We expect sporting teams, both members and fans, to be very competitive. They may get emotional but most the time they are respectful (depends on alcohol levels and other substances). We don’t really expect our spiritual institutions to react the same. Through the years I think we have witnessed enough wars over religious concepts to be aware that they too may be overly competitive. When we initiated our spiritual center in California, my team chose a design logo that included symbols from other major spiritual disciplines. I rented space from several different religious centers to do introductory talks. I scheduled our “Sunday meetings” at 4:00 PM so as not to compete for attendance with other “Church Sunday services.” Our set-up was to allow for development of our new center to advance in a friendly and supportive way amongst the other spiritual centers.
We generated exercises to support the members in discovering for themselves their present levels of awareness and learn what needed their attention. We used meditation to search and design action protocols to implement and grow their new gained discernment. Once a month we presented weekend retreats to guide, witness, and validate their progress.
Changes in life never stop happening but if you resist or ignore change you tend to degrade health. We brought in professionals to define the elements involved when health diminishes, tested new product absent from the member’s unique diet, and counseled them independently to encourage a shift. We planned trips and outings to endorse physical movement. Brought in professionals for movement classes and sponsored several dancing events each year. We assisted members in defining their life purpose. Researchers have discovered that a strong sense of purpose can boost mental well-being and improve cellular health.
And compassion is the third tier that is essential in all spiritual practices. This is addressed in all world religious systems and practiced, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. As our center grew, we started four charities in the local community sponsored and supported by membership. Our annual musical event was our number one attractor for community participation and financial support for the aid programs. Awareness of a need in one’s surroundings is a powerful assist to being in an awakened state.
I was taking classes on hypnosis at the Sacramento Hypnosis Society in a grand old mansion. It had a detached garage on one side that the group rented to an older gentleman who used it for teaching yoga. On breaks from my program, I would walk back and watch his class and teaching process. Ten years before, he had a heart attack and decided to change his lifestyle to improve health. Yoga was suggested by his medical doctor and so he took classes. After a year he got his strength back and changed the way he interacted with everyone. I was really drawn to his style and soon became a yoga teacher. My goal was to learn and master the compassion he demonstrated with everyone. I did that for a few years and attended a lot of retreats and then moved on. I never lost the feeling experienced when helping someone to change their life process.
With our center, if any student was having an issue with the training material or the teacher, I would take and teach them privately at no cost. Now, years later, my wife and I still help our neighbors with small jobs and even food. Compassion is not detachment or charity work; you get to be present with another person through their state of change.
Chriss
A question to find more questions in your meditations in August:
How do people become so cynical about their ability to achieve their visions?
