APATHY

The Question:  What does one do if one is stuck in the “nothingness” of apathy?

The Answer:  Nothing…………that’s right, nothing.

Well, first of all, pat yourself on the back.  True apathy is a road sign on the journey of the spiritual aspirant.  To reach a point of true apathy, one has done some serious spiritual work, examining one’s beliefs, deeds and general perspective on anything and everything.  Only when one approaches an understanding that it is the individual who assigns meaning and important to objects and events can the question be raised, “why bother?”…true apathy. 

When one reaches this point in the journey it is important, no, it is imperative that one be as truthful as is possible with self.  Therefore, do not “pretend” anything.  If you find yourself in the state of “nothingness” do not try to “act” your way into another state, and do not deny where you are.  Just explore every thought and feelings you have.

We will be discussing “mechanisms” of energy a bit later, but this it a perfect point of development to just watch and feel what is going on in your mind and in your bodies – mental, emotional, spiritual and physical.  As you attune yourself to letting yourself follow the energy you may be in for a surprise.  You might not be as apathetic as you think you are.  You may very well find pockets of abject anger, fear, frustration, love, attachment, vehement judgments, etc.  And, behind these emotional pockets will be deeply embedded belief systems and thought processes to which you are really, REALLY attached.  As the energy moves around and hits these pockets, you may begin to feel like a spiritual pinball game. 

Apathy is a trick behind which the Spiritual Ego hides.  By convincing you that you “don’t give a damn” the ego can hide just how ferociously it is holding onto limited thought patterns and beliefs.  When such “ah-ha” moments happen, simply, quietly, allow yourself to look at what has been unearthed and as you examine what you find ask yourself, “Is this the truth?  Who says?  What if it is not the truth?  Who would I be if I didn’t believe this?” And then, quietly release the limited thought/belief that has kept you bound and separated from your true Self. 

During this time, focus on practicing the 4^th Agreement – Always Do Your Best.  Apply yourself to each endeavor as best you can, realizing that some days are better than others.  Be as present in the Now as you can; again, some days are better than others.  Refrain from having whatever you are doing “mean” ANYTHING – about you, who or what you are, or about life in general.  By all means, do not assign values of good or bad or best or worst to anything.  Just BE with what you are doing.

Slowly, but surely, you will begin to feel the energies of the Universe move in and through you.  Your so-called apathy will have disappeared when you were not looking and you will find that Joy is the natural state intended for human Beings on the journey back to Source.   

HEY GOD, HOW ARE YOU DOING?

Those engaged in the Avatar program have been working for a few weeks with the concept of “Behaving as if the God in all life matters”*.  In conjunction with this work the following was suggested:

            Think about how you greet someone you know when you see them    unexpectedly on the street – “Hey, Joe, how are you doing?”  Now, take           that a step further.  EVERY time you see ANYONE, anywhere, silently say,          “Hey, God, how are you doing?” 

What was shown to me is that whenever you speak to anyone in any manner, you open up an “energy avenue” between the two of you.  Depending on the emotion and the context of that interaction, that avenue will carry positive or negative energy.  By speaking to the “God within” another, it opens a “God avenue”, if you will, which allows the God energy to flow.

It was explained to me that the more that God energy is activated the more easily the collective consciousness can raise its frequency, and it helps to dispel energies based in fear and accentuates energies based in love.

It was further explained to me that THE most important thing a thinking/conscious person could do would be to be about removing ANY and ALL energies/thoughts/actions based in ANY kind of fear.  I was told it would be more beneficial to mankind than all of the charity programs currently on the planet.

Therefore, please let me encourage to greet everyone (silently, of course) with “Hey God” of “Hi, God”.  I have taken it one step further and borrowing from the beloved Navi, I say, “I see you.”

*Behaving As If The God In All Life Matters is the title of a book by Maechelle Small-Wright, and was a pre-requisite for residency at our Retreat Center.  The phrase has become a “watch word” for my life.

HABITS

Habits – that nemesis of good intentions.  Just what are Habits anyway?  There is a school of thought that calls Habits “shortcuts for the brain”.  I call Habits “automatic pilot settings”.

True, some Habits are instinctual, such as breathing, but most Habits are something we develop along the maturation process.

How does a Habit come to be?  As one begins to learn something new, i.e. driving a car, a musical instrument, a sport, neuro-pathways are developed.  The longer one continues the same activity the more those neuro-pathways are travelled, until they become and old “familiar” routes for the brain – at which time they cease to command your full attention and subside into the recesses of the brain.  Think about learning to drive, for example.  At first there are SO many things to remember….check the mirrors, turn this on, turn that off, look over your shoulder, look left/right, put the car in gear, press the accelerator, etc. etc.  After a bit of driving all of that becomes “second nature”, and one just gets in the car and starts driving…often times multi-tasking along the way.

Often a Habit will begin for a legitimate reason but will continue long after the reason has ceased to be. 

The oldest school of thought spoke about “breaking habits”.  Newer forms of thought realize that a Habit cannot, in fact, be “broken” but must be replaced by a “newer” Habit.  So how is this done?  Simple… you just “do it”.

Once a Habit has been identified as something that is no longer valid or valued in your life, decide what it is that you do want to have in its place.  Then, realizing it will take some “conscious thought” a first, just begin doing what it is you “do” want and give not another bit of thought or energy to what you “do not” want.  As simplistic as this sounds, this is truly the only way to reprogram those automatic synapses of your brain.