Maybe try to see it all as part of the same and connected.
the words of Neem Karoli Baba, shared with us by Ram Dass, were "Love. Serve. Remember. Love Everyone, Serve Everyone, Remember God... and the tell the truth." Utilizing this way has been my method of integration. It's taken me a while to get it on. Us householders, with families and work, man, we can't be renunciates living in caves and monasteries. It's not in our karma, so we learn to integrate. It's like that old story about the novice and the master, the novice asks "what do I do when I reach satori/enlightenment/nirvana?" The old master says "reach satori. chop wood. carry water." We keep doing what we're doing and as long as we keep the path in focus, it's going to be alright. Maybe it's not your karma, or maybe it's not your turn on the wheel to leave it all behind in this incarnation. But maybe, it is, right? When we see that viciously striving to relinquish attachment to outcomes and results, it's a lot easier and purer in the heartmind to attain peace. That's not saying to care less about what you doing, because being careless isn't particularly helpful, but realize that if following your path (the buddhist 8fold path lays out a really wonderful outline, without judgement, on how to navigate said path), you'll work it out. I think we've gotta recognize that we're not in it to win it, that we're not always going to see, rather more often than not, we're not going to see instant results or gain instant gratification. Although, with a regular meditation practice or through service work, we can get hits of that instant grat, for sure. But then, we've got to remember that we're in the long game. Sure, relatively speaking, life in this body is short, but most of the time it's not feeling like that while we're in it, so again, we blend the work/family/spiritual life so that it can be sustained over the long haul.
It's been helpful for me to find one or two practices and to stick with them for a while. for me it's been traditional Hatha (physical) yoga (which includes seated meditation) and Karma yoga (yoga of action/service) through work and relationships with living beings.
We live in a world with a whole new age smorgasbord of spiritual offerings and it's easy to be pulled and drawn all over the place. I also think that there's a pretty visible presence of teachers/teachings on the internet that can really get away from the crux of practice. I definitely practiced/studied with someone for a couple years who was skillful and knowledgeable, and who helped me with some things, but who is also really no more cooked than I am, and is really, really good at marketing themselves. I'm fortunate that my first intentionally chosen teacher is an old school American yogi who got their start in the early 60s and has lived the last, shit, 60 years as a teacher (yoga, meditation, high school), a friend, a mother, a wife, and activist. When I first got on the path, I wanted to be one of those cats traveling the world to do all the stuff, and I did some of it, but Diane just kept showing me that commitment and focus are important. Maybe that's how to find balance, by making a commitment with the right focus.
I don't know, man, I just try to stay aware. holler at me on this topic any time.
this one's long, but one of my favorites.
Topic: tips on balancing work, family, and spiritual life? (Read 583 times)