Namasté

“Namasté means that whatever is precious and beautiful in me honors whatever is precious and beautiful in you.” 
-Debasish Mridha
 
In Western culture, the polite greeting, “How do you do?” or the more casual form, “How’re ‘ya ‘doin?” expresses the importance placed on doing in our society, rather than being. Success is measured in terms of how much one has accomplished in a day, a year, or a lifetime. Celebrities are lauded for the number of their achievements. Lecturers are introduced with a listing of their accomplishments. Professionals receive initials after their names with each degree earned. The more initials listed the more the perception of success. Even our religious leaders are perceived as most successful based upon the number of their followers, the size or monetary worth of their church.

In Indian culture, the polite greeting, “Namasté,” meaning, “I honor the light within you,” expresses the importance placed on being rather than doing. Although Western culture has infiltrated many areas of Eastern life, still the revered spiritual leaders teach the importance of being.

In my own life I swing back and forth between my Western indoctrination with the belief that the more I can do in a day the more successful I am, and my Eastern leanings toward the importance of being.

I generally start my day with a to-do list in mind. As the day progresses I mentally check off my list as I accomplish each item. At the end of the day, the more I’ve done the more successful I feel.

I do this in an habitual way, not thinking about the fact that my focus is upon doing rather than being. Doing is my habit. I have to make a conscious choice to make being my first priority and my determinant of success. This is a choice I need to make over and over throughout each day, because I easily slip back into a doing frame of mind.

Today I choose to do from a being place. 

Photo by Raychan on Unsplash

Your Spiritual Toolbox

​Pick a day when you feel pushed to get things done yet have some flexibility in your choice of what to do. Now, let’s give a nod to our Western acculturation and allow ourselves a to-do list. The list looks like this:
 
1. For at least 15 minutes sit outside (if possible) or at a window with a cup of your favorite beverage and watch the play of sunlight and clouds. Feel the breeze on your face. Notice the details of what is around you. What do you hear? Feel your breath. Think as little as possible. Revel in the sensations that abound.
 
2. Now allow your mind to drift onto what feels most enticing to you at this moment. Allow all the other jobs vying for your attention to wait. There will be time for those. Right now, your being is guiding you to your bliss.
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3. Do something having to do with what your being brought forth for you.
 
Repeat this exercise as often as you have time for it. 

​Namasté.