How to Live and Why

Spirit shares gems of wisdom.

Spirit tells me that to live in such a way that brings
a sense of satisfaction and pleasure requires us
to seek to serve others, because in serving others
we also serve ourselves.

Survival of oneself depends upon survival of others
and upon the survival of the environment which
sustains us all.

But, He continues, we cannot care for anyone if we
do not first care for ourselves, because if we have
no love for ourselves then we have no love to share
with anyone or anything else.

It’s as simple as that.

Messengers and Teachers

Spirit shares gems of wisdom with me. Why? I don’t know,
but I’m glad he does.

He tells me that I’m not the one who’s directing His
traffic, nor is He directing mine, except …

Except what?

Not what, but how and why? We each serve a higher
purpose than our own.

I’m free, He tells me, to choose to listen to Him
and the teachings that He would share with me,
or not to listen. He’s a messenger and the teachings
He shares with me, for whatever reason, are far
beyond a one-to-one personal correspondence. they are
also meant for whomever cares to hear them and to
consider their value. They were never, He repeats,
designed for me, alone.

Why me at all?

You seemed to be ready.

Can you be both a messenger and a teacher of the
messages you share with me?

Is a teacher not as a messenger to his or her
students?

Yes. I see. The teacher must first have received
the messages she or he now shares with students.

Yes.

A Personal History Book

Spirit shares words of wisdom with me that seem so deep and yet expressed in words simple enough even for me, a simple seeker
and slow learner, to almost understand.

He tells me that knowing is not a matter of faith. We know
that wounds hurt for we have experienced their pain, both
physical and emotional wounds.

Physical pain is felt through our physical senses while
emotional pain is a mental state and is often learned and
developed through habit.

How do we learn emotional pain?

It’s a socially acquired skill.

If you offend me and I feel distressed, then I have learned
to feel distressed, and you’re not the cause?

Yes.

Who taught me?

You taught yourself.

Then, everyone would feel offended for the same reason?

Not necessarily.

Why?

You couldn’t offend me.

Perhaps you’ve developed immunity to offence.

There are other labels.

Such as?

Tolerance, patience, understanding, compassion, …
The list goes on.

You didn’t include awareness.

Yes.

Why?

The examples I provided each require a certain depth
of awareness.

The problem with that approach, or at least one problem,
is that it would seem to require a certain detachment
from the emotional state of the offender, as well as
from oneself.

Why would that be a problem?

It would suggest a certain lack of sensitivity.

Not necessarily so.

Please explain.

As we become increasingly aware of the path, then we can
listen to what some might call offence, calmly, and feel
compassion for the distress of the other. As Confucius
might say, “No blame”.

How is that possible?

As we develop an ever more clear vision, we can see in many
more directions than one.The present arrived from the
past and we each are as a personal history book that
those who have eyes to see can read, and we all can and
will develop eyes that see, sooner or later, and from
a unique perspective.

I’m not ready for that quality of insight, yet.

Yes.
aught me? urs

The Way it Is

Spirit tells me that we each are as rays of the sun
but not separate from the sun in any real way other
than the direction we may choose to face. The sun,
He tells me, has power to pull its rays home.

Life, too, is like that. We each live an individual
existence only in our own mind and, perhaps in the
minds of some others. But no number or individual or
group illusions alters the reality of the illusion.

Reason Does Not Express Itself

I may never know why Spirit chooses to share His understanding
of spiritual philosophy with me, but I hope I will be eternally
grateful to Him for helping me to understand His deep thoughts
in a form simple enough for me to learn.

The wisdom He shares with me is not His, alone, He tells me.
He claims that all that He has learned has been shared with
Him, as it was with those who taught Him what He now shares
with me. It belongs to everyone who cares to claim it.

Problems arise, He tells me, when the knowledge we each absorb
from whomever or whatever source is filtered through and
modified by our unique understanding, that has necessarily
developed through personal experience.

How can what is necessary be a problem?

Not in itself.

How, then?

The problem arises when we seek to share what we know
or think we know, with others.

But, surely we need to share …

Yes, we need to share our unique understanding, at least
with those who seem to be aware of …

Can awareness be shared?

In the story of Buddha and the rose, the rose expressed
something to the teacher that he wished to share with
his followers …

And only one student responded with a smile at the beauty
of the flower.

Yes. Th others were all aware that it was a beautiful rose,
but were …

Trying to rationalize what message it was meant to teach.

Yes, appreciation of beauty for its own sake requires
emotional maturity.

Beauty express itself and reason does not?

Yes.

velops when we seek to share what we know

A Life Worth Living

A spirit teacher shares gems of wisdom beyond
my capacity to fully understand; simple and yet
deep insights into life, as we each live it,
and how, He tells me,with a little effort
we each might live a life worth living.

Will I be pleased to be asked to share memories
of past experiences, He asks me.

What past experiences?

Your past experiences.

I couldn’t possibly remember them all.

Why?

How would it be possible?

To remember?

Yes.

Reflection.

But, my focus is on what I am experiencing now.

Why?

Because I must choose how to live today.
It’s too late to worry about yesterday.

What about tomorrow?

What about it?

Isn’t that my style of questioning?

Exclusively?

So, you have chosen to adopt a way not your own?

It is my way, once I have adopted it.

Why did you adopt a new response?

It seemed more appropriate to this particular
situation than possible past responses might.

Yes.

What does that mean?

It means that it’s never to late to change
the way we each respond to particular effects.

Effects?

Effects.

As in cause and …

Yes.

Is that the message?

What?

We each choose or at least contribute to
the next cause in whatever endless series
of cause and effect situations are
developing in our life.

Singular?

Singular.

Yes.

Beyond Love

A new year begins but life-long learning continues
as a spirit guide shares a precious gift of wisdom.

Wisdom is love, He tells me.

But, love is emotion.

Yes.

And, wisdom requires intellect.

Yes.

So, how can one be the other?

Which one?

Emotion.

Emotion is emotion.

And intellect is …

Intellect.

But wisdom is love?

Yes.

Then, is love wisdom?

When?

So, wisdom is love but love is not always wise?

Yes.

Then, wisdom would seem to transcend love?

Yes.

But, love is generally accepted by so-called
spiritual groups, and individuals, as being
supreme.

Yes.

This is an error of thinking?

Yes.

How to correct it?

With truth.

And how to find truth?

There is no way to find Truth. It finds you.

Spirituality as a Coping Strategy

Spirit tells me that spirituality is a coping
strategy. Spiritual people do not escape from
the challenges that human life requires them
to face and cope with.

However, spirituality provides an understanding
of how difficult situations develop and offers
an opportunity to learn ways and means of moving
around, over, under, or through difficult
situations.

Spirituality is not separate from intelligence.
It is a quality of intelligence, as is emotion.
Actually, intelligence itself is wisdom wearing
an academic cloak.

Intelligence is highly valued in human society.

What field of intelligence?

High Tech.

Yes, technological progress, as it is called,
has served to connect people in a way that would
have been considered as magical a few generations
before your current lifetime.

But, the quality of our global communication ….

Technology is a tool. People use tools to do
what they would do without them, if they could.

So, technology does not improve intelligence?

No.

So what does?

Intelligence is intelligence.

To some degree, more or less?

Yes.

What about spiritual intelligence?

What about it?

How do we develop it?

We cannot develop anything that we do not
already possess the potential to develop.

So, everyone possesses or is …

Is what?

Spiritually intelligent?

Yes.

Wow!!

Yes, we each are potentially spiritual
beings.

The breatharian mantra claims that “I am
a spiritual being sustained by the breath
of life.

Saying it doesn’t make it so. We are each
forms of energy with unique potentialities.

We each possess potential to become
spiritual?

To become more spiritual.

More than what?

More than what we now are.

But, if we were potentially …

Potential spiritual intelligence cannot
be considered as more than only …

Then, potential spiritual intelligence
is a necessary prerequisite to developing
any spiritual intelligence?

Yes.

How does spirituality become a coping skill?

Spirituality is a coping skill.

How to use it?

How do you use anything?

By first learning what it can do.

Yes.

How to learn what spirituality can do?

By living and reflecting on lived experience.

We Each Know Everyone Else

Spirit tells me that there have always been
dedicated teachers of wisdom in every culture
since time began, who have shared their
understanding and awareness of how life
can be lived for the benefit of all.

But, there are surely many more ways than
one to live a life that benefits all,
if it was possible to know how the life
we live could harm anyone.

Awareness would teach you.

How to become aware?

Experience.

Experience of what?

Being harmed as a result of how others
live their lives.

It isn’t possible to know how all others
live their lives.

Why?

I don’t know all others.

Do you know yourself?

Yes, I think so.

Then you know everyone else.

Whatever works

Spirit shares timeless wisdom.

But, there are times when He seems to be
just too much.

Too much what?

Too much authority.

Too much for whom?

For me.

Such as when or how?

You seem to tell me that I must learn to walk
my talk, and yet I find myself walking your talk.

Is there a difference?

Yes, or at least in degrees of adherence to
simplicity. You don’t seem to understand
that physical life is different than life in
Spirit, alone.

In what way?

There is so much to enjoy in my world.

And, in mine?

God only knows what exists in Your world.

I know.

We’ve wandered from the topic.

One of us has.

Then, to get back on track, why do I find
myself trying to walk your talk when my
very instincts assure me that pleasure is
designed for earthly enjoyment.

It is.

Then, why do I find myself trying to live
a much more simple lifestyle than I find
comfortable, just to please you.

Do your efforts in this regard seem
to please me?

No.

Then why do you do it?

I don’t know.

Then, let me remind you that you choose
to accept the conditions I require of you.

Yes, I choose to accept, but, something
in me still resists.

What?

What is it within we that resists
or what is it that I resist?

Are you directing my style of questioning
towards me?

Whatever works.

Yes.