The role of God in the TikTok era

Well, if you look for GOD and add TikTok, you will find a whooping 235 million results… But, of course, the results are of all kinds because to try to use such a high element of spirituality comprised in the shortest video possible, it is quite difficult.

My experience of God is a life-long one and it goes beyond reading or studying, suffering or joy, understanding or believing. Although those short videos can be helpful, they cannot convey the greatness that God has.

He is known at the Brahma Kumaris, an organization to which I have been affiliated for forty years, as the Ocean of all Virtues, because that is what He is: an Ocean that comprehends all that is good and powerful.

And yet, He is also known as being just a point of light… An extremely concentrated form of energy. The words in other languages are sindhu for ocean and bindhu for point, rhyming an experience, like a living song.

We are similar to Him, but so different. We are different than Him, but so similar.

Experience God through meditation, contemplation or prayer; let that experience fill your mind and actions.

Also, enjoy those short videos, without depending on them to decide what God really is for you.

The fine balance for your success…

There is a special secret for those who believe we all have an inner compass: the East and the West.

Success – real success – comes when there is a balance of excellence in all areas of life: personal, working, health, spirituality, etc. This is why real success is often out of reach…

A few examples: you probably know people, whose health is amazing, but their relationship with others is horrible, and there are those whose career is ascending constantly, despite the fact they feel down in a personal level.

With this special secret, any person can reach for that balance: at every activity, use the light of your spirituality (the East) and the road of your life experiences (the West).

Before doing anything, particularly if it is impacting or relevant, practice spirituality by meditating or a praying. Also, check if the present capacity matches the need of those actions; if it doesn’t, maybe training is in order.

During activities, keep the spiritual light on; something written can serve as a reminder and from time to time, read it. Jump into the action, by being effective and highly productive.

After those actions, sit down and practice spirituality again. Gratitude may be expressed or just a reflection on what took place. Learning the lessons and planning changes will help improving performance next time.

Solving very complex situations

Analysis and synthesis. Creativity and organization. Reflection and contemplation. Action and more action…

There are so many ways to solve situations that emerge, however as time go by, these are becoming more and more complex, and the used and overused old formula does not work at all times.

These new circumstances require a new approach. One possibility is to explore a spiritual perspective and here are some ways:

• Experiencing a stage of detached observer. Connecting to the self helps into watching whatever is happening with detachment, as if it is someone else doing. The easiest way is just to be aware of the present environment a person is for one minute, focusing on the present.
• Meditation, contemplation or reflection. Focusing the mind into something that is beyond the physical helps get in touch with spirituality and, eventually, to find solutions for very complex situations. There are many ways to use any of these tactics, but you may want to check the Brahma Kumaris' way, which is my own method of meditating.
• Yoga and deep focus. No need to forget about all that is around, but by doing yoga or simply focusing deeply into something else, different than the circumstances, it helps the self to find a deep solution, reaching into the roots and seeds.
• Prayer from the heart. When prayer comes from within, the mind gets clear and it is possible to take hard decisions. It is important to not recite old prayers learnt by heart or, if it is so, feel them.

Spirituality in a non-spiritual place

In most places, being spiritual is not proffitable.

That means not only spiritual places shouldn't go for profit, it also means that if you are going for profit, then you should not be spiritual.

Well, for many years now, that has been changing. Probably from the time Covey got into the workplace, talking about "weird" things like values, things in the business area in most countries in the world are changing.

The main reason for that is the high levels of stress, corruption and challenges the world is facing right now. That is making leaders in general starting to allow that kind of speech in the "sacred place" where money used to be the only god.

I am lucky to live in a country where spirituality is integrated to day-to-day life. That goes from offices being inaugurated by priests to CSR statements where values are in the top priority. But, I know that beyond our borders that is happening too, and very fast.

Acts like the fact that the President of Brazil started to "clean the house" and took out corrupt ministers, or the Prime Minister of United Kingdom considering to include HAPPINESS as an indicator of economic success are showing that the world is changing towards a more spiritual direction.

Still, there is a question hardly anyone can answer immediately: what is spirituality?

I have a personal answer for that. For me, spirituality is the awareness of being more than matter. If you look around, all you see is matter - in fact, the eyes you use to look around are matter by themselves. So, to awake for the reality you are much more than anything you can see, that means you are coming to terms with your own spirituality.

Being practical, that means to value the intention more than the gift. It means also to relate to the core of others' personalities instead of its surface. By now, you probably see why it is so difficult for a company to embrace spirituality.

After all, companies ARE MATTER. But the fact is that only when you connect to spirituality via values, meditation, prayers or an awareness campaign you can overcome the present issues I have mentioned before.

Just to clarify, that means a spiritual person never gets stressed, cheat or does something against nature right? Well, spirituality makes people quite humble to say "YES, we still do wrong things."

Main difference is that spirituality gives you an answer to those wrong things, and the opportunity and power for you to put them right.

See you soon!