What's Really Important?

(c) 2010 Joan M. Newcomb

I've been observing someone in a huge, spiritual emergence over the past several years.  They've been a devout follower of their faith for nearly 30 years.  It's a particular branch of religion that is highly ritualized and with very specific dogma.  Some people find this kind of practice comforting, they like the rules clearly spelled out and rituals help them feel like they've attained a certain level of energy.

I watched this person create circumstances in their life where they stopped attending services regularly, to the point of not going for months at a time.  They minimized their practice at home as well.  At the same time, enormous stresses came up for them which they did not handle in accordance with their beliefs and values.

An initial turnaround happened for them when they had an unexpected opportunity to be in nature.  Although the whole reason they went out there was to investigate something for a hobby, they found a profound sense of peace.  They were away from relatives and work, and were suddenly able to drop all the things they'd been struggling with.  It all happened quite effortlessly.

Which is not how they were used to having a spiritual experience!

It improved their inner situation for a good six months (without any external shifts), until the outer circumstances again converged and their reactions again betrayed their highest self- expectations.

This time the prompting came from some unexpected news.  They had started to increase their interaction with their spiritual community again when they were told an old acquaintance of theirs had died.  They'd missed the opportunity to see him in his final days.  They realized how precious life is, and why were they wasting time 'behaving like a jerk'?

This revelation only happened last week, and it still hasn't fully sunk in.  What's surfacing for them now is ways they've avoided, resisted and denied.  Reality is still converging on them, like two giant fingers on a zit.

What's going to happen?  It's up to them to create.  Everything can continue to fall apart for them in all aspects of their life.  Or they can integrate the spiritual experiences they've already been given.

I see it as Essence/Source/Universe/Large Self as moving towards their Small Self.  And they can make it easier if they continue opening to the experience, and enacting their revelation(s).  It can be as simple as finding more time to be in nature, to encourage that inner connection.  Or being mindful when interacting with others, knowing that what is most important is Connection, or Compassion, and letting go of the other stuff, the B.S.

It's happening for all of us right now, in different ways.  This person felt their religious practice and dogma was spirituality.  Someone else might feel that working 70 hours a week for a six figure income is security.  Another may think they aren't complete without a relationship.  Stock market, real estate, banking system, employment, career, marriage, religion, family... all structures and rigid beliefs are falling away.

What is really important?  What is Real or True?  We're all being called to live with more integrity, more integrated with our Essence.

Nothing is dissolving from your life without you being given a taste of what's truly behind it.  What is it for you?

All you need to do this week is notice what's really important, in any given moment.  Perhaps it's not showing everyone at the staff meeting how brilliant you are, but it's truly listening to a co-worker at lunch.  Perhaps it's not obsessing about all the things your spouse is doing that pisses you off, but enjoying your life regardless of how they are behaving. 

Do this for a week and see what happens!