When spiritual seekers say “I don’t do politics because I’m spiritual”, they create a false separation between inner work and love for humanity. The truth is, spirituality and politics flow from the same sacred source.
Think of how your heart expands when you meditate on The Great Whole – that magnificent reality where all beings, all actions, all hopes are interwoven. Politics isn’t separate from this divine connection. It’s one of the ways we express our love for the whole.
To walk a spiritual path is to feel the pulse of compassion beating in your chest, calling you to show up fully in the world. When we witness suffering in our communities, how can our hearts not move us to action? Being political is one way we answer this sacred call to care for others.
From our local neighborhoods to our global family, our spiritual practice deepens when we engage with the real struggles of real people. Every time we advocate for those whose voices go unheard, every time we support policies that lift up the vulnerable, we’re expressing the highest truth of spirituality: that we belong to each other.
Yes, both spirituality and politics can become distorted by ego and the hunger for power. But at their purest, they both spring from the same well of love – love that serves rather than dominates, love that shares power rather than hoards it, love that sees the divine in every face.
A spirituality that turns away from political engagement is like a heart that refuses to pump blood to part of the body. True spirituality flows everywhere, nourishing all aspects of life, moving us to create a world where everyone can thrive. This is how we embody the infinite love of The Universe.
But what are we creating? Heaven or Hell?
We live in the most abundant age in the history of the world, and yet we face a spiritual deficit.
The current conditions around the world are manifestations of our collective spirituality.
Injustice, hate, violence, hostility, dishonesty, and fear, are all symptoms of the condition of our spirit, body, and mind.
The responsibility falls squarely on each of us. Not on religion, or government, or science, or culture.
I take responsibility for the world I’m living in, and the world I’m creating for future generations.
I choose to rise up spiritually.
I choose to be better every day.
I choose to be more kind, more compassionate, more just, more truthful, more loving, more patient, more humble, more grateful, more honorable, more peaceful, more playful, more joyful.
Together we can create a world where we are all pure in heart.
She was crying. I didn’t have to ask how she felt. Her tears showed it.
She wasn’t crying tears of sadness or pain. She was crying tears of relief.
Decades of repressed emotions were being released. Each tear washing away pain, anger, frustration, fear, disappointment.
After a while, her tight quivering jaw softened. Her breathing slowed, Her shoulders relaxed. When the tears finally stopped, she sighed, and all she could say was:
I feel healed.
And then the tears of joy came.
The snippet you just read happened a couple of days ago during a coaching sessions with a client. And it was repeated with several other clients during the past week.
I share this with you because many people still don’t know what a life coach does.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
I get asked this question a lot. Because life coaching is a relatively new profession, most people aren’t as familiar with it as they are with other professions such as nurse, teacher, lawyer, etc.
Whenever I tell people I’m a life coach, the most common reactions I receive are:
Curiosity. Some wonder if it’s like therapy or counseling.
Cynicism: Some will ask: “What? You teach people how not to suck at life?”
Confusion. Some immediately go into a blank stare when they hear the title “life coach” because it’s a foreign concept and it just doesn’t register in their heart or their mind.
While different coaches focus on different things and use different methods, the best coaches achieve two major results for their clients:
Healing
Wholeness
When a client feels healed and whole, she shows up in her life and relationships in a powerful way, making life happen instead of waiting for life to happen. She remembers who she truly is, manifests her purpose in life. and lives inspired.
HEALING
Whenever a negative energy or condition turns into a positive one, that is a healing.
It is a miracle and a wonder that our bodies can heal without any conscious thought from us. Who knows how many different ailments, maladies, diseases or otherwise, are naturally transformed from negatives into positives without us even realizing it.
Sometimes though, our body needs outside help. It may be in the form of an over the counter medicine, the trained skill of a medical professional, or the gifts of a spiritual healer like myself.
And it’s not just the body that require outside help every once in a while. The spirit and mind also need help. A spirit burdened with guilt or shame or pride, will affect the body and mind. A mind fixated on the past or worried about the future, will affect the spirit and the body.
Once healing happens in spirit, body, and mind, then wholeness can begin.
WHOLENESS
Being whole means to be at one with Self, Others,and God (the Universe).
In wholeness, Love is the expression; Gratitude and Appreciation are the overall attitudes.
In a world where competition seems like the natural order of things, it may seem impossible to be one with anything or anyone, including our own selves.
The truth is, as we become at one with everything, we realize there is no competition. Only existence. And in existence, things are free to come and go, to transform, to be who or what they truly are and always have been.
At times, this brings us to some seemingly irreconcilable differences. Things that appear to contradict each other (e.g., religion and science), and to which there is no available answer as of yet.
That’s ok. Wholeness doesn’t require a perfect knowledge and understanding of everything. All it needs is an ability to hold space for the known and the unknown, the light and the shadow, the positive and the negative. When this space exists, wholeness flourishes.
THANK YOU
I appreciate you taking the time to read my thoughts and feelings on Coaching, Healing, and Wholeness. If you believe this will benefit a family member or friend, please share it with them.
If you or someone you know is in need of healing or wholeness, contact me. I will be happy help in any way I can.
Spirituality is a skill you can develop, and is essential to your progress as a person. If you want to live a life full of joy, meaning, and purpose; then you must grow in spirituality.
Spirituality impels [you] to conquer difficulties and acquire more and more strength. – David O. McKay
SBNR
Over the last 50 years, individuals all over the world have increasingly self identified as being Spiritual But Not Religious (SBNR). This means they consider themselves spiritual, but do not affiliate with any organized religion. In the U.S. alone, “one-fifth of the U.S. public – and a third of adults under 30 – are religiously unaffiliated today.”1And even though these individuals do not practice a particular religion, most of them do believe in God.2
So what about you? Do you consider yourself spiritual but not religious? Have you developed the skill of spirituality?
Skill
Spirituality is the skill of self–mastery and communion with the Infinite (i.e. God, Spirit, Source, Light, the Universe). This simple definition is tremendously practical because it can be practiced by the most ardent believer and the staunchest non–believer alike.
A spiritual person seeks to master Self and to be at one with the Infinite. Think about the most spiritual people in your life. What is their level of self–mastery? How connected do they feel to the Infinite? Do they not seem to be connected to everyone and everything around them? If you asked them, they would most likely tell you they’ve been practicing the skill of spirituality for a long time, and that they still have a long way to go before they master it.
The skill of spirituality helps you develop inner strength. It puts things into proper perspective, and gives you a clear view of things as they really are. Nature becomes a temple. Music becomes a language of truth. The body becomes an instrument for channeling the Infinite.
As your spirituality increases, so does your wholeness, purpose, and fulfillment.
Developing the Skill
Like any skill, spirituality is developed through practice. Present practice. Striving to be better now than you were a moment ago. Letting yesterday go and resolving to be better today.
What must you practice? Everything that helps you master Self and be at one with the Infinite.
Common traits of the spiritually skillful are:
1. Awareness – being attuned to the expressions of Self, others, and the Infinite. The key is to create space for the expression of all three, and to listen for the Truth in each expression. Feelings, thoughts, words, and actions are carefully chosen because these influence the harmony between all three expressions, and either sharpen or dull awareness.
2. Prayer/Meditation – moments of reflection where the deepest desires are expressed, and intense listening is the prevailing attitude. The overall goal is to bring back or manifest the clarity of Truth, to feel or perceive the presence of the Infinite, and to reconcile the relationship between Self and the Infinite.
3. Ritual – a series of actions, behaviors, or practices that are consistently repeated, often with intention and reverence. Ritual does not have to be religious. It can be anything that requires focus, discipline, and commitment to regular practice. This includes yoga, exercise of some sort, playing an instrument, painting, writing, and other creative activities. Even washing the car each week can be a ritual.
4. Love – for Self, others, and the Infinite. Usually expressed in the form of appreciation, compassion, humor, kindness, and respect. To love one is to love many. Those who love most are most grateful. Love for Self includes appreciation of imperfections. Love for others includes nature and all of its creatures. Love for the Infinite includes patience for the uncertain and unknown.
5. Giving – a selfless desire to provide as much as possible to others. Born of love and the recognition that much has been received. It is usually done in private and without expectation of reciprocation. Generously giving helps the spiritually skillful to master Self because it turns the focus to others. The giver finds her own needs and wants met as she meets the needs and wants of others.
6. Study – continual learning; especially of Truth. The spiritually skillful recognize that mastery over Self and communion with the Infinite require a deeper and deeper understanding of Self and the Infinite. The need for study becomes obvious because the more you learn, the more you realize how much you don’t know. Mastery doesn’t mean becoming an expert. Rather, it means being a continual student.
7. Sacrifice – willfully giving up one thing for something far better. It requires the faith, hope, and trust because there is no guarantee that the future benefit will actually be received. And it comes in all shapes and sizes. Some sacrifice a half hour of sleep in order to receive the benefit of an early work out. Others sacrifice the pursuit of personal gain in exchange for more time with loved ones. Ultimately, mastery of Self and communion with the Infinite requires giving up the old Self.
Within Reach
Spirituality is like water. Where more is present, Life thrives. Where there is little, Life is a barren desert.
And just as nature has its times, rhythms, and seasons of growth; so too does the skill of spirituality.
Few achieve mastery in this life. But all can develop the skill of spirituality.
All it takes is a little awe to make you feel religious
Any fool can feel religious around the holidays. When the entire Judeo-Christian world is lit up — literally — with celebrations of faith, family and love, you’ve got to be awful…
As one who has been to the Grand Canyon several times, I can attest to the sense of awe and wonder felt when gazing at such natural beauty and majesty. It is very much a spiritual experience.
