Wind of the Soul

I’ve been working on some ideas for making the spiritual and self-help philosophies, contained in this site, easier to navigate. As the total number of blog entries continues to grow and expand it can be a little overwhelming as where to begin.

With that thought in mind, today’s entry marks the first in a series of installments I’m calling “Self Truths”. These posts are designed to concisely highlight and summarize many spiritual/self help tenants that serve as guidelines for my life. These are the ideas, which fuel my desire to continue intentionally expanding, exploring, and sharing information through my writing and podcasting. I’ll be periodically adding additional parts to this series on an ongoing basis.

The entries in these installments can be read singularly or can serve as a hub for visitors. A variety of them will have been mentioned in previous writing or will be mentioned in the future. I’ll be providing adjoining links to the posts which will elaborate further.

This will make it easier for everyone, but especially for the new visitors to get right to the heart of my philosophies and then work their way out into more detailed posts. Some are concepts and ideas I’ve learned and adopted, while others reflect upon my own experiences and inner feelings.

While all of these premises are true for me, I hope you can find some beneficial information within them, which resonates with you as well. The following items are not listed in any specific order of importance.

1. Appreciate simplicity and be one with it as much as possible:

I’ve found the more I focus on the simple things in life, the happier I am. Of course there’s the adage about simple pleasures for simple minds, but I choose to ignore that old saying (see truth number 2 for my reason why). It’s when I begin to overcomplicate my life that I experience dramatic increases in stress, anxiety and fear. These complications usually show up in the form of trying to force my life experience to unfold, rather than allowing it to do so naturally. I stay very active in following my dreams and desires, but I’ve learned to back off of the attitude of controlling and micromanaging them.

This tenant is true of my material possessions as well. While I see nothing wrong with someone else acquiring vast amounts of material wealth; I choose to only posses primarily what I need. No matter how much financial abundance I bring into my life- I will always choose a more minimalist approach to owning things.

This is not because I don’t feel worthy of many material possessions. On the contrary, I’ve come to know of just how worthy I am, but instead it’s because gadgets, gizmos, lavish homes, fancy cars, etc. just don’t hold my interest. I’ve never really been into those things, but I’ve noticed even less of an interest as I’ve come to know more of a connection with my inner self.

Let’s take a look at what Dr. Wayne Dyer has to say about simplicity (through the wisdom of the ancient sage, Lao Tzu) on page 183 of his book, Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life:

“…Practice allowing your essential nature to shine by not enforcing judgments on yourself that were imposed by others. Remind yourself that you don’t have to do anything: You don’t have to be better than anyone else. You don’t have to win. You don’t have to be number 1 or number 27 or any other number. Give yourself permission to just be. Stop interfering with your unique natural being. Lighten the burden you carry to be productive, wealthy, and successful in the eyes of others; and replace it with an inner assertion that allows you to access the *Tao… [*translates to ‘the way’].”

2. Never internalize the critical comments of others and work to release self doubt:

This used to be a stumbling block of mine for many years. I still occasionally allow the critique of someone else to become personal. However, I’ve come to understand that as someone else focuses upon negative aspects in anything I do, it has more to do with the person who’s making the negative comments than it does with what I’m doing.

It’s an indication they’re in a state of self loathing and are lashing out at others to feel better- which is actually ok. That may sound weird, but we all need to work our way through our disempowering emotions to eventually feel better.

However, I’m not going to take on someone else’s baggage to aid them in coming through their negativity. I’m more of a benefit to them by allowing them to work through their issues, while I stay in a positive state. Battling and fighting them over their comments only perpetuates more of the same. Not to mention, it takes me from a grounded, centered place within myself and drags me down into those same disempowered emotions and thoughts.

The way we view ourselves plays a huge factor in how we’re treated. If we’re always beating up on ourselves and doubting our self worth, then we can’t expect anyone else to find the very value we choose not to see either. This tenant is sometimes easier said than done. Especially for someone who has internalized negativity for years. It strips away awareness of self and confidence.

To work my way out of self doubt, I had to realize I couldn’t use anyone else’s standards or measurements for determining the value of my experiences- even if those measurements reflected kindness and positivism. There are as many opinions out there as there are people, but the only one that ultimately matters is our own.

Sure, it’s nice to hear the kind comments of others; however we should never over internalize them. If so, we become dependent upon their constant approval. I acknowledge the kind things people say and I really do appreciate it. In fact, I encourage all types of comment participation on this site through emails, blog comments and have even given out my phone number in my podcasts. However, I also do an internal check, making sure my opinion of self is strong enough on its own, without always needing anyone else’s approval.

The bottom line is: we should appreciate kind comments and give as many meaningful ones as we can. However, never become dependent upon someone’s approval or become disgruntled over their disapproval.

When we are in a state of connection to our own self worth, we will be in touch with the creative energies of source. We will know we are valuable contributors to the life experience, whether others are noticing that fact or not.

Related info:Intentionally Reclaming Our Power

3. Never make comparisons between myself and others:

This point shares much in common with number 2. It’s similar in many regards, but where I’ve learned to make a distinction is with the aspect of competition. When I compare, I compete- even if it’s only on the inside. I set up a “test” of my self worth, based upon how “well” I do, by viewing myself or my work through the lens of someone else’s creations or standards, and that’s never beneficial.

Many people believe competitiveness is a healthy state of being. While it may seem to up an individual’s “game,” it actually is simultaneously serving to disconnect them from the awareness of their true self and the connection to others through unity and equality. It creates a lack mentality and causes people to believe they are only valuable if they’re “getting theirs.” It sets up a mindset of a reality where there are winners and losers; along with buying into the severe social repercussions for being the latter.

If I find myself becoming comparative/competitive, I only have to spend some time pondering over the state of being, which exists in nature and I see the fallacies in buying into competition. The natural environment provides for all living things, which reside in it (unless man becomes overly destructive of portions of it). There’s no competitive mindset in nature. Sure, we have the Darwinian concepts of survival of the fittest, but who coined that term? Man.

Plants and animals are not concerned over who has bragging rights. While some animals fight to show dominance, it’s hardly stemming from a place of being braggadocios and creating inequality. It’s primarily to establish mating patterns for extending bloodlines or for protecting food sources. All things in their natural state simply go with the flow of their environment. They just are. They trust and allow without worrying over whom and what’s better or worse.

And that does it for my first installment of “Self Truths.” I’ll be adding part 2 to this series very soon.

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Related Posts

Intentionally Reclaiming Our Power
8 Tips for Achieving a More Secure, Peaceful State of Mind
Self Truths – Part 2: As I See it
Blazing Your Own Trail
Releasing Attachments to Judgmental Labels

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 20th, 2007 at 12:27 am and is filed under Inspiration, Self-Help, Spiritual Empowerment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.