When asked how much we should devote to spirit and how much to the world, Sufi Teacher Adnan replied, “50% to Spirit and 50% to the world.” Even though I was doing a lot of spiritual workshops when he first said this, I could not say I was dedicating 50% of my time to spirit. So I filed this spiritual formula in the back of my mind and forgot about it.

I now understand how this Spiritual formula works:

Put spirit into everything you do. 

According to Adnan:

“If the spirit is alive in a man or woman, the material becomes alive too. The material becomes like a mirror and reflects back to you joy and pleasure. And the material becomes beautiful. It will be complementary to the spirit. It enhances it and makes life gentle, harmonious, tender and joyful.”

There is nothing wrong with the material world. It is how we interact with it that makes all the difference.

For example, when you strive and work hard to make a lot of money or increase your power over others, you disconnect from Spirit. You become a slave to money and to the material world. 

When you engage in the world with spirit, the world stops to talk to you. You are showered with the peace that is hidden inside eternity. -- Adnan

This is the key to existence in this material world and the key to the Spiritual Formula – engage the world with spirit. 

What does that mean? 

It means approaching life like you approach creative movement and dance. Embrace the music and immerse yourself in its vibration. Surrender from moment to moment and let spirit guide you. This is what I do when I teach the Sufi Zoom class. 

Before each class, I look at possible options in my playlist, but my final choice is always in the moment. Just before I start class, I might reach toward one piece of music only to inexplicably choose another that caught my eye. One choice leads to the next and to the next as the class unfolds from moment to moment. 

When it comes to my work in the world, it has been my habit to secure the guidance of others. There is nothing wrong with learning from someone else with more experience about how to do something new, particularly in the ever-changing landscape of online marketing. It becomes a problem when I always rely on the guidance of others and never trust myself, my intuitions, and my own creativity.

Letting someone else decide what I should do feels safe because, if I fail, it is not my fault. I did everything I was told! This is the opposite of living in the moment. This is being attached to the outcome and the material world. This is a life of fear, anxiety, insecurity, and worry about doing it "right" and avoiding "mistakes" at all costs.

Shiatsu master Margrete Eller, who worked on my body last summer, advised me not to push so hard. This effort of striving was showing up in my muscles and posture. Pushing is the habit of a slaved human who craves approval and fears rejection. 

The antidote is letting go of expectations. You can make plans, you can have a vision for the future, but you must surrender to the results. Maybe it doesn’t go quite the way you wanted. So you adapt and adjust. There is no failure, only feedback! 

As Rumi said in his poem, “The Guest House,” welcome everything . . . “because each has been sent, as a guide from beyond.”

Remember this, as you practice living in the world with spirit.

Join me tomorrow, Sunday, February 9, at 8:00 am PDT, and Tuesday, February 11, at 10:30 am PDT, and welcome the guests of each movement, each breath each moment.

If you do not have the new Zoom link, please send me an email. 

Be brilliant,

Dr. Michelle

Life Transformation Coach

Empowering Women to Reinvent Their Life After Loss

Secrets of Life and Death