufficient (because we don't get much sun shine in this area....) in 2011, so I started taking vitamin D3 supplements. Otherwise, the nutrition level in my blood is perfect. I maintain a perfect weight for myself as well. The perfect weight is also different depending on the person. You just need to feel healthy and comfortable about your weight. You might want to be careful about chemicals in foods as well. Again, after meditating for a few years, my body became very sensitive to chemicals. When I drank a cup of soda in 2004 for the first time in a few years, I felt like I was drinking a cup of detergent and couldn't finish it. I mostly eat organic food now, but I'm not obsessive-compulsive about it. I avoid GMO foods as much as I could. If you eat meat and seafood, you might want to be careful about mercury in seafood and all kinds of chemicals in meat sold at regular supermarkets. Also, think about what kind of environment the animal grew up in, how it was killed, and who appreciated/honored it. If the animal grew up in a horrible environment and was killed inhumanely without any honor or appreciation, it might carry some negative energy such as fear and unhappiness. The source of meat and seafood is important. Another important thing is that you enjoy the food you eat because it gives you joy and happiness. I started eating raw food just because it tastes delicious. (Please read the "Raw Food" section.) I avoid excessive caffeine and sweets, but I still enjoy my own raw, organic chocolates because I love their flavor! I love other raw desserts, too. (Of course, in moderation...)
I’d like to talk a little bit about alcohol and drugs use. I think everyone is aware that smoking cigarettes and using hard core street drugs are not good for their health, so I will not discuss these here. Personally, I do not drink any alcohol and do not use any substances including nicotine and marijuana. I used to drink alcohol for social reasons, but I never liked its smell and taste. I did not have much tolerance for alcohol anyway due to genetic factors. I consciously stopped drinking after I made a stupid mistake just because I was drunk. I realized that alcohol definitely impaired my judgment and chose to not live like that. You cannot mediate when you are drunk. The same thing would happen when you use marijuana. Some people seem to think that they can get “spiritual” experiences when they use hallucinogenic substances. In some cultures, people use hallucinogenic substances for spiritual purposes, but they use in a disciplined way under the supervision of a shaman, a medicine man, etc. There is nothing spiritual about recreational drug use or being drunk. When you have enough clarity in your mind and self-discipline, you do not need to rely on anything external to connect with the divine. If you use alcohol or marijuana to cope with painful emotions, you are actually moving away from spirituality. Please go back to (2)Inner Peace & Spiritual Growth and work on yourself. Some studies indicate that there might be some health benefits of alcohol when it's used in moderation, especially red wine. It would be your choice.
(4)Exercise/Sun Shine
I am not an expert in exercising and outdoor activities, but I take care of my physical body quite well and love nature. Again, taking care of our physical self is a form of self love. I work out at a gym a few times a week, do yoga once or twice a week, and hike occasionally. Being in nature also helps us connect with the mother earth and nature spirits.
I do yoga as a form of exercise, not as a spiritual practice. However, whenever I do yoga, my body starts vibrating. I can feel my body is happy. I do yoga every weekend and feel great and peaceful afterward. Yoga is considered a form of "moving meditation," so it also cultivates your awareness.
Also, it is very important to be outside and enjoy the sunshine. I did not think about the seriousness of not getting enough sunshine until I found out that I was vitamin D insufficient. A lot of people in the pacific northwest get so-called "seasonal depression" because of our long rainy season. The lack of sunshine definitely affects your emotional health, too.
I do yoga as a form of exercise, not as a spiritual practice. However, whenever I do yoga, my body starts vibrating. I can feel my body is happy. I do yoga every weekend and feel great and peaceful afterward. Yoga is considered a form of "moving meditation," so it also cultivates your awareness.
Also, it is very important to be outside and enjoy the sunshine. I did not think about the seriousness of not getting enough sunshine until I found out that I was vitamin D insufficient. A lot of people in the pacific northwest get so-called "seasonal depression" because of our long rainy season. The lack of sunshine definitely affects your emotional health, too.
(5)Healthy Relationships
This is deeply related to your emotional/spiritual health. If you are currently in an abusive or co-dependent relationship, you will need to heal yourself. The issue is yourself, not your partner. Even if you change your partner, the same issue will repeat itself until you heal yourself. If we don't learn our lessons, the universe will keep giving us opportunities for learning over and over again. There is always a lesson to be learned in every single relationship. The lesson to be learned for people who are abused by their partners or exhausted by taking care of their partners is usually "self love." There is no reason to put up with any kind of abuse if you love yourself. Some people put up with serious abuse in their relationships just because they believe consciously or unconsciously that they don't deserve happiness and love. Everyone deserves love and happiness.
If your partner has serious issues such as mental illness or addiction and does not take any responsibility for his/her actions, you might feel that you have to save this person. Unfortunately, you can't save anyone. The person is the only one who could save himself/herself. You might have some karmic issues with someone like that to heal the karma through an intimate relationship, but you are not supposed to continue this kind of relationship forever. You need to move on as soon as you learn your lesson or are done with whatever karmic issues you had with the person. You are not responsible for your partner's life. Of course, if the person learned her/his own lessons and started taking responsibility for her/his own life, it would be a different story. Some people keep jumping from one relationship to another hoping that they will find someone who will make them "happy." However, happiness is not about your circumstances. It is a state of your mind. You need to be happy on your own in order to have a happy and healthy relationship. If you keep having negative relationships over and over again, just stop dating for a while and work on yourself. As you heal yourself, you will start meeting more positive and healthier people.
Some people choose to not have a relationship consciously or unconsciously due to fear of getting hurt and remain single for many years. This is not healthy, neither. It is actually easier for some people to stay single because nobody pushes their buttons. A relationship is a great opportunity for healing and growth. Whenever we get intense emotional reactions toward our partners, we can learn something new about ourselves and can heal ourselves. However, we will get into a serious argument if one person or both parties do not take any responsibility for their reactions. To have a mature relationship, we need to have some level of self-awareness and sense of responsibility for our emotional reactions. If you cannot control your emotional reactions and constantly get into arguments with your partner, you might have to take a little break and work on yourself. Emotional reactions tell us that there is something inside that needs to be healed. If you have not had any relationship for many years, you might want to explore why and heal whatever blocking you from having a loving, fulfilling relationship.
Many people might feel that they have no control over their negative relationships with their parents, siblings, and children. Actually, you can make conscious choices about your relationships with them. It is very easy to get into co-dependent relationships with your family members, especially with your adult children who have some issues. Of course, you are responsible for your children's well-being while they are still young. Once they become adults, they are responsible for their own lives and well-being. They will never learn how to be independent as long as you are trying to "fix" them or take care of them. You need to detach yourself from adult family members who do not take any responsibility for their actions. "Enabling" is completely different from love. If you truly love your family members, you need to let them go throught consequences for their actions. Some people only learn from consequences. Again, it is not your responsibility to "fix" any of your family members. Honor your personal boundaries to protect yourself.
If your partner has serious issues such as mental illness or addiction and does not take any responsibility for his/her actions, you might feel that you have to save this person. Unfortunately, you can't save anyone. The person is the only one who could save himself/herself. You might have some karmic issues with someone like that to heal the karma through an intimate relationship, but you are not supposed to continue this kind of relationship forever. You need to move on as soon as you learn your lesson or are done with whatever karmic issues you had with the person. You are not responsible for your partner's life. Of course, if the person learned her/his own lessons and started taking responsibility for her/his own life, it would be a different story. Some people keep jumping from one relationship to another hoping that they will find someone who will make them "happy." However, happiness is not about your circumstances. It is a state of your mind. You need to be happy on your own in order to have a happy and healthy relationship. If you keep having negative relationships over and over again, just stop dating for a while and work on yourself. As you heal yourself, you will start meeting more positive and healthier people.
Some people choose to not have a relationship consciously or unconsciously due to fear of getting hurt and remain single for many years. This is not healthy, neither. It is actually easier for some people to stay single because nobody pushes their buttons. A relationship is a great opportunity for healing and growth. Whenever we get intense emotional reactions toward our partners, we can learn something new about ourselves and can heal ourselves. However, we will get into a serious argument if one person or both parties do not take any responsibility for their reactions. To have a mature relationship, we need to have some level of self-awareness and sense of responsibility for our emotional reactions. If you cannot control your emotional reactions and constantly get into arguments with your partner, you might have to take a little break and work on yourself. Emotional reactions tell us that there is something inside that needs to be healed. If you have not had any relationship for many years, you might want to explore why and heal whatever blocking you from having a loving, fulfilling relationship.
Many people might feel that they have no control over their negative relationships with their parents, siblings, and children. Actually, you can make conscious choices about your relationships with them. It is very easy to get into co-dependent relationships with your family members, especially with your adult children who have some issues. Of course, you are responsible for your children's well-being while they are still young. Once they become adults, they are responsible for their own lives and well-being. They will never learn how to be independent as long as you are trying to "fix" them or take care of them. You need to detach yourself from adult family members who do not take any responsibility for their actions. "Enabling" is completely different from love. If you truly love your family members, you need to let them go throught consequences for their actions. Some people only learn from consequences. Again, it is not your responsibility to "fix" any of your family members. Honor your personal boundaries to protect yourself.
(6)Environmentally Friendly Lifestyle
Before I started working on myself, I had no interest in ecology. I wasted a lot of resources such as water, paper, electricity, gas, etc. without any thoughts. I also used cleaning products, cosmetics, and bath products that contained harmful chemicals. It meant that I had no respect for myself and the earth. As I started loving myself more, I also started paying more attention to the environment. One day, I suddenly switched everything I used in my household to environmentally friendly products. I also started recycling everything I could. It is hard to explain this, but we cannot abuse our environment once we understand that everything is connected to each other. In other words, you are a part of the whole and the whole is a part of you. If you truly love yourself, you cannot harm a part of you. Now, I am trying to be self-sufficient as much as I can to keep the damage to the earth minimal. The more space we have, the more energy we consume. Owning a huge house might not be environmentally friendly. Eating locally grown foods is probably the most ecological way of eating.
(7)Self-Improvement
We should never stop growing and learning. Learning new things definitely nourishes our soul. I constantly attend seminars, workshops, and trainings to improve myself. I also read a lot of books and watch movies which are spiritually inspiring. Here are my recommendations for spiritually/metaphysically inclined people:
Books
Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss
Caroline Myss is now a famous speaker, but she started as a medical intuitive. She is able to see what is going on in a person's body and tells the person what kind of emotional/spiritual issues need to be healed in order to heal a physical illness. You can learn a lot about holistic/metaphysical/spiritual approaches to health.
Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss
Caroline Myss is now a famous speaker, but she started as a medical intuitive. She is able to see what is going on in a person's body and tells the person what kind of emotional/spiritual issues need to be healed in order to heal a physical illness. You can learn a lot about holistic/metaphysical/spiritual approaches to health.
Conversations with God by Neal Donald Walsch
Neal Donald Walsch used to be homeless and was angry at "God" for giving him such a hard time. He started communicating with "God" through automatic writing and everything in his world changed. He published many books after this book, but the first one is most powerful...
Animal-Speak by Ted Andrews
This is like my bible. I started getting symbolic messages from animals and insects in 2002, but I did not know what exactly they meant. This book has been helping me a lot. If you are interested in shamanism, you will love this book.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
This book is very poetic and beautifully done. It teaches us that we all have divine power within. All the answers we are looking for are within us.
Shape Shifting by John Perkins
I have seen John Perkins speaking at Green Festival. He is such a passionate guy. Something I really like about him is that he remains grounded even after going though a lot of outrageously metaphysical experiences. If you are interested in ecology and shamanism, you will love this book.
Working with Your Guides and Angels by Ruth White
I learned the term, "light worker," for the first time from this book. It really helped me when I just started communicating with my guides and other spirits.
The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto
You can see a little bit of his work in the movie, "What the Bleep Do We Know?" (Please see below) Dr. Emoto talks about our thoughts and emotions as vibrational frequencies. In other words, our thoughts and emotions are energies and they can affect water. Just remember that 70% of our bodies is water....
Ask and It Is Given by Esther & Jerry Hicks
This is a great introduction to Law of Attraction. You can also watch the movie, "The Secret."
Illusions by Richard Bach
This is short and very easy to read, but a lot of information is packed in this novel. "The reluctant messiah" teaches the main character about his physical realities as an illusion.
The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
James Redfield used to be a therapist, so he uses some of Jungian concepts in this book. The main character follows "synchronicity" and starts learning about energy and vibrational frequencies.
Movies
The Secret
Again, this film is about Law of Attraction. One of the speakers in this film was found guilty for negligent homicide... It doesn't mean that Law of Attraction does not work. This guy obviously has no respect for Native American cultures and lacks integrity. It is very interesting that an unethical way of manifesting comes right back to the person.....
The Secret
Again, this film is about Law of Attraction. One of the speakers in this film was found guilty for negligent homicide... It doesn't mean that Law of Attraction does not work. This guy obviously has no respect for Native American cultures and lacks integrity. It is very interesting that an unethical way of manifesting comes right back to the person.....
What the Bleep Do We Know?
This is somewhat similar to "The Secret." It's about quantum physics and our thoughts/emotions as vibrational frequencies.
Conversations with God
This is a movie version of the book I mentioned above. It's good for people who don't have time to read the book, but nothing beats the original.
The Celestine Prophecy
This is also a movie version of the book. Again, it's good for people who don't have time to read the book, but the original is better.
A Man Named Pearl
This is a documentary film about a self-taught topiary artist. A racist comment by someone motivated this man to create a beautiful garden. He ended up transforming himself and the entire town. He is right on his path!
Dhamma Brothers
This is a documentary film about a Vipassana 10-day course at a prison in the state of Alabama. I was deeply touched by the human potentials described in this film.
Darshan, The Embrace
This a documentary film about Amma, "a hugging saint" in India. I saw her and got her hugs three times... She is just full of love and light.
Gandhi
As you know, this is a movie based on a true story about a man who taught the world "non violence." I learned that "Mahatma" means "a great soul" by watching this film.
The Last Mimzy
This is a supposed to be a movie for children, but it's pretty deep... I have watched it twice and still makes me cry. It's about love.
Wings of Desire
This is a German film about an angel who wants to be a human... It's also very poetic and beautifully done. One of my favorite films.
The Rosa Parks Story
This is a film based on a true story about a courageous woman who changed the history. She was right on her path, too. I admire a strong woman like her.
The Interrupters
This is a documentary film about ex-gang members who are right on their paths.
Touch the Top of the World
This is a film based on a true story about a blind man who climbed up Mt. Everest. I love stories about people who overcame serious obstacles and accomplished amazing things. He is definitely one of them!
Malcom X
This is a film based on a true story about a black leader who had multiple spiritual transformations in his life. Some people might not like what he said at some point of his life, but he was constantly transforming and accepting his past mistakes.
Whale Rider
This is a beautiful New Zealand film about a young Maori girl who knows what her mission is. She breaks through male chauvinism in her own culture and inspires her people.
Rivers and Tides
This is a documentary film about an artist, Andy Goldsworthy. He creates artwork using natural objects such as flower petals, tree branches, icicles, rocks, etc. He invests a lot of time and energy to create something that only lasts for a few hours and does not seem to have any attachment to his artwork. This is a form of spiritual practice.
(8)Law of Attraction & Abundance
There are many books and classes about Law of Attraction. These books and classes teach people that they can get anything they want if they really focus on what they want. This is partially true because they don't really explain what kind of obstacles we have to overcome first. The most critical thing is our self-worth. If you believe deep inside of yourself that you don't deserve anything good, it will be very difficult to manifest what you want. Our thoughts and emotions are energy and they could create a physical reality if we focus our attention to something long and intense enough. However, thoughts and emotions associated with "I don't deserve anything good" are pretty powerful and can easily overwrite your wish. If you have serious self-worth issues, please go back to (2)Inner Peace and Spiritual Growth and work on yourself first.
When you heal yourself, your vibrational frequency goes up and you start attracting more positive things. I worked in a very negative environment right before I went to my first 10-day meditation retreat. I was sick and tired of myself, so I left my job and went to this retreat. Right after I came back from this retreat, I got 3 job offers at the same time! Similarly, it will be very difficult to manifest good things in your life if you are angry, depressed, or negative. Good things have higher vibrational frequencies, so your vibrational frequency has to match theirs in order to materialize them. Also, just like the film "The Secret" says, most people focus on what they don't want. Law of Attraction really works because negative people keep attracting negative events/people to their lives. I have manifested a lot of things in my life, both bad and good depending on what I focused on. Fear is quite powerful and manifests very quickly, so please be careful. Do not get upset when you have attracted something you don't want. Your anger would make things worse. Instead, be reflective and think about how you attracted it to yourself. Then appreciate the opportunity for learning. Just trust that the universe always gives you what you need. This kind of attitude and gratitude would shift your energy.
I would also like to address financial health since some "spiritual people" believe that focusing on money is not spiritual. There is nothing wrong with pursuing wealth as long as you make money in an ethical way. I have seen many so-called spiritual people who are always financially struggling thinking that the only way to be spiritual is sacrificing themselves for others. (I have been there, too!) How about self-love? If your basic needs are not met or your life is a continuous financial struggle, you are obviously not taking care of yourself. If you are not financially stable, you will not be able to take care of others, neither. Money is just a form energy that we need as long as we have physical bodies. We need this energy to take care of ourselves and others. We can do a lot of beautiful things with money for the world. If you are constantly struggling financially or having a huge credit card balance, you will need to re-evaluate your beliefs and values. Your financial health is a part of your well-being.
When you heal yourself, your vibrational frequency goes up and you start attracting more positive things. I worked in a very negative environment right before I went to my first 10-day meditation retreat. I was sick and tired of myself, so I left my job and went to this retreat. Right after I came back from this retreat, I got 3 job offers at the same time! Similarly, it will be very difficult to manifest good things in your life if you are angry, depressed, or negative. Good things have higher vibrational frequencies, so your vibrational frequency has to match theirs in order to materialize them. Also, just like the film "The Secret" says, most people focus on what they don't want. Law of Attraction really works because negative people keep attracting negative events/people to their lives. I have manifested a lot of things in my life, both bad and good depending on what I focused on. Fear is quite powerful and manifests very quickly, so please be careful. Do not get upset when you have attracted something you don't want. Your anger would make things worse. Instead, be reflective and think about how you attracted it to yourself. Then appreciate the opportunity for learning. Just trust that the universe always gives you what you need. This kind of attitude and gratitude would shift your energy.
I would also like to address financial health since some "spiritual people" believe that focusing on money is not spiritual. There is nothing wrong with pursuing wealth as long as you make money in an ethical way. I have seen many so-called spiritual people who are always financially struggling thinking that the only way to be spiritual is sacrificing themselves for others. (I have been there, too!) How about self-love? If your basic needs are not met or your life is a continuous financial struggle, you are obviously not taking care of yourself. If you are not financially stable, you will not be able to take care of others, neither. Money is just a form energy that we need as long as we have physical bodies. We need this energy to take care of ourselves and others. We can do a lot of beautiful things with money for the world. If you are constantly struggling financially or having a huge credit card balance, you will need to re-evaluate your beliefs and values. Your financial health is a part of your well-being.
(9)Relaxation and Stress Management
We constantly need to monitor the level of our stress. A high level of stress for an extended period can cause serious illnesses or destroy your important relationships. It's also important to avoid stressful situations if possible. You might be making a lot of money by working under a lot of pressure and stress all the time. Prioritize your life and ask yourself what is most important to you. If your family of origin is very dysfunctional and only brings stresses to you, you might want to keep some distance from them even though you love them. Practice loving detachment. If you are overwhelmed by taking care of your young children, ask for help and take a little break. You need to have at least a few different ways to relieve your stresses. Personally, I love getting a massage and soaking in hot springs. As I mentioned, I also do yoga and practice meditation. Changing the scene is also a good stress reliever. Get out of town once in a while or enjoy nature. Visit exotic places and meet new people. Don't forget to take vacations! The most important thing is having fun and laughing! Laughter is the best medicine for stress. Managing and relieving stresses are also a form of self-love.
(10)State of Joy and Happiness
This is kind of related to Law of Attraction. When we are in a state of joy and happiness all the time, we start attracting positive events, positive people, and positive circumstances. To maintain this state, we need to keep appreciating everything we have daily. Everyday, I spend 5-10 minutes before eating a meal appreciating everything I have. This is so-called "counting blessings." This actually requires some level of self-discipline. I keep focusing on the positive side of everything I see. Of course, I'm also a human and sometime start thinking about negative things. Vipassana meditation practice has been helping me to be aware of my own thoughts and emotions. Now, I can catch myself most of the time. When I'm about to get upset, I observe my reactions and try to find exactly what I am reacting to. Once I find out what has triggered me, I can learn something new about myself and move on. It might not be easy to do this at first, but anyone can learn how to cultivate self-awareness.
I do not watch TV in order to stay positive. Most of the TV shows, especially news, are quite negative. When the 9/11 disaster happened, I was living in New York City, but I was out of town that day. I was in a 10-day meditation retreat in Massachusetts. Since we did not have access to TV or newspapers at the meditation center, I did not see any visual images of the disaster while I was there. I went back to New York on 9/16 and started watching TV at home. They kept showing the same image, the moment of WTC collapsing, over and over again. I was not even there when the disaster happened, but I started having acute PTSD symptoms. Our unconscious mind cannot tell the difference between what is going on in front of us and images on TV. In other words, the images you see on TV everyday is traumatizing you. I completely stopped watching TV in 2003 and am very glad that I made this decision.
It does not mean that I do not care about what is going on in the world or people suffering somewhere in the world. I read news online to keep up with current events, but I simply avoid visual images that could possibly traumatize me. Whenever a major disaster happens somewhere in the world, I always donate money and pray for people who are in the affected area. If something happens in my area, I will probably do volunteer work as well. I also try to see positive things about the event such as people caring and helping each other. A disaster often brings the most beautiful part of humanity. When you are in a state of joy and happiness, you can share the positive energy with others. If everyone does the same thing, the world will be a peaceful and beautiful place.
I do not watch TV in order to stay positive. Most of the TV shows, especially news, are quite negative. When the 9/11 disaster happened, I was living in New York City, but I was out of town that day. I was in a 10-day meditation retreat in Massachusetts. Since we did not have access to TV or newspapers at the meditation center, I did not see any visual images of the disaster while I was there. I went back to New York on 9/16 and started watching TV at home. They kept showing the same image, the moment of WTC collapsing, over and over again. I was not even there when the disaster happened, but I started having acute PTSD symptoms. Our unconscious mind cannot tell the difference between what is going on in front of us and images on TV. In other words, the images you see on TV everyday is traumatizing you. I completely stopped watching TV in 2003 and am very glad that I made this decision.
It does not mean that I do not care about what is going on in the world or people suffering somewhere in the world. I read news online to keep up with current events, but I simply avoid visual images that could possibly traumatize me. Whenever a major disaster happens somewhere in the world, I always donate money and pray for people who are in the affected area. If something happens in my area, I will probably do volunteer work as well. I also try to see positive things about the event such as people caring and helping each other. A disaster often brings the most beautiful part of humanity. When you are in a state of joy and happiness, you can share the positive energy with others. If everyone does the same thing, the world will be a peaceful and beautiful place.
