The Eight Principles of Spiritual Living.
1.
The principle to observe and not absorb.
When we observe,
We take a new mental position.
In whatever situation we are in,
In whatever relationships we find ourselves,
Observing is a silent skill,
A skill I need to learn,
If I am to assess clearly what positive changes are needed in a situation or with a person.
An observer keeps the mind clear,
Free,
And thus open to new perspectives,
Because we learn to listen and tune into the reality of the other.
Observing enables us to be creative,
Productive,
Effective,
Because we have given space for a true and better understanding.
If we do not learn this art of observing,
We react and absorb ourselves in the negativity of the person or event.
We get lost in the quicksand of what's wrong,
And so we can never make things right.
As we absorb,
We fill ourselves,
Become heavy with negative emotion,
And remain helpless on the ground.
The gravity of overload does not allow us to rise and perceive the reality of things.
We lose perspective.
If we wish to understand how the mental position of observing gives us the power of perspective,
We can look at a bird and the ant,
The ant busy,
Busy,
Busy,
Scrambling over everything in its rush to find food and to collect it.
We'll only see what is in front of its nose.
The bird,
On the other hand,
Leaves the earth,
And as it flies up alone,
Higher and higher,
It starts to see the bigger picture compared to when it was on the ground or on a branch.
Seeing the whole picture,
It has the perspective of the area,
Then can truly see where to go,
What to do.
When we lose perspective,
We get stuck in the detail,
We miss the obvious,
And cannot imagine or think of other realities.
