The following is a take on “12 Symptoms of a Spiritual Awakening”, author unknown.
1. A tendency to let things happen rather than force solutions or impose harmony. ASSIGNMENT: Say what you, mean, mean what you say, but don’t say it mean. Why? Because truth without compassion is cruelty.
2. Frequent spells of smiling. ASSIGNMENT: Go do something childlike (not to be confused with childish). Skip down the sidewalk and giggle gleefully! Remember, it’s not illegal to be crazy. It’s only illegal to act crazy. Though walking that balancing beam can be fun!
3. Feelings of being connected to nature. ASSIGNMENT: Maybe find time alone to meditate in the forest, or grab a friend and go for a walk in a park.
4. Frequent overwhelming episodes of appreciation. If you don’t tell at least three people a day that you love them, you’ve probably wasted a day of your life. ASSIGNMENT: Go find those three people (pets and plants counts, too)!
5. A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than from fears based on past experience. ASSIGNMENT: Imagine standing between two mirrors. The mirror on your left represents the past, the one on your right, the future. If you want to change your perception of the past, simply shift your angle of perception. Everything changes!
6. "An unmistakable ability to appreciate each moment." Of course, there are some moments in life that are less than ‘enjoyable’...but if we can see the good in them, perhaps then we can appreciate them as necessary and helpful. Even pain is beautiful if we see it from a Surrendered Beautiful Mind. ASSIGNMENT: Look for the good and you’ll find it. "An unmistakable ability to appreciate each moment." There are some moments in life that are less than enjoyable...but if I can see the good in them, I can appreciate them as necessary and helpful.
7. A loss of ability to worry. ASSIGNMENT: If you’re going to worry, why pray? If you’re going to pray, why worry? “The door to hell is [opened only from] the inside.” CS Lewis
8. A loss of interest in conflict. ASSIGNMENT: Forgive not because someone deserves forgiveness, but because you deserve peace. “Do not think of knocking out another person's brains because he differs in opinion from you. It would be as rational to knock yourself on the head because you differ from yourself ten years ago.” Horace Mann
9. A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others. ASSIGNMENT: Relax.
10. A loss of interest in judging others. ASSIGNMENT: Although the world seems to be addicted to judgment, don’t get into a pissing contest with a skunk over it! Remember that when you point your finger at someone, you have three fingers pointing back at you. “Judging others is easy because it distracts us from the responsibility of judging ourselves.” Charles F. Glassman
11. A loss of interest in judging self. ASSIGNMENT: Give yourself a break. “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” ee cummings
12. Gaining the ability to love without expecting anything in return. ASSIGNMENT: Read The More Loving One, a poem by WH Auden.
