Synchronicity

Making the decision to consciously embark on the spiritual path is a life-changing event, no matter how seemingly minor the choice may have been at the time. But precisely because of its transformative nature, the spiritual path can produce some complications along the way when it comes to dealing with family and long-time friends. I've known a lucky few whose parents were also into the metaphysical and were even the ones who got their children into the esoteric, but not everyone's parents nor friends are as open-minded about such things.

A few days ago, Yehuda Berg of the Kabbalah Centre discussed a kabbalistic saying that goes: “Make for yourself a teacher and acquire for yourself a friend.” This saying has two aspects. One is that it's very important to have the guidance and blessings of a teacher. Spiritual forces, although invisible and difficult to quantify to the physical senses, are still very potent. Just as one wouldn't poke around high voltage electricity without guidance, so would it be necessary to have the guidance of a teacher in order to progress smoothly along the spiritual path. Teachers are not only found in the physical body. For those who are sensitive enough, they may also encounter a Teacher in the inner world.

The second part of the saying is also important. To "acquire a friend" means to have someone, or preferably a group, to share your spiritual journey with. Just as ordinary friends stick together and help each other through thick and thin, by surrounding oneself with other spiritually developed people one has the greatest chance of succeeding. The spiritual path can be lonely and frustrating, especially when there are no immediately discernible results. Receiving support and encouragement at just the right moment can mean the difference between further progress and a spiritual fall. Just as a plant needs the right environment and care in order to blossom, so does the right spiritual environment allow one to unlock the full potential of one's spiritual practice.

However, there still remains the tricky part of staying grounded in the everyday world, especially nowadays when lightworkers are called to assist in healing Mother Earth and assisting humanity. If you want to see what I mean, just imagine doing social work in a hinterland village where the people still eat pork, and trying to balance that with being a vegetarian and your other spiritual beliefs without offending and alienating the locals.

But even more than that, most of us still need to work for a living, to deal with everyday matters, and we don't necessarily want to abandon old friendships (a lot of my friends, while not as bent on spirituality as me, are actually good people). It's an interesting balancing act.

There's really not much to do about this except to point out the need to balance one's spirituality with the everyday world. Although we want to inspire others towards spirituality and be a good example to others, it really doesn't help one's case to stick out like a sore thumb. Check out this hilarious video one of my friends sent over the weekend:



That being said, here are probably two rules of thumb when interfacing with the everyday world:

1. Avoid being in your friends' or family's faces about one's lifestyle. No one likes being coerced into something, so just be respectful of other peoples' beliefs and if they want to know more about you, they'll ask you anyway.

2. Try to see the other person's point of view. You don't need to agree with it, just to understand it. This requires a lot of imagination and empathy, but it's a skill worth developing.

The above points require a lot of respect, humility, compassion and inner reflection to be aware of what one needs to do without compromising one's own beliefs. It's going to be a challenge, but hey, life is about learning anyway.