I was just having a conversation with my daughter on the phone. We were talking about spiritual practice. She was telling me how she needs to start back to church. I shared with her my own feelings about this subject. A spiritual teacher that I follow, Shambhavi Saraswati, a Tantrika in the Kashmiri Shaivism tradition, gave a wonderful satsang on how everything in life is a spiritual practice, from doing dishes to sitting in meditation. We tend to forget that everything we do is devotion to God, to our true Self. The key is remembering. Being present in every moment. When my heart is open I see the synchronicity in many things. Nothing is coincidental. Even the most mundane activities can teach us if we are aware. Life is so simple, we complicate it. We cause so much of our own suffering.
Letting go of always striving for something is the key to real inner piece. I am learning to be more gentle with myself and letting go of guilt is like unloading an elephant from off my back. It is healthy to have regret, it is unhealthy to harbor guilt. Shambhavi says that simple consistent ritual in life has such lasting results. On the spiritual path, it is best to take baby steps and we will find in time our steps will get bigger and bigger. Remember, life is the practice. Approach everything you engage in with reverence. From washing dishes to performing japa.
Jai Maa,
Nirvani
OK, god is trying to tell me something. Just this week my grief group spoke on the difference between regret and guilt. Life is full of regrets. We all have them but guilt is an absolutely unproductive emotion. It sinks us. Guilt (IMHO) is self-serving. It is what we *think* we should feel for letting someone down. We know we screwed up and think we should hang on to it. We allow ourselves to feel guilty. It can make people feel better about screwing up if the "feel guilty" afterwards.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I am making any sense. There are certainly things in my life that I still feel very guilty about but I am working on just allowing regret.
Birdie, you could not have said this any better my friend! I think I said these exact words to my daughter today about guilt. Wow I have really been having some synchronistic moments today...this being one. Guilt is self-serving in my opinion as well. We can feel it and it encourages change, but when we hold onto it, it becomes self-serving and it puts us in the place of feeling pity for ourselves. Allowing regret...I like that! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts here. I hope you are doing better dear. I haven't been over on this blog as much as I have been spending all my time on my poetry blog these days:)
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