Life Is In The Eyes Of The Beholder

What is the lens through which you view the world? When I close my eyes I see waterfalls, flowing streams, and flowers. This is the scenery surrounding me with my eyes open too. It tells me a story of life, of inner perception, and beauty.

The experience of life is what we make it, not because we are independently powerful controllers or causes of physical outcomes, but because we are eternally sentient beings with the gift of free will.

The spirit soul is a spark of consciousness, and we can express that consciousness through a variety of qualities. It is that inner flavor of our quality that then colors our experience and lens.

So, for example, when I see the water in the stream rolling around rocks and carving a curvy path through the land in front of me, I am reminded of a world that is gentle with feminine energy. She flows and nourishes and moves with consistent but soft determination.

I know that elsewhere there is also hard, jagged terrain and a state of mind that matches it. I can choose to match my mind to the beauty, diversity, and gentleness of spirit, or to the rigid harshness of a cold, hard, inert world of matter and might.

This choice presents itself at every step. Two people may suffer a similar loss in their lives, but process it completely differently. One might see it as an opportunity to grow and become more resilient, while the other might choose to feel angry and unfortunate. It depends on the lens through which we choose to view the world and our interactions with it.

Our circumstances also do not have to change for consciousness to change. When we change our inner consciousness and the lens through which we choose to view life, we change the experience.

We must look at the lens through which we see the world, as well as the world we see, and that the lens itself shapes how we interpret the world ~ Stephen R. Covey

But how do you change your consciousness? How do you choose to perceive from a state of peace and harmony within? The following strategies are helpful to achieve this.

Patient Persistent Practice

It takes the investment of time, sincere effort, compassion with yourself, and Divine Grace to transform our subtle habits of thought and feeling. Baby steps aimed in the right direction will gradually bring you to your goal.

Association

In Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna says that we adopt the qualities of those whom we associate with. We must therefore seek out saintly-minded company, then their peace and positive perspective will rub off.

Transcendental Sound

Higher consciousness sound vibrations carry the power to purify. It cleanses and restores consciousness to its original untainted state. Just as hearing much of the news in the world today can bring our mood and spirit down, hearing news of the eternal spiritual world beyond can lift us up and make our experience of the whole world a better place.

Pay more attention to what you read and listen to. Explore uplifting music, guided meditations, chanting, Tibetan singing bowls, and so on in your daily spiritual practice

Only in quiet waters do things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world ~ Hans Margolius

Meditative Movement

Meditative movement is one of my favorite spiritual practices and also one of my specialties. Try the following simple movement meditation to begin shifting your consciousness.

Close your eyes and breathe deeply, but at ease. Focus your awareness within, becoming aware of your eyes as the windows from which you as the soul views out into the world. Observe the images and sensations that arise as you gaze upon your environment from within.

Next, with your eyes still closed, become aware of the world around you. Envision the scene around you. Then take one slow step forward, picturing one element of the scene and your experience of it, and how it changes as your foot imprints upon the ground.

Repeat this for as many steps as you wish, and notice how you feel as your vision of the landscape changes as you move forward step by step.