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By Misti Dian
When people hear I am from the South and then discover I am an Intuitive Healer, Metaphysical Theologian and Spiritual Activist with my messages of spiritual and religious inclusion, some are confused—and skeptical—to say the least. Most cannot understand how someone who is also a Christian can make room for any other devotion of faith or belief. I am often asked, “How do you reconcile being a Christian and a yoga teacher who is passionate about metaphysical teachings?” My answer is brief and poignant. These are not separate, so I do not need to reconcile them. Do you?
I consciously choose my beliefs (over and over again) as an expression of my most authentic self. I point this out because, in the context of spirituality and collective consciousness, you do not have one without the other. There isn’t any separation between these elements. We may believe we can separate them at our convenience, but this is a dysfunctional desire to keep things in neatly packaged compartments to avoid trauma and pain and is part of the reason for so much discourse and a lack of healing in our world today.
Touting a belief in metaphysics without spirituality may seem like a safe way to avoid religion, but in all honesty, you have just chosen to isolate that which makes the metaphysical possible—belief in something beyond the physical. We struggle with the discipline that we believe it takes to have a devoted level of consciousness, but what if our belief was the problem?
Our core beliefs are all too often not something we question or observe. We assume beliefs without much thought at all. If we can step into the role of observing our beliefs and ask if they really “taste like truth” to us, we might surprise ourselves to find out they do not. Many beliefs we live by, specifically regarding religion, spirituality and consciousness, have been handed to us by our relatives, friends, politicians or even a cultural disposition. We unconsciously take on the beliefs and integrate them into our subconscious having no idea that this is where we draw our experiences from every single day. If our experience was a coloring book, our beliefs would be the crayons.
For example, let’s say I have the core belief that “Money doesn’t grow on trees,” which means I have subconsciously set the intention that having money is hard or impossible. Like making paper grow on trees! This belief surrounding money is a big one for most of us, and we are just starting to realize how much of a block this creates to our financial freedom and abundance. If we can step back from this belief, drop the resistance and observe it, then we can consciously decide if it fits into our being. If it does not, then with some practice we can choose a new belief.
In addition to observing our unconscious beliefs, we then begin to see an opening to curiosity. Simply getting more curious about what makes you feel alive and full of purpose is consciousness. Many of us aren’t sick and tired of being sick and tired; we are sick and tired of being uninspired. We are waiting for someone or something to inspire us; this is much likely the reason you have found yourself reading this. You are curious and that is an essential step to the cultivation of consciousness as a practice. So, good work! Curiosity is the doorway to which we open ourselves up to new ideas, new perspectives and new ways of living more fully and thus more consciously.
We all want to feel more connected, but how? If you want to connect to the collective consciousness, I have excellent news for you. You’re in. A desire and curiosity is your first-class ticket to the collective. Easy, right? Yes! Although the impact you are currently having on the collective may not be so simple. If you want to know what kind of impact you are having on the collective, look around at your life and what you do each day. Look around at the people nearest to you. Do you love your life? Do you love going to work? Do you learn new things every single day? You see, when you are making a positive impact in your own life, you are in turn creating a positive shift in the collective, hence the name, collective. What we choose to do, say and believe every day is our practice. Our practice becomes our life.
A practice of curiosity is further enhanced as you add some creativity into the mix. How does one integrate creativity with a spiritual practice? By paying attention. What makes you sad, happy, motivated or tired? What fills your cup and what drains it? When we focus on the things that inspire us, we can become more creative in which ways we are adding more of that to our daily lives. If gardening is a passion for you, how often are you considering it a spiritual practice and how often are you doing it? Do you love animals? What ways do you cultivate this daily? We often overlook the cultivation of what naturally inspires and interests us as being a spiritual practice of consciousness.
It is plain old misinformation that spiritual practices and consciousness are out of reach without religion or specific practices such as prayer or meditation. Many of us feel isolated by this false belief, so we spend too much time looking for contentment in things and people. I say organized religion is a form of spiritual practice, and if your organized religion brings you peace, joy, and connection then wonderful!
I define a spiritual practice as anything that brings us into a state of gratitude. You see, gratitude is another doorway to the collective and abundant living. If you want abundance, then you have to get on the fast track of daily gratitude. Society has bestowed the belief on us that we shouldn’t enjoy something that is worth it. We must hustle and grind to have a life we enjoy. I say, “Wrong!” Anything worth having or doing is worth enjoying. Yes, we still must empty the dishwasher and take out the trash but with gratitude; this now becomes an experience and not just a chore.
Lastly, enjoy your practices, i.e. the things that inspire you and the day to day tasks, whatever they naturally are. Let what you do be your prayer and let what you experience be your teacher. This is the essence of consciousness and spiritual practice.
Misti Dian is the Director of Holistic Leadership for Radiant Health Institute. She is an international speaker, author, Certified Holistic Coach and Intuitive Energy Healer. As a spiritual activist, Misti speaks with passion and insight through her spiritual sustainability program. Visit www.meetmisti.com.
