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“How do I become spiritual?”

In a certain regard, this question triggers an upchuck.

Not to dis seekers of any kind. I would never. Whether your cup is full or you’re drowning in backwash at the moment, I’m a firm believer that (for the most part)… we’re all doing the best we can with the resources we have. Evolution is part of the dance, and all who participate should be applauded.

The Taoist in me’s response to this question is to simply “be.”  After all, we are human beings not human doings.  But given I live on planet Earth, where my Zen replies aren’t exactly “street legal,” well, here we are.

Before getting started though, I’d like to demystify any and all woo-woo connotations that shadow the term “spirituality.”

Literally speaking, spirituality is the “state of being spirit.”  One step further:  it’s your spirit in action.  That’s it.  Nothing chichi about it.

You know how people say, “He/she has such a great spirit.”  Well, there you go.

Whether you pray incessantly, sing eloquently, dance freely, crunch numbers rigorously, surf crazily, om loudly, golf weekly, paint sloppily, deliver packages regularly, vegan-out devotedly, drink coffee religiously, or lay cement smoothly, it doesn’t matter.  Spirituality is a do-it-yourself project that cannot be limited to a singular set of how-to’s.  It’s defined per soul applicant.

Enlightened Decree #27:  Spirituality is what you say it is.  There’s no right or wrong way to partake.

Truthfully, the headline to this blog series is the ultimate catchall. Many a title apply:

The 5 Keys to a Fulfilling Life
The 5 Keys to Manifesting your Dreams
The 5 Keys to Stress-Free Living
The 5 Keys to a Six-Figure Income
The 5 Keys to Increase Serendipity
The 5 Keys to a Seven-Figure Income
The 5 Keys to Dealing with Car Salesmen
The 5 Keys to Dealing with Your Landlord
The 5 Keys to Freedom!
The 5 Keys to Feeling Good

The latter being the crux of it all when posed with this question – I want to feel good.  I want to feel connected.  I want to feel alive.  I want to feel WHOLE.  And why shouldn’t you?  It’s your birthright to do so.  All day.  Every day.

Call to Action:  scrap the titles and stay open (teaser to Key Uno).

THE SPIRITUAL KEY SERIES

Over the next couple of months, I’m going to unveil the keys as part of a ten-post-or-so rollout. With each key, a subsequent how-to will follow. The reason for the breakup is to make space to assimilate and apply. Like anything in life, presence and action are required.  And the keys are only as powerful as what you do with them.

The wording “how to” is used in a very loose manner. On the one hand, the Internet totes loves lists, like straight-up cray cray status (is that what the kids say?) Translation: humans enjoy a protocol. They want to know who, what, when, where, why, and how to do something.

On the other hand, some souls are more independent ((two thumbs pointing at this guy)). Some are downright stubborn ((these people just suck)). Being told how to do pretty much anything reeks of pontification. For these folks, just think of the content as Tips for the Evolution of You. For all involved, let what resonates guide your sail.

Last but not least, have fun.

The cool thing about the ‘5 Keys’ is they’re already in you. Not the book aisles or seminars or the “real word” nonchalance, but IN.SIDE. you. The only ingredient in this pudding is possibility.  Copious consumption approved.

That said, the first key arrives next week. I look forward to sharing with you.

Godspeed,
Here I am

Suffering can be very real. The sky can go that low.  And it can hang.  So you turn left, then right:  walls.  Inescapable.  There’s no…  way…  out.

When it’s physical pain, it hurts and it sucks, but it’s cake in the end. The moaning and discomfort is communicable. The body heals or it ascends.  But the inner “stuff,” the hello-can-anyone-hear-me kind of pain… that shit stings. Heartache.  PTSD.  Loss of a loved one.  Nervous breakdown. Forgiveness. When that effing person’s phone rings in the movie theater.  Perdition runs the gamut (you now know mine.)

But the dagger of it all isn’t the agony within, it’s the thought you’re fighting not to think (and have zero chance to not actually think it): that the pain won’t end.  That it can’t end.  How could it when it… hurts…  this… bad?  Fear catalyzes.  It’s the icing that makes you want out.  (And the reason we shan’t judge.   Anyone.  Like ever.)

If you haven’t been there, someone close to you has:  family, a friend, the guy next to you at the coffee shop. Pain doesn’t typecast. It can broadcast with theatrics or vices, but more than often, it’s disguised. A racing mind can monopolize and protect itself at the same time, ya know.  It’s that darn good.

So what should you know when you’re in pain?   This too shall pass.

For real bro?  I’m dyin’ over here and you drop Scripture on me?

Yeah… that’s definitely not from the Bible, but I get it.  When your sadness exudes no mercy, clichés can be a real twist of the knife.  Morgan Freeman could narrate it and it would still seem shallow and glib.

There’s more fish in the sea.  (Don’t ever say this.)
Fake it ‘til you make it.  (Has its merits so long as it doesn’t mask.)
I know what you’re going through.  (Yeah… do you?)

(How ‘bout? You’re miserable AF.  A piece of this may stay with you forever, who knows?  And that’s OK.  Cause I see you.  And I’m here.  Nothing more.  Giving a human being permission to totally feel can totally liberate.)

This. Too. Shall. Pass.

An ode to the light at the end of the tunnel. The bait might not take at first. You’ll hear it and possibly purge. And that’s allowed. Healing without catharsis isn’t healing at all.

So hang in there.  Take big ass Pranic breaths.  And know…

This too shall pass.

It will.

There’s a heap of light waiting.

And it’s beautiful.

That I can confirm.
and so it is

It’s time to debunk a significantly defective archetype swirling through spiritual circles and many a societal sector.  An all-too prevalent illusion infiltrating students, seekers, and the simplest of souls, from the yoga mats to the church groups to the 12-step audio tape on repeat in your car’s dash.

But first, I must plead my guilt.

At one time, I, too, succumbed (albeit to a minor degree) to the hidden propaganda that many (not all) self-improvement theories are built upon.  And despite my morsel of naivety, it was just enough to put my head on a swivel.

The theory?

That, as humans, we’re an innately broken breed.  Abundantly flawed, marinated in guilt.  Catholic school flashbacks of my kindergarten teacher redirecting her hand-me-down guilt at a classroom of 5-year old angels by informing us we’re the newest generation of original sinners.  Thanks, should I tithe by mail or walk it straight to the rectory?

Likewise, the self-help model is of similar origin.

Self-help starts from the premise that you’re inadequate as is.  From the get-go, it’s a game of catch-up:  weed eating edges, whiting out flaws, striving and struggling to better a design with built-in precision and power.

C’mon bro!  You can’t tell me this site isn’t self-help.

I prefer to think of it as sermons in self-sustainability, uh thank you very much.  A loving nudge towards that which brims your cup.  The starting block here is opulence, not ineptitude.

Turns out, this aha! moment had been fermenting on a subconscious level for close to two years, and finally hatched this past week during a visit to the local bookstore.  As I prepared to purchase a handful of “self-development” literature, angst and fatigue enveloped me.  Suddenly, I felt like a leaky roof auditioning for HGTV: Restoration T.J., my latest project in personal patchwork.

That’s right, patchwork, as in “repair,” “fix,” “correct,” and “mend.”

In that moment, I realized I’d been highlighting, om-ing, downward dogging, binge breathing, and affirmation reciting with bogus motives for quite some time.  My intent had shifted from genuine self-discovery to obligatory self-maintenance.

I dropped the books and drove home.

SELF-DISCOVERY vs. SELF-HELP

There’s a distinct difference between the helpers and discoverers of the world.  D-I-S-T-I-N-C-T.   Distinct.

Self-helpers control.
Self-discoverers explore.  (It’s a job versus a game).

Self-helpers crave instruction.
Self-discoverers listen, but only apply what resonates.

Self-helpers see what’s missing.
Self-discoverers dance with what’s there.

Self-help can be a sentence.
Self-discovery is an Authentic Adventure.

Self-helpers auction their power.
Self-discoverers expand their authority.

Self-help renovates and renovates and renovates.
Self-discovery is turnkey.

Self-helpers have forgotten.
Self-discoverers have remembered.

A math major I am not, but the equation writes itself:

Too much self-help = too much headiness

More thoughts, more analysis, more comparison, more problems, more confusion, more work. Resulting in less heart, less ONEness, less acceptance, resolutions, lucidity, flow, fun, and TRUTH.

The key to the whole shebang is based on your approach.  Are you a broken cup in search of glue?  Or do you seek to fill your chalice because it’s your birthright to feel Alive and Free?  In golf, we’d call this the point of address. In general, it’s plain ole intent.

So before you add to the book shelf, call the astrologer, go vegan, sign up for the seminar, reread the Book of Jimmy, or simply beat yourself up, consider the following…

You don’t need fixing, healing, counseling, or saving.  Your soul need not to be righted, improved, upgraded, or photoshopped.  Everything you need you already have. And self-love… discovery for the sake of discovery… is ’bout as liberating as it gets.

And no, this doesn’t mean we should cease to learn and grow.  “If you’re not growing, you’re dying” most definitely applies.

But before the reflex to sprint the treadmill of self-help kicks in, take a few breaths and filter your inklings through your heart center…  (Expanded or contracted? Expanded or contracted?). This little Q+A returned my reading, writing, yoga-ing, and creativity into avenues of genuine expression once again.

You can’t be more when you’re already enough.
hi

As a stamp of approval to last week’s deservability post, your divine footprint has some light paperwork (Get it?  Light!) to make things officially official.

Below you will find your very own copy of The Deservability Contract.  It’s purpose is to recognize, acknowledge, and claim the God-given worth inscribed within you.

That said, I find it beneficial to print, read, sign, and date the contract. In doing so, you’re communing with and making space for bundles of tall energy to back you and flow through you.

Once complete, I encourage you to keep it somewhere nearby (wallet, bulletin board, etc.) or a sacred spot at home and reread, re-sign, and remind yourself of it and how deserving you are whenever need be.

I personally have a worn copy that I sign frequently.  It’s covered in black ink, blue ink, pencil, crayon, and marker. There’s coffee on both the front and back too.

So without further ado, I give you The Deservability Contract.

I hope you enjoy.

hello

The Deservability Contract

I, _______________________ {name}, hereby agree to enter into The Deservability Contract with the Youniverse on ________________ {today’s date}.

This agreement is based on the following KLITE truths:

1.  In being born, I have innate, boundless worth.

2.  I AM free and absolute.

3.  The fruit of life blooms to be eaten.

4.  Approval is an inside job – that which I own, I AM.

This contract binds all parties involved as an entity of Oneness and Love.  To be blessed in the fullness of its opulence, one knowingly submits to a life of self-acceptance and an eternity of inherent value.

If at any time one forgets, falls flat on their ass, and/or fails to adhere to the above provisions, no sweat.  As a child of God, you’re still worthy, and always will be.

Upon signing, this agreement is subject to the laws of the Youniverse and effective starting immediately.  Stillness, sunshine, and compassion expedite its activation.

__________________________                               ___________________________

 {Printed Name}                                                               {Signature}

________________________

{Date}

© Keepin’ It Light, 2017.