Everyday Spirituality for the Professional

Part THREE - DAY-TO-DAY

By Karin Leonard

This series explores how to stay connected to your spiritual self, even in the busyness of everyday.  Previously, we discussed the power of solo retreats (Part One) and took a closer look at spirituality (Part Two). This part and the next explore applying your spiritual life to the day-to-day.

Today’s spiritual journey meets many challenges, especially when set smack in the middle of corporate America.  We may have great insights when discussing spiritual principles, and maybe we even have mystical moments when away on retreat.  Yet, how do we translate these encounters with higher awareness into everyday life?  How do you stay connected to the “golden thread of luminosity” – with such a full calendar, endless business meetings, and the demands of family life? You may hardly have time to catch your breath, so how could you expect to stay connected to the musings of soul and spirit?

Everyday Sacredness

Because many of us are insanely busy, spiritual practice needs to support everyday life rather than add another string of to do’s.  Feeding your soul is more about being than doing.  The question is how you relate to each moment and to every person you meet.

What is your intended “code of conduct” as you move through the day, and how connected do you stay to your own principles?  Spirituality can be a living and breathing way of life – rather than a brief encounter during meditation practice or Sunday church.  How do you want to be during the day, with your self and towards others?  The way we treat the checkout clerk at the supermarket, or the self-talk we engage in, can be opportunities for spiritual practice.

Religions and spiritual traditions usually have a set of principles, whether it is the Ten Commandments, the Buddhist Precepts, or the ten insights of the “Celestine Prophesy”.  When adopted out of your own free will, simple standards like “Tell the Truth,” “Practice Compassion,” “Love your Neighbor as yourself” or “ Help if you can, at least don’t harm” … can free you up, and provide a compass in all the craziness.  You can go quite deep with these principles, and discover ever-deeper layers of honoring them.  Just imagine the shift we would see in the business world, if an increasing number of professionals chose to fully adopt the principle of honoring the truth and being their word in all interactions!  In the end, if you always tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything…  Or, if a respect for life really came before anything else, revolutionary change would follow.

Within your circle of influence, you can initiate your own quiet revolution by choosing and committing to a personal credo or “code of ethics.”  Start simply, perhaps selecting just one principle at first, and then practice, practice, practice.  Adopting a high standard is not about being perfect, but can provide you with a beacon of light and direction, in the middle of a stressful day.

For information:   

Karin Leonard & Associates:  (831) 724-5400  

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E-mail karin@innerevolution.com.

 

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