Introspection intertwined within the process of appreciating
moments 'in the present' may seem like an odd combination. However, if you are able to focus on what is
in front of you, you might be able to discover a piece of your being while
giving yourself inner peace.
Is it possible to experience life and spiritual
multitasking? You ask.
Oh yeah, you betcha!
When you are able to do this along your journey, you add
another layer of ‘life appreciation’ as a component to explore beyond the
depths of traditional compartmentalization.
Why? Why Stacey, why
must we do this? Isn’t this wrong? Aren’t we supposed to have only quiet and be
in a park or in meditation in some quiet place at home doing only that?
Hey, I’m not saying you must multitask, however this is an
OPTION for those of you who CLAIM YOU DO NOT HAVE TIME to appreciate things
for balance in mind, body, soul, and spirit wellness. You may use the excuse that it is because you’re busy.
Those excuses do not cut it anymore.
You have time and if I can give you the tools
to enjoy your life from another perspective, you are not limiting your options
any longer. I am here to show you
various ways you can get more enjoyment out of life.
Let us start with your drive to work. First, stop dwelling on the negative aspects of your journey.
Do you commute? Is
there a part of your daily commute, which helps you transcend your
consciousness to find beauty by getting lost in transit?
Do you know what this looks like from the POSITIVE point of view? No?
Confused? Need an example?
Let me demonstrate by showing you through an example of my own.
There is this piece of the freeway interchange in L.A. that I
adore in both a morning and evening commute…
It the city skyline. If you are
commuting in the early morning, you will see this slice of heaven where it appears
postcard perfect. As the sun rises
exactly at the right angle hitting the top of the downtown buildings, it
glistens and seems to sing. If you have
your windows down, there are remnants of the morning air not yet polluted and
the coolness of the dewy breeze enters your car appearing to hold wonder and
promise.
At night the city skyline is pitch black and the golden hue
of the lights align with the glow of the moon.
As you see a stream of taillights in red like threads of laser beams one
way and white headlights the other, which look like neon ribbons. If you drive this section going Southbound on
the freeway, there is this dark purple haze from the reflection. During warmer
months if you have your windows open, you feel the balmy warm breeze as you see
some silhouettes of trees. It does not
matter what kind of day you have had, there is this sense of ‘all is well’ even
if you are in horrible traffic.
Whether it is the morning commute or evening commute, at
this time I get clarity of why they call L.A. the City of Angels. It does
appear to be angelic at this spot. It is here I understand the allure of magic
and what draws both tourists and aspiring artists, snowbirds, and transplants
from other states and countries.
For me, even after all these years along the challenging independent
maverick warrior pathway, which would have most people jaded or tainted, I
admit that it is this slice right here that still nabs me every time and probably
always will. I still believe in this encapsulated moment, a nuance of what others believe the city to be. It’s one of those sigh-worthy moments and
this is what makes life pretty cool where I can look back fondly on every drive I’ve
had to make and only appreciate this section, which I look forward to each time
I get to do it.
Also while I am here, I get to finally enjoy radio and be a
cume listener the way the car stereo was designed to be used isolated for my
scrutinizing ears. Here I am able to smile, laugh and sing, while rhythmically tapping my
non-driving foot and drumming emphatically on the steering wheel.
Body? I am aware of what my body is doing as I am driving.
Mind? My mind is conscious in human state, but it is also rising into other elevated
levels of consciousness in the out-of-body to observe.
Soul? I am feeling from my core in my emotions/feelings and beliefs both shaped from the actual experience of being present, but also from recall of resonance within the feeling as the feeling is happening.
Spirit? This spiritual multitasking is about elevated consciousness as it is continuing to escalate in realization - both self-realization as it is happening in real time AND comprehension of that nirvana place of the human experience from the soul level as the spirit is rising.
Still with me?
Body? I am aware of what my body is doing as I am driving.
Mind? My mind is conscious in human state, but it is also rising into other elevated
levels of consciousness in the out-of-body to observe.
Soul? I am feeling from my core in my emotions/feelings and beliefs both shaped from the actual experience of being present, but also from recall of resonance within the feeling as the feeling is happening.
Spirit? This spiritual multitasking is about elevated consciousness as it is continuing to escalate in realization - both self-realization as it is happening in real time AND comprehension of that nirvana place of the human experience from the soul level as the spirit is rising.
Still with me?
What I just described is a vignette of life appreciation in
the moment and how the first two sentences at the top of the blog occur when
you can get lost in transit as you transcend your introspection/feeling
evaluation in suspended consciousness of being in that moment.
If YOU can do this in your commute, you can achieve
visually, mentally, spiritually and even emotionally all I described in one
physical moment.
It is here YOU, YOUR LIFE, YOUR JOURNEY will hold whatever
is in store for you to process.
- What does this look like for you?
- What epiphanies do you have as you are beginning your day?
- Where are you going (both literally and figuratively)?
- When do you anticipate your arrival (literally) for where you are going?
- As you ponder these questions, take a long look at how you enter your day-to-day, and ask yourself, how much of this time do you actually file away in your mind?
- Do you take everything that is above this line for granted? Do you appreciate the moments in how you take in your day?
These questions entered my mind this week as I took on a two
and a half hour commute, where there was an accident forcing three lanes to
merge into one. I was stuck in traffic –
the kind of traffic where you sit on the freeway as if it is a parking lot.
Most people hate this kind of commute. However, over time if
this is your regular journey you learn to accept it and then find ways to enjoy it –
that is, if you want to be as stress-free as possible. Not everyone does.
As I looked around on this freeway parking lot, I saw things
I should not have seen like one person brushing their teeth and grossly
spitting toothpaste out the window. Come on, people… this is disgusting probably for everyone to see, right?
Nevertheless, after the traffic opened up again, I was able
to notice the blue sky, the white clouds, and a few trees, which somehow
brought beauty, back to the scene to semi-erase what I saw earlier from my mind. Oddly, I still find amusement in what I witnessed as it took me into another
world. Here I can appreciate the fact I may never see this (thankfully re: the tooth brushing in
the car) in that particular context again.
STOP. Yes. STOP right here to see what I just said. There are those rare moments you may not even see
if your commute as the same. Take stock
in that, too. Observing human behavior
is confirmation for your being, THAT YOU ARE PRESENT.
Don’t we keep saying how important that is?
At that moment, I realized that all of the questions I just
asked you above – I never need ask myself any longer when I am beginning my day. To some, that may appear weird, but in the
morning I tend to only focus on what is in front of me and/or directions for
where I am headed so the human does not tangibly get lost in transit.
Do you know how I keep saying in my blogs and videos that when you tweak a link you develop a new habit and suddenly, your consciousness shifts? This is what I am talking about. It's a simple thing and then it is not even a 'thing' - it just becomes WHAT IS.
However, when I experienced this reality of the transcending
moment of inner peace and appreciation for where things were right at that
pristine moment, I was able to experience something beyond what I describe and I believe you can do this, too.
Everyone has this opportunity to do just that – though your
scenery may be different.
.
Maybe you see more people in your commute, where random acts
of kindness are there for your eyes to capture like cameras. Or perhaps you get to see more nature around
you, or interesting historical architecture.
You might see regular street musicians pouring their talent and heart
out in their craft out of pure passion for creative and artistic
expression. Or you might just the shiny
reflection of life going by on glass windows, or hear the symphony of bells
from streetcars or get to watch billboards being changed. Maybe your drive is a long one on a single
road through the cascading curves of canyons or fields before you get to an
actual highway.
Whatever you see, you have the opportunity to cherish with
your mind, feel with your heart and soul, see with your eyes, listen with your
ears and physical body, and spiritually acknowledge your consciousness.
All of your senses can be tantalized in this moment of time. It's yours to seize, IF YOU CHOOSE.
Yes, mind, body, soul and spirit health-well-being in a
commute… did you think this wasn’t possible?
Still think you do not have time to find your own spiritual
link just because you have no time to meditate or journal, be still at home, or
go for a walk? Well, now you have just
found a multi-tiered layer you did not realize you were having all this time in
your commute.
It is possible. If
you do not drive and you take public transit, then you really have no excuse. Take your face away from your phone for a
second and the earbuds out of your ears and look out your window… observe what
is around you. Find beauty and amusing
snippets of life RIGHT WHERE YO ARE.
They are there for you to enjoy and experience for the taking.
Life has a way of giving you life – IF YOU LET IT. As humans, it's easy to take these moments for granted.
It's time to LINK to it… see what happens. Get out of your head for just a second to
appreciate what you get to experience every single day.
You just might look at life a little differently and maybe
even enjoy certain moments in your mind-body spiritual multitasking.
Namaste.
