TLC Application 07|05|2011 “Spiritual Checklist”

Most of us do not notice the drift until we are already far from shore. We did not make one big dramatic decision to abandon our spiritual practices or disconnect from the people who keep us grounded. We just got busy. Then a little busier. Then things started to feel dull. Then irritable. Then flat. And somewhere in that gradual slide, we stopped doing the small things that kept us connected to what actually works. The good news is that there is a checklist — a specific set of questions and actions — that can bring you back, no matter how far you have drifted.

Two Ends of the Same Spectrum

We should all have a spiritual checklist that we can use from the first moment we feel a little off-track, all the way to the point where we realize we have fallen into depression and wonder how long this bout is going to last — or perhaps it has been so long we cannot even remember the last time we were genuinely happy.

That thought — “I have not been happy for years” — is what is called Pride In Reverse. It is a total lie that we can beat ourselves into believing when we are in a dark state. When you are in a negative state, do not evaluate your entire life in big brush strokes. This is not the time for a moral inventory of everything that has gone wrong. You are never going to solve a problem in your worst state that you created. First, get back to a reasonable perspective — and only then look at what needs to change.

The Checklist: Questions to Ask Yourself

If you are a little off-track right now, start here. Go through each of these questions honestly:

How has your communication with your Creator been lately? How often have you been feeling for the presence of your Creator in your mind? How often have you been asking for thoughts from your Creator — asking what kinds of thoughts you should be having? When was the last moment you checked your feelings with your Creator, asking “Are these the feelings my Creator would want me to have right now about this person or this relationship?”

How has your spiritual reading been? How much quiet time have you been giving yourself to meditate? Who have you been talking to about your emotional state — have you been reaching out for help? Have you done an asset list lately? Are you recognizing positive things when they happen and maximizing the good feelings from them? Have you been talking to people about good things going on in your life? Is there anything you are passionate about, or are you creating anything — what is your current creative endeavor right now? Have you been expressing love to the people you love lately? Have you been living in regret about something in your past?

Have you done anything nice for anybody lately? If you have answered yes when you should have said no, and no when you should have said yes — then you now know what to do.

First Actions to Get Back on Track

First Action First: get back to talking to God right now, in your mind. Maintain as much communion as you can on a conscious level for the next few days.

Make a conscious list of the assets in your life that have come together over the last year. Ten assets a day for seven days is the prescription. Start your reading today — read some form of a spiritual book. After your reading, leave yourself equally the same amount of time to contemplate what you just read. You will learn more in contemplating one principle for half an hour than from reading a book full of a thousand principles. The knowledge you gain in half an hour of contemplation would not fit into a thousand books of information.

Make sure that you connect to somebody who knows you and knows what you are about. Let them know about the commitment you have made to raise your conscious contact and improve your spiritual growth. Let them know the checklist you have created for your life and make a commitment with them to stay updated on it. Make sure you do something nice for somebody else today.

Trying to get back on track on your own is next to impossible, since you are the one who got you off-track. We all need outside help. Plus, when you ask people to join your endeavor to be happy and grow spiritually, you help others to want to do the same thing. Do not be shy about including other people in this kind of endeavor — you will be surprised at how many people have been waiting for you to reach out to them.

We all need a checklist that gets us back to where we want to be. Have fun and do not ever be too hard on yourself. Remember — nobody should love you more than you have learned to love yourself, and nobody should be giving you more love than you have also learned to give yourself.