Enjoying the Summer
Written on August 20, 2008 by Tom Stine
Summer is a great season. A time away from school for kids, a time of travel for families, and a time for enjoying the outdoors. Here in Missouri, it does get a bit hot in the summer, but this summer is a very strange exception. Only one week of hot weather. School begins tomorrow for my kiddo, and he just might wear long pants.
And what does this have to do with the spiritual journey? Not a thing. Well, at least not overtly. The spiritual journey has seasons, too, some hot and sweltering like summer, others cold and dreary like winter. Summer is a time of growth for crops and everything that grows. If there is plenty of rain, corn grows tall in the summer heat. Much like people do. They often learn to grow tall in the heat of their spiritual fire.
All the heat, though, does require a bit of rest at times. After a period of strong spiritual growth, it is sometimes necessary to take a little vacation. I’ve been doing that off and on the past few weeks. Very helpful. I recommend you give it a try. Give yourself a few days or weeks away from any formal practice or procedure. Be a little loose and more spontaneous. See what happens. You will probably find that growth still continues, even without your efforts. Spirit grows us, so how could growth stop? Just like a well watered plant, you will continue to grow.
Enjoy the rest of your summer.
on August 20th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
We’re a lot like plants. We need the sun and the water. I guess the rest is like our shade. Thank you.
on August 21st, 2008 at 9:34 am
We are spiritual being, so everything we experience is spiritual, I think. (Some people seem to wonder why an intuitive like me writes about entrepreneurship, but for me, it’s very spiritual — it’s about embracing challenges and expanding)
And spiritual growth is about being. Although it may appear to take a lot of doing, like meditation, it’s essentially about being. A little vacation can be a great reminder for that.
on August 21st, 2008 at 11:24 am
@Writer Dad I hadn’t thought of us like plants, but the analogy is perfect. My pleasure.
on August 21st, 2008 at 11:28 am
@Akemi I love that you are a spiritual entrepreneur. I think in many respects we agree: life is LIFE. We use the term spiritual, but it is the same thing. I would also tend to agree that spiritual growth is related to being. Knowing yourself through and through, that’s spiritual growth.
on August 21st, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I think that times where we grow need to be balanced by times where we can just Be. It is good to just spend time with ourselves, doing what we enjoy and let the new realizations that we have obtained to fully emerge and develop.
on August 22nd, 2008 at 2:55 am
Hey Tom,
Akiko just arrived in Boston this morning. She is visiting some friends over there, and I decided to stay in Tokyo. She is taking a nice break from work, and quite possibly, a nice break from Takuin.
Chopin used to advise his students to practice only 45 minutes for every hour. With the remaining 15 minutes, his advice was for the student to do something entirely different. Take a walk through nature, read a book, look at paintings, etc.
I wonder - assuming we are speaking of the spiritual journey - what people do with their 15 minutes?
It would be nice to hear from other readers, “What do you do with your spare 15 minutes?” So to speak.
on August 23rd, 2008 at 10:34 pm
@Steve I couldn’t agree more!
@Takuin I listen to my kid talk about Pokemon. Did you know that a level 100 Pikachu can use an electric attack against a level 100 Squirtle? Or did I get that backwards? Okay, maybe I should say “allowing my kid to talk about Pokemon while I daydream about a Paris cafe.” I also love a good walk in nature.
on August 24th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Hi Tom
Maybe there is no such thing as not being spiritual. Those energy beings that are labeled “criminal” are also teaching us what happens when we direct energy against ourselves or others that is “not spiritual”. So to create a more “positive” environment, we lock those beings away from the rest of us. Maybe everything is a “spiritual” journey. Some journeys are very slow, others can be very quick and most are at a speed somewhere in between.
Maybe a vacation is just a change in direction or speed before the next experience (or lesson).
Maybe some beings think that when they reach a “certain level” that they are totally enlightened and go very slowly in their spiritual evolvement after that point. Or they slow down to help other beings (those that are interested) to evolve. It just might take a lot of awareness to know who to help and how to help them without blowing the lessons those beings are involved in learning.
Passing on beliefs (information) isn’t always the best way. The best way I know of is having them do something (a technique) that helps them experience what happens in their energy. Then they know what to change that will help them evolve (become more aware).
Sorry that I got carried away in “promoting” information.
on August 26th, 2008 at 10:28 am
@Harold I’m inclined to agree that there is not such thing as “not spiritual.” I equate spiritual with life, and don’t see the two as separate. With spiritual we are just discussing, at times, the non-material or non-manifest portion. That’s all.
Thanks for the comment. You are always welcome to leave one.
on August 31st, 2008 at 5:15 am
Summer? We have not had a summer here in the UK just too much rain!