Even though we are infinite spirit beings who have incarnated into a physical form to practice our skills of creating through our loving energy patterns, we are in the world of illusion, a world that is constantly changing.   Because we are here, we have to adjust and live according to some of the discernable rules of the game.  For example, not only do we have to listen to our physical bodies, but we also have to care for them.

     Jesus invited us to become a light in darkness, or to diffuse our energies into the other ingredients of the earth in order to change the environment, e.g., becoming the leaven for the loaf.  Living in an atmosphere where asphalt and concrete reigns and where listening to the sounds of traffic while touching others only with spoken and written words, we can slowly wilt spiritually and not understand why.  For those who ignore these physical realities, physical symptoms can easily appear as warnings and/or guidance that we need to take steps to heal ourselves.

     Where is the pause in our song?  We have all heard the expression about taking time to smell the roses – are we following such guidance?  We can attend church and be bored out of our minds.  We can attempt to read a book and find that we are not resonating with the author’s thought patterns.  We can listen to downloaded tunes on our I-Pods and find that we are still starving for something.

     Those who are tuned into their bodies may recognize that eating comfort foods and putting on unwanted pounds is a symbol of something missing.  Those of us who retreat into alcohol, drugs, DVDs and video games may recognize that something is missing.  Whenever we find ourselves relying on man-made objects to nurture us spiritually, we are chasing a phantom down a blind alley. Today we even have a television commercial for Sprint products featuring a dramatic exchange between two women.  At the end, we find that a young woman has fallen in love with her cell phone.

     Life seeks after life and life’s energies will not come from anything that has no chi, spiritus, phrana or life force.   Every life form on earth communicates spirit but only to those whose receptors are open for such an exchange.  Only those who recognize they are part of an endless chain of life expressing itself can become aware of the wholeness that nature provides.

     A walk in the woods that features trees that are hundreds of years old will move life’s frequency to a level that will produce tranquility.  As we gently walk along the margins of the seashore, allowing the surf to bathe our ankles and legs, we will silence the many competing voices in our minds.  Being among birds and animals in their natural habitat will produce a harmony within our soul. Lying close to a lover that allows us to experience an energy exchange is far more spiritually nurturing than the frequent energy drain required by sexual expression.

     Try developing a rhythm to our lives, i.e., so much time in the office and an equal amount of time in an environment that demands nothing from us.  We create times when we are being productive and we must match those moments with an equal amount of time for play where nothing is required from us but laughter.

     This process of practicing stillness among other life forms provides us with a vital linkage to an energy flow that travels through every life form on earth.  Everything that is alive has energy to share with us.  How many aged people are sustained by the presence of a pet cat?  How many people who live alone can hardly wait for the wagging tail of their pet dog who is so excited to greet them at the end of the day?

     Spiritual beings instinctively know how to take care of other beings that exude spirit.  For example, a story that was recently deemed newsworthy featured a black Labrador retriever that was nursing three tiger cubs that had been abandoned by their mother.  There was another story of a leopard that attacked and killed a hyena for food.   Apparently, when the leopard realized that the hyena was weaning her young, the leopard assumed the responsibility for nurturing the now orphaned hyenas.

     Author Ram Dass in his book, How Can I Help?, wrote of an incident where he suffered from severe cramps while scuba diving.  He was so doubled up in pain that he was unable to unbuckle his tank and weight belt.  As he began to sink, he silently called out for help.

     Suddenly he felt something under his arm lifting him to the surface.  It was a Bottle Nose dolphin.  The mammal carried him to the shore and rolled him up on the beach even in depths of water that place the dolphin in danger.  The dolphin managed to get back into the bay and turned around to watch him.  As soon as Ram sat up the dolphin swam into deeper water.  Later, Ram took off his clothes and went into the water and the two played as though they were a pair of long lost friends who had found each other.

     All of us are emitting energy that is being transmitted to all living things.  We can instantly tell the pensive, anxious, stressed person from the one who is peaceful, smiling and always displaying a sense of play.  Our assessment of a person comes not only in their faces and eyes, but in their voices, body language and their choice of words. It often takes another life force to diffuse the energy of people that are communicating a call for love.