Radiant Spirit (cont.): Abundance Practices 5, 6 & 7

 

This is the fourth installment of Rick’s “Radiant Spirit” article, featuring practices of abundance 5-7, that we can work with daily.  This series began on April 4.  

Appreciate the Weather; Let Go of the Weather Report 

One way to move into this practice is to make the time to admire the breadth and variegatedness of the sky, to smell the air, and listen to the birds. You make an agreement with yourself to greet the weather every day and affirm its perfect beauty; the bracing cold, the gray drizzle, the baking sun – each of these is a gift, a special flavor of abundance. The gaze is still upon the outer precinct; however, to open to the space of ongoing “seeing” yields poetry and undercuts the illusions of going forward. Abundance is about savoring this delicious moment. Through this practice you let go of the weather report; you are less and less worried about what it will be like tomorrow – if your outing will be cancelled, if there will be a snow day at school. Weather is the manifestation of planetary emotion and every shift is a stunning improvisation.

Get Rid of One Thing a Day; Give Away Something Every Day 

There are related practices. The great feeling of tearing up useless papers, throwing out the trash, and putting away the dishes can only be rivaled by the exhilaration of giving food, trinkets, or good thoughts away every day. Carry nuts or candy in your pocket to give away. Instead of buying one, buy two, and give the second item to a friend. Whenever you give money in a store, at the post office, or in any situation of exchange, give a blessing with it. Become enlivened by the minute encounters, these sparks of joy potential. You’ll notice that you are floating, having fun in a way you haven’t experienced in years. And you have not had to change a single so-called circumstance…

Review the Day  

Before you go to bed, go slowly back through the day that is now done; savor its subtle twists and turns, the unexpected sub-plots that appeared; the soft abundance of a glance or a falling leaf. Allow yourself to feel the fullness of what whatever moods were manifesting during the day, letting things settle into their own order. The unexamined life is not worth living: the endlessly examined is boring. But learning to put a closure on things lets you sleep in peace and move on with power.