May 19: ☀️ Happy May Ray Day
It’s time to let your light shine.
The Spiritual Almanac is a weekly, free email newsletter based on the calendar that explores spiritual practices and mindfulness for modern living.
May 16: May Ray Day
Celebrating the joys of sunshine
Let nothing come between you and the light.
—Henry David Thoreau, 1848
When I was around seven, my sister and I were diagnosed with mild cases of rickets. No, we didn’t live in a third-world country or suffer from malnutrition. We lived a typical 1960s middle-class life, playing outside, drinking water from the garden hose, riding our bikes.
Rickets in kids is similar to osteoporosis in adults. It’s a Vitamin D and calcium deficiency probably resulting from our heavy diet of cartoon-character foods. There were no vitamin supplements or fortified cereals. We lived on Pop-Tarts and Fruity Pebbles, followed by spoonfuls of sugar.
Having rickets is one thing. Accepting the cure is another.
Dr. Mason said we needed a good romp in the sunshine—not in our pedal pushers or bathing suits, but completely nude!
So there we were, naked as jaybirds, as my Granny would say, running around the backyard until the boy next door climbed the fence to watch. That was the end of our bare-bottom freedom.
A Dimming Light
Many of us are fearful of unbridled freedom. We cling to past conditionings, wagging our fingers at what we think is right or wrong, eclipsing the sun with our fears and worries.
Like the boy on the fence, a shadow cloaks us in darkness, the light dimming. We wake up to wars, horrific weather, chaotic politics.
My grandmother believed the end of the world was imminent. She reasoned all the signs were there—the lack of food during the Depression, back-to-back wars of the Forties, Fifties, and Sixties, the riots just blocks from her Memphis home.
Given the current state of affairs, she would worry more about our impending doom. But if you look closely, nothing has changed. It’s the same stories in different forms, all laced with ancient fear.
What we experience today: the racial discord, rampant disease, mass shootings, climate change; is just a rinse-and-repeat cycle. A cycle that will continue until we change it.
The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking. —Albert Einstein
Changing the world may seem like an impossible task. What can you do about melting glaciers? How can you stop the murder of children while they’re learning to read? Do you know how to heal invisible viruses?
Our human nature is to defend, stomp our feet, cross our arms, and claim innocence. We blame the president, corporations, bad parenting.
We think: “What do I have to do with these brutalities? I didn’t create global warming; I can’t stop a mass shooter; I didn’t light the match that burns our country.”
But you did.
The world is the collective consciousness we create together. You can either help it or hinder it.
When I cursed someone on the road, was rude to a neighbor, or ignored you, I contributed to the world’s sickness, which manifests as disease, poverty, and crime.
As long as we treat others as enemies, think we are superior, judge instead of love, the world’s sickness will continue.
It is our responsibility to shift the energy. You make the choice. You can offer peace or pain. Whatever you decide, you and the rest of us receive what you send into the world.
You must be the change you wish to see in the world. —Mahatma Gandhi
You CAN Heal The World
When you encounter others at a drive-in window, on a flight, or during your morning walk, recognize them for who they are—fellow humans who want to be loved.
When they feel your high vibration, consciously or unconsciously, they receive a packet of positive energy. That’s how you heal the world.
You must be diligent and remove yourself from the equation. Drop your self-absorption, slow down, and focus on the other person. Silently bless them. Regard them as a loving child, parent, or grandparent.
When you’re speaking to customer service, using chat, or emailing, visualize love from your heart reaching theirs and watch your life transform.
American quantum physicist David Bohm explains: “…thought is a system. That system not only includes thought and feelings, but it includes the state of the body; it includes the whole of society—as thought is passing back and forth between people in a process by which thought evolved from ancient times.”
He also says, “…the attempt to live according to the notion that the fragments are really separate is, in essence, what has led to the growing series of extremely urgent crises that is confronting us today.”
If we want to do something about the “growing series of extremely urgent crises,” we must realize everything we do in our separate bubbles affects the whole.
For example, many studies show that crime decreases when groups gather to meditate. When prisons promote dignity and well-being for inmates and employees, disciplinary problems plummet. Teachers who greet students with smiles, positive affirmations, and respect help reduce bullying and violence. When corporations put employees’ well-being first, they reduce healthcare costs and increase employee retention and productivity.
Imagine what would happen if we worked together for the benefit of all.
What if someone hugs a young man who dissolves the murder in his heart or takes time to listen to a stranger’s story?
What if more people became the change they want in the world?
Instead of mass murder, we have mass meditation. Instead of fighting for justice, we give it. Rather than follow the news, we follow our hearts. When we change how we see things, the things we see change.
Once you raise your hand and say, “Yes, I want to shift my energy to help heal the world,” you are on your way to a better life despite what happens on the outside. You experience a well of joy that travels from your insides and spews out into the world like penned-up seltzer water. You can’t help but feel good because what you give boomerangs back to your heart.
This is your moment. This is your space. One thought, one action at a time, is how you change the world within your sphere. It all starts with you, the reason you are here, your true purpose.
What is Your True Purpose?
What is your true purpose?
Why are you conscious? What is the purpose of your existence?
Your purpose is to light up the world.
How do you light up the world?
You lighten the world with kindness, love, and compassion. When your perspective changes, brightness enters your world like the sun’s rays shining upon us all.
There’s a sense of peace you spread like dust and debris from Pigpen’s blanket, causing those around you to soften and feel safe. Your life becomes drama-free despite the arrows whizzing, the stones flying, the burning fires.
When you choose a different approach based on your desire for happiness, you experience a profound transformation.
Every negative thought you broadcast into the world contributes to the energy of our collective consciousness. Behaviors such as snickering behind someone’s back, cursing political parties, or complaining about the weather are all forms of hate.
Do you want to add to our problems or eliminate them?
It’s time for a global mind shift: from me to we, from I to us. We all want to be happy, running under the sun in the backyard, free from suffering, to love and be loved.
Change your thoughts, change the world. It all starts with you.
☀️This Week’s Inspiration: Instead of Complaining, Start Appreciating
I challenge you this week not to complain about anything, no matter how trivial or significant. Catch yourself when you do, and turn it around to appreciation instead.
Psychologists describe complainers as individuals seeking validation to gather support for personal opinions. The more people agree with you, the more justified your criticism is. There’s a sense of satisfaction, a circle of commiseration wagons.
Yes, your skin is hot in the sun, your stomach growls from hunger, your back aches. Things appear as they are.
In his book Your Erroneous Zones, the late Wayne Dyer wrote, “Acceptance means no complaining, and happiness means no complaining about the things over which you can do nothing.”
When you celebrate the joy of light, complaints drop away, replaced with gratitude and appreciation for what is.
Try This
Instead of saying: It’s so hot out here, Say: I’m grateful for the sun’s warmth that provides life for all living things.
Instead of saying: This line is taking forever, Say: I’m grateful for this opportunity to pause and take a moment to breathe.
Instead of saying: I’m hungry, Say: I’m thankful for the hunger that reminds me of the privilege of having food to eat.
Instead of saying: My back hurts, Say: I am grateful for my body and all it does for me, even when it’s experiencing discomfort.
Reframing our thoughts and focusing on gratitude can shift our perspective from complaining to appreciation. This improves our well-being and allows us to spread positivity and kindness to those around us.
So, the next time you complain about something, remember to pause and find something to be thankful for instead. It may seem small, but it can make a big difference in your happiness and outlook.
The Spiritual Almanac is a weekly, free email newsletter based on the calendar that explores spiritual practices and mindfulness for modern living.