American Idle
Over the last six seasons hundreds of thousands of young people have tried to become the 'next American Idol.' They have come from all walks of life, from all 50 states, and from all levels of singing ability - or no singing ability - if you know what I mean.
But they all have the same dream - stardom! And the same nemesis - Simon Cowell. Regardless of what you think of the show, the contestants, or the judges, it is entertainment Hollywood style.
Randy Jackson prides himself in being the chief dog. Paula Abdul is both maternal and compassionate. And Simon Cowell invariably offends everyone, including his fellow judges, with his caustic feedback.
Each week the contestants are judged by Randy, Paula, and Simon, and millions of people who text or call in their votes. The contestants are pushed through a media gauntlet filled with sarcasm and praise, and occasionally helpful feedback from the judges.
American Idol is great entertainment, but it is also an apt metaphor for a great truth walk. Each week the contestants are judged on three key performance factors: they've got to pick the right song, use good vocals, and be themselves so they can demonstrate their uniqueness.
Those same three factors define our truth walk. The quality of our truth walk depends on how well we do all three. And how well we do all three determines whether our truth walk is on track or on idle - IDLE.
Walking the spiritual path on practical feet requires what could be termed spiritual orthopedics. If we want to step confidently and lively toward the kind of life we want to live, we must make sure our thoughts and actions are congruent with the truth principles we have learned.
It doesn't matter if we're stepping on bare feet or shoed feet, big feet, small feet, white feet or brown feet or red feet or yellow feet, tired feet or energetic feet. Each step is a tithe toward our spiritual growth. Or toward our stagnation if we stand idlely by, because we neglect to put truth principles into action.
We strive every day to:
- pick the right song - seeing everything from our Christ perspective
- use good vocals - using powerful affirmations and positive words, and
- be ourselves so that each of our me's is the best me we can be
Have you heard people say, "I'm trying to be more spiritual, but life keeps getting in the way?"
Dan Millman has an interesting perspective on that which is, as Simon Cowell would say, "Spot on!" Millman says in his book, No Ordinary Moments: "Someone once said to me, 'I'd love to live like a peaceful warrior and do more spiritual practices, but with a family to support, and a fulltime job, I just don't have the time.'"
He didn't realize, says Millman, that his family and job - his relation-ship with his wife, the responsibilities of children, and the pressures of his profession - were his spiritual practice."
The truth is, our truth walks are never on idle. We may think we're going nowhere spiritually, but everything we do has spiritual implications.
In his delightful book, Buddha is as Buddha Does, Lama Surya Das, who has been called the American Lama, has this to say:
"The Dalai Lama taught me that the spiritual jewel that brings us all we need and seek is the unselfish heart and compassionate mind. These are what Buddhists call indispensable highest intentions, which come from the good heart, our best self, our innermost Buddha-being." Sound familiar?
We can use those same terms to define our innermost Christ Self. And we can express our innermost Christ Self best when we:
- pick the right song using our Christ perspective
- use the right vocals by affirming our oneness with Spirit, and
- be our true selves, our divine selves, in this earthly performance we call human beingness
Going from idle - IDLE - to I do - DO - is a command performance.
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Tags: answered prayer, Consciousness, healing, metaphysical, metaphysical bible, metaphysical studies, new thought, new thought articles, new thought church, new thought movement, personal and spiritual growth, personal spiritual growth, Prayer, Prosperity, Spiritual Growth, spiritual growth articles, Spiritual Healing, unityRelated posts
Tags: answered prayer, Consciousness, healing, metaphysical, metaphysical bible, metaphysical studies, new thought, new thought articles, new thought church, new thought movement, personal and spiritual growth, personal spiritual growth, Prayer, Prosperity, Spiritual Growth, spiritual growth articles, Spiritual Healing, unity