How does practicing your Spirituality impact those around you? An Interconnected Spirit Perspective
Introduction by Cole Goodwin
Welcome to The Spiritual Roundtable, an interfaith roundtable featuring a diverse range of spiritual belief systems in the Gorge Community.
Each week, spiritual leaders and learners will share their take on some of humanity's biggest questions, starting with: What does your spirituality mean to you? And ramping up into discussions about the nature of existence, the soul, the divine, and of course…a question as old as time itself: why are we here?
Roundtable writings will be published each Saturday and Sunday of the month. So look forward to new installments every Saturday and Sunday morning!
Take a deep breath… Meditate for a moment…And when you’re ready…keep reading to explore the diverse faiths, belief systems, and philosophies that exist in our communities.
This Month's Question: How does your spirituality impact those around you? How does your spirituality encourage healthy relationships with other people, animals, and the earth? What is love? How can we be more loving?
Why this question was chosen: This question asks us to examine the basic principles and values that guide our Spirituality and expand our understanding of the many paths one can walk to live a Spiritual life.
About Cole Goodwin they/them/theirs
Cole is a facilitator of the CCCNews Spiritual Roundtable writers group and journalist for CCCNews. They are a deeply spiritual, genderfluid, and eclectic human, that seeks to cultivate connection where ever they go. Their spiritual beliefs center around the collective Spirit present in all beings and the Spirits ability to evolve and to connect all beings.
An Interconnected Spirit Perspective
By Cole Goodwin, CCCNews Spiritual Roundtable Facilitator
Honestly, it depends on how consistently I practice.
Like most people, I live in the flow of a life.
And as I’m sure you know…life can do things to you. You can’t underestimate life.
So I’m not always as consistent in living my values and beliefs as I’d like to be. Sometimes there are external societal and cultural forces that try to poison my Spirit with fear, hatred, anger, and shame. Sometimes my thoughts and actions are imperfect and my inner critic gets busy thinking unpleasant and self-esteem destroying thoughts.
I accept this as a part of my journey.
When I abandon my practice, I am often weak, depressed, anxious, and fearful.
I feel untethered from myself, the Spirit and the beings around me. And as a result I feel as though I have lost everything. I forget my intrinsic worth. My Heart retreats from me and I feel abandoned. My demons rush forward to fill the emptiness. I become jealous and judgmental. I fear the worst will happen and feel powerless. I feel heavy with regrets. These emotions spill out of my being and onto those around me. The resulting suffering is born of my own lack of self-respect.
I accept this as a part of my journey.
When I am inconsistent in practicing my spirituality I am often in a state of swinging from one mood to the next, caught in a cycle of feeling helpless and then empowered once more.
In a burst of energy I will feel I am accomplishing so much only to have it evaporate a moment later. In this state it is as if I have built my trust in myself and the universe on rickety stilts. It stands upright, but it doesn’t take much to bring it crashing down. My Heart then develops an understanding of scarcity and learns to take it’s nourishment when it can but is quick to withdraw at the first sign of danger. Others experience me to be untrusting, inconsistent and chaotic. This suffering is born of my own lack of self-discipline.
I accept this as a part of my journey.
However, when I am consistent in my Spiritual practice I feel strong, happy, curious, peaceful, and connected.
I live in the present moment and am aware of the needs of my body, mind, and spirit. I trust these needs to be of vital importance and I take care of myself. I am well resourced to face celebration or difficulty. And I am gentle with others and with myself as a result. I feed my authenticity and embrace the authenticity of others. Others feel accepted, comforted and loved in my presence. And others share their stories and their secrets with me with a light heart as a result. I call this thriving state of being ‘a blooming of the heart’, it is a path to living with the door open, always, and accepting anything that may walk through.
I accept this as a part of my journey.
If my goal is to participate in the collective enlightenment of all beings, then it seems obvious that consistency in my Spiritual Practice is best for all beings.
But what about life? What about all the challenges that get in the way of spending 30 minutes a day meditating, eating three meals, drinking a glass of water, praying, and connecting with others?
To journey with the Spirit is to meet difficult circumstances as a challenge rather than an obstacle. Every moment is a chance to practice interconnectedness. Every moment is a chance to have honest mindful interaction with other beings and to show love to myself and others.
When I practice the values of my spirituality
Accepting that there are many Spiritual paths.
Being in the NOW.
Living in relationship.
Caring for all beings.
Caring for the mind, body and Spirit.
Caring for nature.
Connecting from the heart.
Practicing intuitive listening.
Meditating.
Practicing Metta and praying.
I am naturally kinder and more loving to all beings.
This is a prayer for those who wish to share in it.
My belief in the Interconnected Spirit is a gift to those around me.
For when I am Spiritually connected
So to are all those around me
The Spirit manifests my thoughts into actions.
Actions manifest into outcomes.
When I think loving thoughts about others
they become loving.
And when I think unkind thoughts about others
they become unkind.
My judgements create my internal world
and my internal world creates the mindset with which
I experience the outer world.
Therefore it is kindest to myself and others
to hold all beings in my heart
with love and kindness.
Therefore I think kind and loving thoughts about myself
and delight in watching myself bloom
into a paradise of my own making.
Therefore I think kind and loving thoughts
about my friends, family, coworkers, and partners
and delight in their being.
Therefore I let go of sorrows and resentments
while they are still fresh,
for it is not the sorrow that pulls me down
but the act of carrying it for too long
that makes it feel
so
heavy.
Therefore I turn to the Spirit to teach me
how to let go of my seriousness,
and embrace a life free of suffering.
When the Enlightened relates to others
they relate from their whole being.
Therefore I open my mind, my heart and my spirit.
I ask instead of assuming
I listen instead of talking or thinking
I feel instead of repress
I walk instead of run towards a solution
feeling each step as I go
I am a better leader when I learn to
loosen my grip on others.
The best leader is the one that let’s others govern themselves
when an Enlightened Spirit reigns
others hardly know they exist
and yet all in their orbit exist in harmony
An Enlightened Spirit has no need for
prohibitions, weapons, or subsidies
for without such things Universal law takes over
and all flows effortlessly into place
Therefore I embrace my gentleness
and watch with gratitude as my thoughts manifest actions
which bring about an effortless state of
curiosity, acceptance, peace, and love
for myself and all beings
The Spirit accepts moments as they come
it is the mind that twists them
making decisions becomes easy
if one can sit and wait for the right answer to come along
Not being in a rush is key
One cannot rush truth
And therefore I take care of my mind
as this benefits myself and all beings.
The Spirit connects all beings
therefore I am never disconnected from Spirit or from all beings,
if I am outcast, if I do wrong, still I am connected to the collective spirit.
Therefore I am kind to all,
even if they have done something wrong
let’s try to include them
and do the best we can.
I am love.
I am free.
I am forgiven.
I am doing my best.
Want to contribute to the Spiritual Roundtable? Read this first.
The Roundtable Mission and Vision
The goal of these roundtable writings is to:
Bring the spiritual community together.
Share ideas that elevate the human spirit.
Elevate the conversation around the spirit.
Embrace what is universal to all, while honoring what is special about each spirituality.
Center inclusivity and equity.
Promote our collective enlightenment.
Nurture civility and friendship between those with diverse belief systems in the Gorge.
Engage readers and spiritual seekers.
The Spiritual Roundtable IS NOT…
This is not a place for arguing about dogma.
This is not a place for ‘hating on’ or putting other belief systems down.
This is not a place for excluding, discriminating, or promoting fear or violence towards other people based on their race, color, ethnicity, beliefs, faith, gender, sexuality, ability.
This is not a place for hatred.
This is not a place for fear.
The Spiritual Roundtable IS..
This IS a place for hope.
This IS a place for joy.
This IS a place for comfort.
This IS a place for big questions.
This IS a place for learning.
This IS a place for sharing.
This IS a place for caring.
This IS a place for sharing what is special about your beliefs.
CCC News reserves the right to not publish any content that breaks with our mission, vision and values.
If you are interested in being included in the roundtable please email cole@columbiacommunityconnection.com
