the Body/mind/spirit of Joy
"It is appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity" - Albert Einstein
We are living in some crazy times. There is change happening at every level and for every living being on Earth at this time. We are all being challenged physically, mentally, and spiritually. If we take a body/mind/spirit approach to try and find our way through, we discover a bread crumb trail resonating with Truth and Light. If Albert was right, then our humanity, our uniquely human capacity for spirituality, is our super power and the only way through to a Thriving Life future. This is the work of the Cultivating Resilience and Joy Project.
At the level of the body, we have the physical world, the body of the Earth, and all her beings, including human beings. The Earth and her other-than-human species are not thriving at the moment, and neither are we. We are all stressed! If we look at the level of the mind it seems that humanity in general has gone bonkers. Completely crazy! Its some kind of mental illness that has us treating our environment and each other so badly that species are dying, and our very survival is in question. Our politicians, the people who are supposed to be in service to life on earth, are propagating the lies of division and an alternate reality. If we look at the level of the spirit though, we can find a feeling of peace and calm. Indeed, a space to cultivate resilience and joy. This is our way through.
Our spirits are made of a little bit of divine, universal energy and even human beings can’t mess with that. Trauma, difficult circumstances, poverty, abuse, war, and illness are among the many challenges to feeling connected to our spirits, but our souls themselves remain intact. Our job is to strengthen this connection despite the chaos of the current unprecedented global collective environmental and social unraveling of this point in history.
We all have had the experience of utilizing exercise, especially outdoor exercise, to shift our moods from dark to optimistic. This works because of the body/mind/spirit connected pathways that are part of our physiology. Just like scales can be played up or down on an instrument, we can “play” our bodies’ vibration from the physical to the spiritual, or the other way around. We can shift the mind away from grumpy perseveration to a calm, happy state where we can see the beauty of life all around us by engaging our physical bodies. When we have calmed the mind, then we can feel a soul/spirit connection and we know that despite life’s challenges, we are okay, we can find our way through difficult passages. Practitioners of meditation know that working at the level of the mind positively affects the body and opens us to spirit.
When my kids were little, I came across this idea and put it to work as a parenting tool. When there was a grumpy mood, I would say, “Okay, five minutes of smile therapy.” And this would be the signal that we would all put on these huge cheshire cat grins whether we felt like it or not. Within about 20 seconds, someone would start laughing and the mood would shift. It turns out that the physical act of smiling connects the neural pathways that create a happy mood and vice versa. So, you smile if you are happy or, you can smile if you would like to be happy. This is an example of how we can play the instrument of our body/mind/spirit up or down, physical to spiritual.
In many spiritual traditions, there is an understanding that at the soul level, we choose a particular time, place, family, and community to incarnate into before we are born. We choose a particular life for the opportunities of growth and development at the level of the soul that can only be gained through overcoming the challenges of a human life. We all chose this life, people. Our souls know the way through. Our job is to stay connected to our deepest, most authentic soul selves so the Universe, the Divine, the Creator… however it is that you work with the intelligent force behind all of creation… can come through us in the form of intuition, dreams, art, heart connection, and creativity to steer us toward a Thriving Life Future. We need to pay attention, and quiet the unhelpful patterns of thinking that we all have.
Human beings have an instinctual drive to create a meaningful, purpose-driven life. It is baked into us as a species. When we get to the end of our lives, it is not accumulated wealth or material objects that we regret missing out on. It is the missed opportunity for meaningful relationships, healing, and making the world a little better place for those we care about. These are the bedrock of a meaningful life and the basis for real joy. They are also the bread crumb trail affirming we are following our soul’s mission for this lifetime.
If we are all here at this time by choice, if each of our souls is here on a mission, and we are vibrational instruments that can be played in both directions, how do we become more attuned to our soul’s mission? How can we make our Hearts more available for Universal healing and inspiration to come through? As we shift our focus away from the physical and mental chaos around us, and toward our soul’s mission, we can be a part of the world that is waiting to be born rather than being mired down in the one that is dying. For as Albert Einstein said, "It is appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity." It is our humanity, our uniquie capacity for spiritual connection, not technology that is the path forward to a Thriving Life future.
The Cultivating Resilience and Joy Project is about helping you connect with your soul’s mission and your life’s purpose. The natural result of living a purposeful, meaningful life is true joy. The world needs people living their soul’s mission, the reason they chose to be here in the global transition of our time. It is part of my soul’s mission to help support and teach people to do just that. For more information on how to join the project, click here.