Allowances in First Person

In addressing structure and purpose in relation to substance and orientation, I feel compelled to begin with these allowances for myself; perhaps these affirmations resonate with your own sense of what you need or desire as you make a life of satisfaction and fulfillment for yourself:

I allow myself ... to live, love, lead ... my life ... on my own terms ... in every way possible ... naturally, effortlessly, sublimely. I allow myself ... to occupy a position ... in a place where ... I can be, have, do, and become ... whatever I will or desire ... naturally, effortlessly, sublimely. I allow myself ... to bring the substance of soul and the orientation of spirit ... into harmony ... with the purpose of my life ... knowing that structure determines behavior and purpose unifies destiny. I allow myself ... to establish the structure of my life through the purpose of my life ... naturally, effortlessly, sublimely.

Ekos Sacred is the realm of encounter where we cultivate quality of soul. This is where we get our substance and sense of meaning. Eros Divine is the realm of experience where we celebrate vitality of spirit. This is where we get our orientation and sense of direction. When we mindfully balance soul and spirit with heart, keeping in mind that the body is a vessel for soul and a vehicle for spirit, the result is twofold: involvement and engagement.

Whatever we do mindfully, we do purposefully. When we cultivate quality of soul through involvement with the subjects and objects of our interest, we feed soul with sacred encounters, and when we celebrate vitality of spirit through engagement with the subjects and objects of our experience, we feed spirit with divine experiences. Encounters with soul give us encounters with mystery. Experiences of spirit give us experiences of mastery.

As we'll see in subsequent posts, the ultimate mystery and ultimate mastery lie at the heart of who and what we are.

Balance, Sacred and Divine

We attract what we attend.

If we find ourselves in the habit of saying, "I don't need this" or "I don't want this", then the image or feeling associated with [what it is we think or feel we do not need or want] builds up a charge, attracting the very thing we do not need or want, compelling us to repel it all the more forcibly.

In a vicious cycle.

Is there a way out?

Unfortunately, this situation is not a simple matter of letting go, of releasing the sense of not needing or wanting what it is we do not need or want. We might release repeatedly many such instances of this sense of not needing or wanting as they arise. And still, they return to invade our peace of mind.

What to do?

Basically, we take a stand with what we choose to attend and attract.

Ultimately, the answers lie in cultivating two habits of mind: (1) gather impressions of increase with a focus on quality, clarity, and vitality; and (2) prevent impressions of decrease with a selective ignorance of loss, lack, and limitation.

To make it easy to do this consistently requires two compatible frameworks: religious (Ekos Sacred) and spiritual (Eros Divine).

For me, it's not enough to simply cultivate the sacred dimension of life and it's not enough to simply celebrate the divine dimension of life. Putting too much emphasis on one at the expense of the other does not bring us balance in both satisfaction and fulfillment, which is what we ultimately desire.

I would encourage anyone to be mindful of this balance.

More to come on how to strike the balance.