Our God…That which holds our Attention…

Oh boy…I don’t think I’ve used the word God in a blog title before. Yikes. I’m really setting myself up aren’t I? And I’m sure biting off way more than I can chew. But I’m hoping that my micro-moment of contemplation can somehow land on the minds of each of us in ways that simply allow us to breathe, take it in, peel back the layers, see what rings true for us and what supports us to be clearer, stronger and more aligned.

So, I’ve been listening to some podcasts and watching some things that focus on both politics and religion, radical and centrist perspectives. These are huge influences that drive collective belief systems and actions today. And now more than ever, we are needing to pay attention to how we are filtering what we read and hear and watch through an anchored value system and see what if any of it matches what we believe makes a better world.

There is a saying, “Our god is that which holds our attention.” Is it possible that how we conduct our everyday personal lives, how we are focusing our attention, is our human prayer and even what we are worshiping? Is it aligned with what we say we believe? And if we say we believe in the teachings of a religion or philosophy or spiritual path, are our behaviors matching the core teachings?

When we say that we believe in the teachings of Jesus, or Mohammed, or the Torah, or the Buddha, or the Tao, or any of the other belief systems, there is a common thread of what we most honor and worship about these original teachers, who all had a human walk on the Earth. The thread has to do with their teachings on kindness, compassion, patience, taking care of others, taking care of the environment, living simply and humbly and in integrity, loving thy neighbor, not seeking material things…taking the plank out of our own eye before we poke at the splinter in the eye of another (Matthew), and all that. It’s so clear that in each of these master’s lives, they made very specific choices in order to honor their path to understanding a higher divine calling. And they lived by these choices, and taught these choices, and gained followings for thousands of years. And yet, as we view our world today, as it becomes less clear what the future holds and as we become more fearful of the hatred and division that seems to separate us, societies continue to espouse belief in these original teachers’ messages which have nothing to do with the destruction being perpetrated. People continue to come together in solidarity around these teachings, then forego these simple teachings in order to make room for radical consumerism, racism, supremacy, genocide, external authoritarianism, violence and abuse.

I think we can all say that were everyone on the planet to choose kindness, compassion, giving, sharing, creativity, and loving with each and every other human on the planet, it’s clear what the world would look like. So why do we choose otherwise, especially if we are claiming to believe in these very ideas as put forth by the teachers we worship?

With so many things out of our control, the one thing we can powerfully influence is the integrity in our own minds, with those we have daily contact, our communities, and our sphere of influence. We can make more conscious daily choices about how we will conduct our lives and our behaviors, the words we speak to one another, the support we give to others, the compassion we will cultivate for the end of suffering for all beings. We can hold this vision, that the end of suffering is available for all beings. Practice, practice, practice.

Thanks for reading and Take care of each other out there, Melanie

If you would like to explore this practice further in your own life, with support, please contact me directly at Melanie@innertegrity.com, or visit my website, www.innertegrity.com/sessions.