Practical Spirituality

For most of my life I have been quite spiritual and a seeker of the truth. My hunger for spiritual awareness, experience and knowledge has brought me many gifts. But eventually I figured out that although my truth has brought me joy in my every day life, in the simplest of ways, I am still a human and need to do human things.

There has been a massive increase in the last few years of people who have experiened spirit, but many do not know what to do about it. They have not yet learned how to function as a spiritual being with a human experience not a human being with a spiritual experience. For these people I write this article. I am still learning myself, but I think you will find the following basic practical steps beneficial to you as they have been to me.

1. Spiritually we are all one. This is a spiritual truth, but what do you do when someone is being a jerk to you or is so dysfunctional he causes problems in your life? You are not thinking, "Don't be angry, we are all one." Nor should you. First, you set clear boundaries with lower energy people. Just because we are all one spiritually it does not mean you let lower energies treat you like a punching bag. If you find yourself in this situation, part of your life lesson may be to learn to be more assertive and stand up for yourself. Not in a vengeful or hateful way, but in a way that demonstrates the love you have for yourself. Because of this love you have for you, you do not tolerate any kind of abuse from anybody.
2. Spiritually there is no scarcity. This is a spiritual truth, but what do you do when in real life you are experiencing scarcity? Practice gratitude for what you do have. Gratitude keeps your focus on what you do have and away from what you lack. It also invites the universe to bring you more good stuff. Remember that our thoughts create our world. If we keep thinking about what is missing we will get more of the same. It is a simple technique, but many of us sometimes forget to use it because our ego gets so attached to thinking about what is missing. But if you can get yourself to practice gratitude, soon enough you will notice a shift.
3. Spiritually we do not need the body. Somewhat true, but in order to do what you were born to do, you need to take care of the body or you will not have a body to do anything with. Or because of neglecting the body you are bed ridden or disabled and therefore a burden to loved ones. So if you do not take care of the body for you, do it for your loved ones. I know that some religious people have negative views about the body and see it as unimportant. But if it is truly unimportant then there was no good reason for God to put us in these bodies in the first place. Sometimes taking care of my body is hard for me because I am usually focused on spirituality or on the mind. It is funny to me because many years ago my sole focus was on the body. Now I am learning to integrate all aspects of me, not just one or the other.
4. Spiritually we do not need anything. But physically we do. We need food, shelter, love, relationhips, etc. When I first experienced spirit, I was in another world for a long time. I rarely felt hunger and I prefered solitude over being with anyone. But then there came a time when I realized I had to be active on the Earth plane. I was here for a reason, otherwise I would not be here. I was like a baby taking her first steps. Through trial and error I had to learn how get back into the world as a spiritual being having a human experience. Prior to this, while I believed in spirit, I was mostly focused on externals. I did not look for the spiritual meaning of things or the lessons learned from my challenging situations. The world seemed empty, joyless and lonely. My advice is that you remember spirit and ask for guidance on everything. How to spend your money, who to let in as your friend, who to let go of, what foods to avoid,etc.

For more information on how to live as a spiritual being with a human experience, please contact me at carbajalzulma@gmail.com