How to be Mindful of the Spirits of Others

The first fundamental exercise is practicing being mindful of our own spirit. The skill we develop from practicing it helps us with the second fundamental exercise: being mindful of the spirits of others.

Purpose

The purpose of this fundamental exercise is to simply connect with others, spirit-to-spirit, with complete openness, full acceptance, and kind curiosity. It's to turn our attention to the spirits of others and calmly hold it there with no expectations of outcomes.

Benefits

This exercise affirms, heals, and strengthens our own spirit, the spirits of others, and our relationships. These benefits increase as we do this exercise on a regular basis over time.

Resources

As with the first fundamental exercise, we need nothing special to do this exercise. We do not have to do this exercise at a predetermined time. We can do it anytime we choose. We do not have to go to or create a special place. We can do this exercise anywhere we choose. We do not have to learn to sit a special way or do anything out of the ordinary with our legs, hands, or posture. Any posture is fine. There is nothing to buy- no books, special clothing, jewelry, images, or paraphernalia. We already have everything we need to do this exercise.

What to Do

As with the first exercise, remember, in thumotic spirituality we understand spirit in terms of the Ancient Greek concept of thumos. Our thumos, our spirit, is quasi-physical. It is located in the center of our chest, behind our breast bone and between our breasts. We often call it our heart. 

Start by focussing your attention there, in your heart. That's where your spirit resides. Become aware of your own spirit before connecting spirit-to-spirit with another.

Smile and breathe into your heart. When you breathe out smile and imagine, think about, and feel your heart opening and your spirit reaching out to the one with whom you want to connect.

When you breathe in let your spirit stay connected with the other and attend to the connection of your two spirits. Let information from the other flow in. If the other chooses not to connect, that's okay. This is not about forcing unwelcome connections.

When you do connect, form no opinions, just be together, connected, spirit-to-spirit. Take note of but let thoughts, mental images, physical sensations, and emotions come, stay awhile and go. 

Continue for as long as feels right.

Some Spirit-to-Spirit Connections to Play With

Now that you know how  to connect spirit-to-spirit with others, here are some suggestions for things to try. 

Entertain the idea that everything that moves is spirited and alive. Physicists have been reporting for quite some time that everything is in constant motion. Everything is moving. Take that one more step: everything is spirited, alive.

Try connecting spirit-to-spirit with others besides humans. If you have pets, try connecting with them. Try connecting with plants in your home and outside. Try connecting with trees. Hugging is optional.

Find an interesting rock or gem stone and connect with it. Be open to whatever you experience. It's okay if you experience nothing interesting at all.

Experiment with connecting with a stream, creek, river, waterfall, lake, or ocean.

Try connecting with the wind you feel on your face and in your hair.

Mountains, valleys and other land forms can also be interesting to connect with.

Finally, try to connect with Sun and Moon. 

What do you experience? How do they feel to you? How does it feel to connect spirit-to-spirit? What did you learn? 

Add practicing this fundamental exercise to your day, develop you skill, and see where it takes you.

In upcoming posts, I'll share additional practices to try.