Out There #01

To deal with any of Earth’s dramas, follow three simple steps:

Step 1: Acknowledge the Cosmos

Understand and acknowledge that we have a perfect inner light within us as the first step toward addressing any drama in an appropriate way. It keeps us in the right (peaceful) mindset for living… anywhere.

Of course, we also have to acknowledge that everyone else also has that perfect inner light within them. Always look through the dramas of Earth to see the inner light shining within everyone. Even if we don’t “like” certain people, we can still love them by seeing their inner perfection as they live flawed outer lives (as just about all of us do).

Simply by focusing on that light (ours, theirs, and everyone’s) from a place of inner peace, we can help to neutralize dramas by minimizing the worries and frustration they stir up inside us. See that perfect light shining brightly in everyone.

In the big picture and in the long run, that’s by far the best way to deal with any dramas on Earth (or anywhere else in the cosmos, for that matter)—feel a oneness with the source (God, Brahman, Allah, the principle, the universal life force….). That lets us resonate with the cosmos, gives Earth a golden glow, and invites powerful support from finer spiritual beings who can make miracles happen in our world.

Trouble is, that step doesn’t always solve pressing, earthy problems that bother us, whether it involves a broken chair, a suffering friend, a starving population, or a devastating war… so then we have to take the next step.

Step 2: Is the Drama Something We Can Fix?

Determine if it’s in our power to change things. That’s where the famous “Serenity Prayer” comes into play. Focus on your inner light (the source) while saying silently:

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.

Then…

If we have a broken chair, we can fix it or replace it.

If we have a suffering friend, we can comfort them with our friendship, help them with our prayers, and keep our eyes peeled for experts who might be able to help.

If we’re troubled by famine and war happening around the world, we admit that there’s little we can do to change it.*

*Although writing about it, or making a documentary about it, or volunteering to serve, or donating money to a good cause can sometimes make us feel better and help in some small way.

But the main thing is…

Step 3: Always Remember Step 1

Whatever the drama, it’s Step 1—acknowledging our cosmic origins—that keeps us anchored in a peaceful frame of mind to fix the things we can fix, to endure the things that we can’t fix, and to recognize the difference.

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Note: This article is part of the new “Out There” collection of articles. The next article will be a sort of journey that begins at the source that’s at the center of everything then travels out-beyond through the countless spiritual dimensions and universes, all the way to our material universe. Last stop, a human being on Earth.

Incidentally, the above article was originally going to be about how to deal with next month’s contentious election here in the States, which could determine the fate of the world—how to deal with it in a noble way (as described above) or in a savage way: 1) assemble an army of nonpartisan computer experts by executive order to closely monitor the voting machines in all the key states in the weeks leading up to the election, 2) have the National Guard on call in case of an insurrection, 3) trace any mischief to its root source, and 4) prosecute the mischief-makers. Then this morning I woke up with a moment of wisdom… I need to accept the things I can’t change. So the savage part went to the scrap heap.