Wednesday, April 15, 2009

My Spiritual Journey

I wrote this a couple of years ago. It is still relevant today! Sometimes we have to put things in perspective!

If you are reading this, I ask that you please send me some healing thoughts to my lower back. Lower back pain doesn't really seem to be such a big deal compared to many other diseases. But I am a musician. To perform without much practicing (except for mental practice), and feeling unprepared for performances, and the possiblity of being in pain in the performance just overwhelms me emotionally.

I have been suffering from this pain for the last few months now. It got quite severe about a month ago, not allowing me to do much except to just lie around and think. While this has been an extremely frustrating experience, it has also been a very spiritual experience. I know that I was put in this position for a reason- which is grow, to learn, to become even more spiritual for it is in trying times that people grow. And I will be able to share the story after I overcome this hurdle. I feel like this whole thing is a battle of the mind, but not the phyiscal body. For those of you who are worried. Don't. I am starting to heal. I am getting better. I am learning to have faith. But send me good energy anyway!

Ever since my back started hurting, I have started listening to many healing meditations. After each mediation, I started having conversations in my dream-like state with a lady who seems to be what I would call an angel, or a spiritual guide. You may think that I am crazy, or that i am talking to myself. Regardless, weather she is an angel, or my higher self talking, she gives really good advice.

I wanted to share some of these wisdoms with you. They may be applicable to all of our lives. While I understand her guidance, and what I need to do, I am still struggling emotionally and psychologically trying to cope with the pain, the pressure, and the belief in myself. In time, I know that I will really get it.

Here's the first encounter with her:

I have been going through a lot with my health, and also with my job. I was thinking about quiting, or doing less of my job and concentrate more on my performing career, but I was also worried tabout the financial consequences of quitting. And here's what she says.

"There are three criteria to making a decision about your livelihood.
1) Do you have the passion for it?
2) Do you have the talent for it?
3) Is your decision in alignment with your true purpose in life?
If you answer yes to all three questions, then you should go ahead with the decision. Everything else including wealth will be taken care of. But if you answer no to any one of these, you should reconsider.

1) Do you have the passion for it?
First and most importantly, do you have the passion for it? If you don't have the passion, and love for what you want to do, than there is really no point in doing it. You can make all the money in the world with a job, and have no satisfaction from your work and therefore your life. Your life and your work are not so separate for life is part of your work, and work is part of your life. I think the angel is right in saying that we need to do what really calls us, and what makes us excited. Then it is no longer work anymore. What she was saying reminds me of this quote that a good friend of mine shared with me.

"The person who is a master in the art of living makes little distinction between their work and their play, their labor and their leisure, their mind and their body, their education and their recreation, their love and their religion. They hardly know which is which. They simply pursue their vision of excellence and grace in whatever they do, leaving others to decide whether they are working or playing. To them, they are always doing both."
-Zen Buddhism

When one has the passion for something, there is no difference between work and play. If one does not have the passion for something, then it is always work.

2) Do you have the talent for it?
Some talents are born naturally, and some are cultivated later in life. But talent cannot exist without passion, and dedication. Natural born talents also need cultivation in order for it to blossom. Unless one has the drive, and the desire to cultivate a talent, it will always stay at a certain level without any breakthrough. Talents that are cultivated later in life are the same also. It needs passion for it to go beyond its initial stage. The questions to ask ourselves is, do we have the drive, the passion, the skills, to bring our lives to the next level?

3) Is your decision in alignment with your true purpose in life?
Well, it helps to know what your true purpose in life is. If it wasn't for reading Jack Canfields' "Success Principles", I wouldn't have thought about writing down what my true purpose in life is. Some of us walk around not knowing, and searching. Some don't have one. If one doesn't have one, we may start asking ourselves why we are here? We should think about our skills, our talents, and passions in life... Can any of these areas contribute to humanity while we are on earth? Why may it be? Maybe we have more than one purpose, and that's ok. I strongly believe that we are all here for a reason. We maynot know what it is yet, but there is one. And in time, it will be revealed to us in our lives.

Here's my true purpose in life: "To use my creativity, skills, and talent to move people, bring understanding, harmony, and joy"

What's yours?

Sorry to sound kind of preachy. I didn't intend to do that. I just started writing and all this came out of me. It looks to me like this is the beginning of my first book...

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