Cherri M.J. Brown

Let me begin by first stating that I firmly believe ÒshouldsÓ have no place in our spiritual lives. One question was put to us on the first page of Learning Module 3: What is your image of spirituality? Will you base in upon a list of Òshould?Ó In my opinion this would be a definite breakdown in moving toward and within our transpersonal lifestyle. ÒShouldsÓ are conditions we know to be right but for some reason we are not striving towards them or achieving them. For instance, to fulfill some of my spiritual image a list of ÒshouldsÓ might include some of the following:

( I should meditate daily

( I should not think ill of other people

( I should take care of my physical self

ÒShouldsÓ are vague and I consider them a wish list with no action being taken on them. Instead the above list would use affirmations and look like the following:

( I will meditate for twenty minutes every morning

( When I begin getting angry at others I ill name anger and repeat it over and over

( I will eat a minimum of five fruits/vegetables daily

DonÕt get me wrong . . . getting away from ÒshouldsÓ is not an easy task. But as we become more aware of them the easier it is to drop them and continue with affirmations.

Because of my feelings as written above, the image of spirituality must be matter of fact. ThatÕs not to say it wonÕt change down the road, It probably will change because the individual is changing and growing. But for the time being, where the individual is

now . . . it must be matter of fact for that individual.

My personal image of spirituality is base on values, the Ògolden ruleÓ . . . do unto others. Ethics plays a large part in this. I was recently privileged to hear a speech given by a Sister of a local medical center. She was addressing high school students regarding ethics in the work place and I think much of her speech can be applied here. She explained ethics is a system of moral values with principles of right or good conduct. It is a discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation and that ethics and ethical behaviors surround each of us in every phase of our lives. That unless we know where we are going, we will never be able to get there. That is not to say our goals will never change. Certainly our goals most likely will change as I stated earlier. What is important is we keep the golden rule in mind as our goals change. Sister continued on saying both positive and negative attitudes are contagious. Unfortunately, history proves that Òsad and badÓ spreads quickly and lasts longer. That is why it is of the utmost importance for us to concentrate with positive attitudes when dealing with our transpersonal self and reflect that out to others in what ever way possible.

Belief plays an extremely important roll in spirituality. The challenge is not only believing but believing in something or someone that is not tangible in our everyday way of thinking. Take your local newspaper for instance. IÕd like to think we can believe everything we read in the newspaper. But can we? Not in Fresno, California and probably not in most local newspapers around the world. If we cannot believe in what we see in black and white, how are we expected to believe in an unseen entity? Faith, acceptance. Faith in ourselves. Faith that we will accept ourself for what we are and grow from what ever point that is. Faith that we can not grow by ourselves but accept that with guidance we will choose the correct path and know that whatever we do affects all other creatures of life. This reverts back to my assignment in module 2 where I stated the brain and heart are significantly intertwined. By using the heart as the pilot of the brain we will begin to accept ourselves, understand the golden rule and Believe. However, if we can be a little more insightful we can believe and not have to put all of our faith in blind trust. Look around at everyday life occurrences and you own transpersonal experiences and you will find something tangible. Do you see and or communicate with angles by accident? Do you recall vivid and detailed memories prior to the age of one purely by coincidence? Is it really so incredible to hear a kind voice gently assure you that you donÕt need cigarettes? Does experiencing a birth bring a feeling of awe over you? Seek out and hold on to these all-inspiring and positive experiences for these are the stepping stones for your belief.

A challenge today is how to make spirituality appealing to all forms of society whether it is youth, seniors, the oppressed, minorities, etc. It is said you can not make an individual do something until they are ready. That is very true to a point depending on what you are dealing with. Just as you can lead a horse to water but you canÕt make him drink it (you canÕt always lead him either () the idea is to do something to make him want to drink the water. It may be adding electrolytes to his food, or it may simply be to feed him first. So it is with people. Maybe all we need to do is give the individual an appetizer. A personal appetizer geared toward the individual be they youth, senior, etc. Something to stimulate the heart and brain into working together. As Kornfield states in chapter twenty of A Path With Heart ÒThe greatest gift we can bring . . . is our wisdom and greatness of heart. Without it, we perpetuate the problems; with it, we can begin to transform the world.Ó

Today spiritual healing is gaining momentum in the media. The San Francisco Chronicle had a large article in the January 6, 1996 paper, page A6, titled HMOs Explore Spiritual Healing . . . Nontraditional methods can yield results and savings. The article states ÒAs scientific studies produce evidence of their efficacy, relaxation, prayer and meditation are receiving fresh attention.Ó The article continues to explain that the majority of scientific research regarding the Ònontraditional methodsÓ actively began in the 1070Õs following a time when Indian holy men could reliably lower their heart rates, breathing rates, blood pressure, oxygen consumption and shift their brain waves to a semi-dreamlike state using meditation. The panel related to in this article Òdid not endorse a single technique but said a variety of them worked, as long as they included two features: Ôa repetitive focus on a word, sound, prayer, phrase or muscular activity, and neither fighting nor focusing on intruding thoughts.Õ Those illnesses that have psychological components, or that can be helped by changes in heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension and so on, have been fund to respond well to the human touch of the healer and the physical effects of meditation and prayer, Benson said.Ó

This article is only one of many I am beginning to see in the media recently. I think this only adds to our studies and should be seen as encouraging us to continue working with our transpersonal self and how we can relate it to the world around us.

Relating to the world around us is the key issue here. What can we as students do to not only make life as we know it better for us but better for others?

In todayÕs world we see anger surfacing more and more. I feel much of it has to do with impatience, insecurity and ignorance. One of the best chapters I read in A Path With Heart delt with anger. I myself am all of the above; impatient, insecure and ignorant. My fuse can be short at times and I have wondered in the past what I could do to squelch anger. When I first read that repeating anger over and over can help get it under control I was skeptical, but I vowed to try it. Sure enough the next time a car pulled out in front of me I repeated anger over and over and over. It actually didnÕt take to many repeats before I found myself realizing that it was another human being in that car who probably had no idea of what they had just done and I began to feel a connection with that person. I could feel my blood pressure go back down with rational returning and my own state of mind much better than earlier. Remembering to go through this process can be difficult. It can be much easier and quicker to anger, feel the heat rise and to hate than to take a few extra minutes and remember that we want to make our life better, more meaningful and loving as well as passing that feeling on to others.

I think all of this; spirituality, the golden rule, ethics, believing and affirmations all led to respect. Respect of yourself, respect of other individuals and respect for the universe. We must begin with ourselves. If we canÕt respect ourself we most certainly cannot respect others.

I also think a great deal of this has to do with Òletting go.Ó How many of us have been raised to not just do the best we can but to buy the biggest house on the block, purchase the best car, wear the most stylish clothes? And in achieving all of this and more we have control. We have control over our lives and others. And when we have that control we have power and we can do no wrong. Security? I donÕt think so. When we decide we can let go having the best of everything and place our lives in the hands of our superior being we can begin to live, grow and be one with the entire universe.

My attached drawing [not currently shown] is probably not very original. However, I do feel it depicts our way through this life with warmth at the end of time as we know it, but the beginning of our new life. It shows my superior being with open arms embracing the universe and guiding all to a warm and loving everafter.