The Truth about Commitment

The truth about commitment is not about a physical other but realizing who you are and choosing to live more authentically.

Being committed is always being honest with yourself. This implies being willing to change how you view yourself and the world and being open to teachings or guidance. Many people expect spiritual teachings to be free. The truth is that all spiritual and holistic understanding comes at a cost to the one who attains it. Experiences over many years can come together as effective teachings. The truth itself is free once one is aligned to it, but the process of getting here is not.

Ask yourself why many spiritual teachers are not respected and/or valued, yet are often expected to share teachings on request, for free. Ask yourself how you would feel if you were asked to do your job for free or an employer refused to pay you when your finished tasks.How you respond echoes a vibration of self-worth. It is possible to function in this world with less money, and the paradigm is changing, How you respond to energy exchange is a teaching for your soul.

Its interesting that to want something for free can reflect the refusal to take responsibility for one's life and the expectation others will do the work. Evolution does not happen that way.

It is easy to blame money (or lack of it after its spent on other things). The truth is you commit fully to your evolution or not. You follow intuition and synchronicity or not. You recognize some kind of give and take are required to maintain balance of energy flow or not. Exchange does not have to be money, but it must be mutually beneficial to both giver and receiver. This said, being productive is not simply a quantifiable act in the material world. It is also about exploring and aligning with understanding things from holistic (spiritual) vantage points.

From one vantage point, everything has equal value. Thus, devaluing spirituality is the biggest act of collective disrespect toward spiritual reality, the path and the teachers who walk it. Misunderstanding about spiritual laws of energy explains why many people perceive obstacles and challenges. Notice how many death-affirming choices are made, while thinking spiritual teachers need not be paid. On one level, the spiritual assistance desired is repelled by beliefs and affirmations to its low worth. The belief that self-mastery should be free and not require effort on one's part lowers vibration and keeps one from tapping into key wisdom.

Dalai Lama's Tips for Good Karma

You need not be Buddhist or follow any particular religion to resonate with the idea of cause and effect. Remember what good karma feels like? Or can you at lest imagine it? Watch what happens as you observe your thoughts and behave in ways that invite good karma. What goes around comes around.

Here’s The Dalai Lama's top 20, otherwise known as his Instructions for Life. Notice which tips are already second nature and which tips beckon you to take them on-board...

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R’s: Respect for SELF, Respect for OTHERS and Responsibility for all your ACTIONS.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of heartfelt values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
19. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
20. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

"We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us, and make us kinder. We always have the choice."-
Dalai Lama