BREATHE, RELAX, LAUGH

Take it easy – breathe, relax, laugh, have a good time. It is a spiritual journey, not a spiritual destination. Give yourself permission to enjoy the process (yes, even on the “bad” days) and delight in the experiences along the way.

First – forget about ENLIGHTENMENT. Yep, totally forget about it!

In 21st Century Western culture the emphasis is on “winning”, “achieving”, “arriving”. In spite of what coaches are telling Little League baseball players and young soccer players, the consensus of popular opinion is that it really isn’t good enough to do your best…you must WIN, be #1. Look at Michelle Kwan. This young woman has won ___National Championships, ___World Championships, and a Silver and a Bronze Olympic medal. Still some “tsk” that the poor thing never captured the elusive gold. Please!

When on the spiritual path, each step along the way brings gifts of wisdom. To deny the value of each and every moment and focus only on the “goal” of enlightenment will not only cheat you out of precious realizations and joy, but most probably will ensure that you will not achieve your desire. Enlightenment is not something to be acquired, it is something you become. And, again, if the great teachers are to be believed, enlightenment is only the beginning point for yet higher states of consciousness.

So, lighten up. Don’t worry about becoming enlightened. Seek, instead, to express at the highest vibration possible at each and every moment. (Some days will be “higher” than others.) Higher states of consciousness up to, including, and beyond enlightenment will happen naturally, and inevitably.

Remember to laugh, often and heartily. Laughter releases the mind from its busyness and elevates vibrational frequency. Pure, joyous laughter that is. Laughter at the expense of another is a lower frequency and would be best avoided. Instead, seek the squeal of a young child splashing in a puddle, the giggle of teenage girls at nothing in particular or the chuckle of a parent at the antics of a baby. Life is filled with excuses to laugh. Seek them. Enjoy them. Bask in them.