Sunday, February 24, 2008

Taking care of the whole person - A New Years Resolution follow up

When I wrote about my new years resolutions earlier this year, number two was about "rededicating myself to my health and physical and emotional well-being." One thing that I didn't really grasp when I was writing this was how integral taking care of my spiritual well-being would be in actualizing this resolution.

I refrain from talking about my religious beliefs here on my blog because I think of spirtuality as a very personal journey. But I am going to now because I believe that it is a key reason for the changes that are happening in my life these days. Now I am not saying that these things are a direct result of me reevaluating my spiritual path, but likely more so because I am in a better mindset to receive them. And the thing was, I had everything i needed to take advantage of these resources for months now, just wasn't yet in the right place to take advantage of them. Being unemployed for 4 months can be compelling motivation!

I started attending this center at the urging of my best friend P (you may remember her from previous posts). She has actually been attending one in her city and sent me info about one in my area months ago. She actually sent it twice because I lost the email the first time. So I started going about a month ago.

As I said, I think of spirituality as a personal journey and it has been a while since I attended any organized religious gathering. But I have been finding that it is nice to recharge my spiritual batteries in a comforting welcoming environment of like-minded positive people. And it has helped me keep a positive mindset while going through some tough professional times.

There is a tenet that is common to just about every world religion. It appears in the religious texts of Christianity, Buddhism, Confusianism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and even Ancient Egyptian and Yoruba. It is most commonly known in modern times as "The Golden Rule" --- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

It is a tenet that I have always tried to live my life by. You give what you get. If you extend this concept further it can prescribe a way of thinking, recently popularized by the book and movie "The Secret." Referred to as "the law of attraction," otherwise known as the power of popular thinking, it is the concept that visualization and a truly positive attitude about your life can "attract" exactly what you seek.

So I figured that it was worth a try. Negativity and insecurity has never really helped anything. I figured I could gain some peace of mind from trying to apply this in my life, especially now. Trying times can be the best times to make positive changes in your life.

4 comments:

WandaWoman said...

Would you be averse to sharing what you're practicing or what type of center you've been attending?

Unknown said...

I second wanda. RDP, you and I coould have mnay conversations on stuff like the secret... but I've never been to a center or anything dedicated to that. Send me an email, ok? :)

RedDredPrincess said...

Wandawoman/Sunsail - Not at all. I have been going to a Religious Science/New Thought center. You can find some more information here. http://www.rsintl.org/ Now, there are still a few things that I am not sure I am completely comfortable about but in general, I find it pretty enriching. Sometimes it is a little hippie-like, but there are an impressively large number of black folks at the center I have been attending.

Unknown said...

RDP, well, i'm glad you asked, since no, i had not seen your reply :) I will follor the link you provided-- thanks!