Aspects of the Soul
Sharing, Loneliness, Neutrality, Impersonality, Detachment
This is week two of the process. Like last week I’ll be posting as I form a daily intention based on the each of these five aspects.
Sharing
The characteristic of sharing is a principle which covers all realms; the physical (food, shelter, goods); the mental (information, learning) and the spiritual (things that nurture our soul, beliefs around the sacred, ideas that fill us with enthusiasm for life). Whatever we possess can be shared. And when shared graciously will nuture all souls that have been touched by the act. Sharing is the synthesis of giving and taking it touches both parties. It increases the power of that which is shared. If one has discovered what they imagine to be some sort of elixir, something with life enhancing properties why would one not want to share it. The act of keeping it for himself and holding tightly onto it would have him withering and eventually dying.
Loneliness
The following is in snippets from The Soul The Quality of Life.
Bailey’s words better illuminate loneliness from a spiritual perspective. The understanding for me was more meaningful and I didn’t want to dilute the power of her words. The first comes from the chapter “Relationships of the Soul” the second from “Characteristics of the Soul”.
(a) One of the primary conditions that a disciple has to cultivate, in order to sense the Plan and be used by the Master, is solitude. In solitude the rose of the soul flourishes; in solitude the divine self can speak; in solitude the faculties and the graces of the higher self can take root and blossom in the personality. In solitude also the Master can approach and impress upon the quiescent soul the knowledge that he seeks to impart, the lesson that must be learnt, the method and plan for work that the disciple must grasp. In solitude the sound is heard. The Great Ones have to work through human instruments, and the Plan and the vision are much handicapped by failure on the part of these instruments.
(b) …..Loneliness comes when the disciple steps out of a life of physical plane concentration and finds himself in the midway place between the world of outer affairs and the inner world of meaning…..from the tangible world to which he is accustomed must, he knows, be superseded by the intangible world of values and new responsibilities…… He is breaking loose from the mass consciousness with which he has been merged, but has not yet found his group, into which he will eventually be consciously absorbed….. Be not afraid of loneliness. The soul that cannot stand alone has naught to give…… In this solitude there is no morbidness, there is no harsh withdrawing and there is no aspect of separateness. There is only the place where the disciple stands, detached and unafraid and in that place of utter quiet the Master comes and solitude is not.
Neutrality
Neutrality is one of the suggestions I found useful in the HeartMath Solution. The authors propose that when you’re unable to find anything to appreciate about a situation imagine feeling neutral toward it. The Bailey material referred to this as Spiritual Indifference. It involves not getting caught up or attached to feelings or moods that stimulate pain, distress and also excitement within our bodies. While our bodies are our vehicles for this earthly experience and need to be nurtured, constant negative feelings can be unhealthy. From a soul perspective, while their shade provides a richness in the colour of life, the negative needs to recognized as a pointer without getting caught up in or attached to it.
Confusing mood, feeling and sensation within our bodies as spiritual reality can lead first to illusion and then addiction. Though addiction prevents the soul from making itself known in our lives it can be a signpost to soul consciousness.
I think about addiction as habitual behaviour embedded in our personality. We may be conscious of it but it has become a trap. A trap in that we imagine it is needed so that our lives may continue as normal. Addictions to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes can be life-threatening and there are also what Judith Wright calls soft addictions which may include moodiness, surfing the internet, gossip, cellphone usage, television, overeating, procrastination.
When I catch myself sinking into a soft addiction adopting an attitude of neutrality is useful to ease my way out of it. By introducing a more positive attitude, focusing on purpose or vision for my life, the addiction gradually loses it hold.
Impersonality
When a man is beginning to live as a soul, and when his consciousness has shifted away from the world of illusion, then he can be useful……. The true picture of the world’s need releases you from your own ambition and sets you free to work with no thought of self or of spiritual happiness and with no desire for any self appointed task; with no longing for glittering promises of future success and with no demanding ache for the tender touch and contact with those greater in consciousness than ourselves……. You need to learn the lessons of accepting guidance from your own soul and of learning to work with harmony and impersonality on the physical plane with the group or groups to which your destiny impels you.
The idea that comes to mind as I read this is presence. During my Holistic Life Coach training one of the catch phrases we heard often was…. Your presence is enough. To be present with the client without wanting to fix them, without feeling you need to do something. Within that presence I am connected to soul and if I hear my heart calling that is the time to offer myself to the process.
The other idea that comes to mind is from Don Miguel Ruiz’s book, The Four Agreements. One of the Agreements he encourages readers to cultivate is taking nothing personally. Each of us is doing the best with what life has gifted them. If we are experiencing something challenging it is about our own internal processes rather what anyone may be doing or saying to us.
Detachment
One of the processes of meditation is that of witnessing. Becoming the watcher of what is happening within as I endeavour to quiet the mind. I become a trainspotter following the train of thought, though not being attached to it. The carriages of thought can contain a cargo of emotion and this observational attitude is useful so I don’t get hooked into the feelings thought may generate.
When I bring this witness with me into everyday life I don’t get caught up in other people’s stuff. I am able to allow their process to unfold and just be with them in that and as before let presence show the way.
By standing serene there is no more waste motion, no more mistaken moves, and no more false interpretations, no wandering down the bypaths of daily living, no seeing others through distorted and prejudiced vision and – above all – no more misuse of force.
Resources:
D.K. through Alice A. Bailey:
The Soul The Quality of Life
Doc Childre & Howard Martin:
The HeartMath Solution
