“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
(Salt Harvesting in Vietnam, by Quang Nguyen Vinh)
What if you were able to think of responsibility as a source of empowerment rather than a burden?
What if you were to wake up in the morning and say to yourself, “I get to go to work,” rather than “I’ve got to go to work?”
What if every interaction throughout each day was Divinely designed to offer you a choice with the potential to develop your spirit and your highest self?
Your greatest responsibility is to yourself, and specifically, to be present each day in your best and highest form. Regardless of your present employment situation, you are called to offer love and kindness to those around you, for you do not know what unique challenges others may be facing. According to Sadhguru in Inner Engineering, responsibility is a misunderstood term. The word itself means “the ability to respond… responsibility requires for you to realize that you are responsible for all that you are and all that you are not, all that may happen to you and all that may not happen to you.” That’s a big calling, and it is your life’s purpose to understand and view responsibilities as opportunities and as indicators of your participation in moving towards your goals and desires.
On the spiritual path, you are in the exact right place in every moment, and the choices that you are confronted with will decide the path that you will take to the next level of learning. When you show up to your job each day without judgment and without entitlement, you will be in alignment to receive that which the Universe is offering you in that particular instance. Negative thought patterns such as complaining and resentment represent resistance and delay the lesson that is available to be learned.
Remember that you are in co-creation with the universe. Each time you choose a response to a specific situation, the universe responds according to the vibrational frequency that is being projected. Taking responsibility, as opposed to blaming others, is the key that opens the door to solutions to address the current situation. Life is not about the destination, but rather the journey. Take time to expand your perspective and make sure you are heading in the right direction.
Hindus and Buddhists speak of dharma, regarded in Hinduism as “a cosmic law underlying right behavior and social order.” It is both the “eternal order that rules the universe” and “the duty or law that governs one’s life,” according to Jacob Kyle, the founder of Embodied Philosophy. Fulfilling one’s dharma is more than fulfilling your purpose; it is considered by Buddhists to be one of the means to end suffering. You are responsible for developing your own gifts, and your gifts are your responsibility to the world. In our universal oneness, your contribution elevates the frequency of all of humanity. Like tuning into a specific radio station, each choice you make moves the dial towards a clear signal with Source. Lower vibrations contaminate the signal, creating blur and static. The Serenity Prayer offers useful guidance to navigate along the way:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
This shamanic healing is an invitation to increase clarity in the 3rd (solar plexus) and 5th (throat) chakras, the seat of your voice and action, to be filled with the Divine essence of YOU, and enable an overflow so you can share and contribute to the world around you.
Affirmation: I take responsibility for my destiny by walking the path of empowerment and positivity.
Subscribe to be included in our healing list and receive all of The Vibe’s shamanic healings and ceremonies, Incan energy activations, and moon rituals. The healing for responsibility will be done by Anjali Hasija on Tuesday, 7/28/20, 9:00pm (EST).
SET YOUR WEEKLY INTENTION
What would you like to achieve with the healing on Responsibility? Take some time to answer these questions, and submit the form before Tuesday’s session so we can hold your intents in the shamanic healing.
MONDAY MEDITATION
(Image by Pete Linforth)
REFLECTIONS SERIES
-from Manuscript in Accra
by Paolo Coehlo
And a man who always woke up early to take his flocks to the pastures around the city said: “You have studied in order to be able to speak these beautiful words, but we have to work to support our families.”
And he answered:
Beautiful words are spoken by poets. And one day, someone will write:
I fell asleep and dreamed that life was only Happiness.
I woke and discovered that life was Duty.
I did my Duty and discovered that life was Happiness.
Work is the manifestation of Love that binds people together. Through it, we discover that we are incapable of living without other people, and that they need us just as much.
There are two types of work.
The first is the work we do because we have to in order to earn our daily bread. In that case, people are merely selling their time, not realizing that they can never buy it back.
They spend their entire existence dreaming of the day when they can finally rest. When that day comes, they will be too old to enjoy everything life has to offer. Such people never take responsibility for their actions. They say: “I have no choice.”
However, there is another type of work, which people also do in order to earn their daily bread, but in which they try to fill each minute with dedication and love for others.
This second type of work we call the Offering. For example, two people might be cooking the same meal and using exactly the same ingredients, but one is pouring Love into what he does and the other is merely trying to fill his belly. The result will be completely different, even though Love is not something that can be seen or weighed.
The person making the Offering is always rewarded. The more he shares out his affection, the more his affection grows.
When the Divine Energy set the Universe in motion, all the planets and stars, all of the seas and forests, all the valleys and mountains were given the chance to take part in the Creation. And the same thing happened with mankind.
Some said: “No, we don’t want to. We won’t be able to right wrongs or punish injustice.”
Others said: “With the sweat of my brow I will water the fields, and that will be my way of praising the Creator.”
Then the devil came and whispered in his honeyed tones: “You will have to carry that rock up to the top of the hill, and, when you get there, it will roll back down again to the bottom.”
And all those who believed in the devil said: “The only meaning in life is to repeat the same task over and over.”
And those who did not believe in the devil answered: “Then I will love the rock that I have to carry to the top of the mountain. That way, each minute by its side will be a minute spent closer to the one I love.”
The Offering is a wordless prayer. And like all prayers, it requires discipline- not the discipline of slavery, but of free choice.
There is no point in saying: “Fate was unfair to me. While others are following their dreams, here I am just doing my job and earning my living.”
Fate is never unfair to anyone. We are all free to love or hate what we do.
When we love, we find the same joy in our daily activity as do those who one day set off in search of their dreams.
No one can know the importance or greatness of what they do. Therein lies the mystery and the beauty of the Offering: it is the mission that was entrusted with us, and we, in turn, need to trust it.
The laborer can plant, but he can’t say to the sun: “Shine more brightly this morning.” He can’t say to the clouds: “Make it rain this evening.” He has to do what is necessary: plow the field, sow the seeds, and learn the gift of patience through contemplation.
He will experience moments of despair when he sees his harvest ruined and feels that all his work was in vain. The person who has set off in search of his dreams will also have moments when he regrets his decision, and then all he wants is to go back and find a job that will pay him enough to survive.
The following day, though, the heart of every worker or every adventurer will once again be filled with euphoria and confidence. Both will see the fruits of the Offering and will be glad.
Because both are singing the same song: the song of joy in the task that was entrusted to them.
The poet would die of hunger if there were no shepherds. The shepherd would die of sadness if he could not sing the words of the poet.
Through the Offering you are allowing others to love you. And you are teaching others to love through what you offer them.