Diamond Author
We know we are body, mind and spirit. Part of accepting balance in our lives is accepting all three without negating any one part. We strive for improvement. We work out to get our bodies in shape. We read self-help and inspirational books to develop emotionally and mentally. In these efforts, the challenge is not to be obsessive, not to exercise beyond reason, and not to read and forget to interact with others.
The same caution applies to our quest for spirituality. We should not get so enthralled with new views that we focus on our transcendence and forget that our journey must be grounded in an acceptance of being human. Too often we immerse ourselves in a new quest to the exclusion of other, equally important tasks. Being spiritual does not mean not being human. That is the tricky part. Being spiritual means being a better human.
We need conscious and awakened individuals who are willing to engage in and help the world. Robert Rabbin, a spiritual teacher and executive coach suggests that "We get real, not ideal," in an article in EnlightenNext Magazine (Apr-June 2007), trying to be sure any spiritual quest has a practical, everyday component. Tom Huston, author of the article, partially agrees, but worries that Rabbin is being too mundane. Huston wants "authentic Spirituality or enlightenment...to change, to grow, to mature, to develop, to evolve and to otherwise transform my oh-so-less-than-ideal human self."
I agree with both. Spirituality does involve transformation and a striving for ideals, but that must be tempered with the daily, necessary chores of being a human. We should remember the balance. We can't transcend without dealing with the nitty-gritty, bill-paying material world. But we can't get caught in the daily grind without accepting the importance of a higher connection. Balance is where we find our center; that is our point of power. That is where we find our practical spirituality.
Too often the debate is one or the other. In a world of extremes, finding the middle ground is not always easy. Ignoring either of the two, the "real or the ideal," that is the practical life or the spiritual life, dooms our efforts. A practical spirituality is an answer, again, where the two efforts meet and thrive.
The real is our effort to cope with daily demands. The ideal is our quest to transcend and transform that life. We need a Practical Spirituality that balances the two.
About this Author
Cheryl A. Chatfield, Ph. D. invites you to visit her nonprofit organization at http://NottInstitute.org to sign up for the free monthly Practical Spirituality Newsletter and receive a complimentary copy of "Five Must-Read Metaphysical Books for 2010."
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