THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED

Spiritual awakening is a continuous process not an event. It requires vigilance, consistent practice, and discipline. The world that we inhabit makes us prone to a kind of spiritual narcolepsy and the only way to counter this is to develop appropriate habits.

Habits run our life. Some are nourishing and create peace others are destructive and create suffering; in order to identify them we have to be aware of ourselves.

The term ‘spiritual’ has many connotations. Most commonly, people might interpret it in a religious context, however this is not how I use the word. To be spiritual is to be fully aware of the unfolding of life as it occurs in all its dimensions; physical, mental, and emotional; ‘inside’ of us as well as ‘outside’ of us. Being spiritual is being aware of the present moment; the only moment where life truly exists. A simple concept, yet one that is not easy to implement, unless we develop the mechanisms to do it; the appropriate habits.

When we are aware of ourselves we are practicing mindfulness. Over a sustained period of practice, insights may come to us and change the way we view the world. Our heart opens and new qualities flow in. Compassion may take the place of anger and fear. Love replaces hate. Peace replaces restlessness. We do not have to believe in a deity in order to do this; atheists can be spiritual too.

To be ‘spiritual’ does not mean to follow a set of beliefs, it is a commitment to live in such a way that brings out the deepest aspects of our Being.

Beliefs are unavoidable. They can be useful tools, but they do not make us 'spiritual'. Beliefs are the map; spirituality is the experience of consciously walking the road, one step at a time.

Some maps are accurate and helpful; others get us horribly lost, but either way, to be truly effective we have to free ourselves from the neurotic habit of constantly reading the map and start walking the actual road. This helps us to be more efficient and creative, in all walks of life; not only artists, but business leaders too.

? Steve Tsakiris