Wednesday, March 13, 2013

SPIRITUAL GANGSTERS

Spiritual Gangster... I love it.  I hope this term makes it into the Urban dictionary, if not Wikapedia.

It hasn't yet, and why? Perhaps because the term has not traveled outside a small group of spiritual "thugs" who consider themselves to be part of this unique tribe. I say this with an acute sence of humor and my infamous devilish, cheshire smile. I by no means use the term, Gangster or thug in any way to glorify those who commit crime, or violence. 

I will be clear, all of us with an active ego should be aware of the" Gangster"  nature lurking in our subconcious. Some of us feed into it daily: cursing like sailors in traffic, beating ourselves up about shoulda woulda couldas, numbing out by drinking, smoking, gambling, short fuses, arguments, white lies, self doubt, judgemnt, anxiety, worry, anger and the biggest one by entertaining any element of FEAR. 
What does a gangster do? Invoke FEAR. What excites the Gangster? Any element of danger, wildness, darkness anything opposite of LIGHT. 

Oh Yes, the Gangster is as alluring, badass and as rebellious as Johnny Cash in Black. 

We are lured by the wild side, why because we each have our proverbial cross to bear. We each have our inner Gangster. Some say inner demon, I don't much like that word. Playfully we say...you got the devil in ya. 

We are attracted to it like magnets. We love the Bad Boys and the Bad Girls. Why? What is that? It is because we IDENTIFY with it. No matter how good we aim to be eveything has a shadow. Good/Bad Light/ Dark Heaven/Hell... Spiritual/Gangster. I can almost hear Lana Del Rey's Gods and Monsters in the background. 

It's a tale as old as time. Eve ate the apple, paradise lost, a fall from grace. Isn't that what we do on a daily basis when we chose negativity over positivity, we conciously can choose the path of paradise or distruction in every moment. We can be spiritual or a gangster. Most of us are by default, Spritiual Gangsters. 

What is a Spiritual Gangster? If you are reading this, probably: Y.O.U.
We are all innately spiritual beings. Most wars are over Religion. The number one issue ironically preventing us from Peace on Earth is: Who is God?

We are spiritual beings searching for answers. We are spiritual no matter who or what we believe in because we strive to rise above struggle, poverty, heartbreak and difficulty and into freedom, safety, self acceptance and love. Kurt Cobain was not the only one on the path to Nirvana...we ALL are.

Deep down all we want is peace of mind, peace on earth. Something so simple is so far away and seemingly unattainable...enter the Gangster. The Gangster makes the simple into an elaborate scheme. To keep us guessing, to maintain a life filled with lessons, distractions and dark mysteries to solve. Why? Because we are "Spiritual Beings having a Human experience".

As Spirit we could maintain peace of mind peace on earth easily it is our true nature which we have simply forgotten.
So we have been given this gift "Ego" to perpetuate EXPERIENCE. Learning to see the light in the dark....find the light at the end of the tunnel. We are in the tunnel. 

The Gangster is our human-ness our ego self, driving a wedge between who we strive to be and who tend to be at the grip of our ego. 

The Gangster runs rampant in the streets of our spiritual highway. Guns loaded, ammo ready to drop bombs on our lofty thoughts to terrorize our minds with fear, doubt, worry, insecurity and indecision like a suicide bomber it will unleash its beast at the moment ultimate happiness is at our fingertips It is the ultimate sabatoger of our own good will.

The Gangster presents all kinds of temptation, all sorts of dark and cunning paths, cunning labrynths to steal you away from the light. The Gangster will lie, the Gangster will hide, the Gangster is a narccissist, selfish and wild, an arrogant fool. The ONLY way the Gangster survives is to create FEAR. Adrenline pumping though its center, it is so intense it can not be tamed. To kill the Gangster? Not if it can kill you first. This is Ego, the biggest, baddest Gangster of them all.

Let's get playful and LIGHT for a minute. Let's get back into the true SPIRIT of this blog entry. Where I first heard the term Spiritual Gangster and and why I love smashing these to dynamically radical and opposite words together...

Sex. Of course.  Sex and Ego and Spirt, a divine manage a trois. Again she says with a devilish smile. 

So, I first heard Spiritual Gangster from my friend Benny. He could be the head Gangster if there ever was one. He could be The Don, the King Spiritual Gangster of Spiritual Gangsterland.

He was describing the kind of guy I should be with or would be attracted to. He said. "Your man would have to be a Spiritual Gangster". I nodded and agian the cheshire grin, I agreed.

What he meant was a man deeply rooted in Spirituality, his sense of self being grounded and centered, strong and masculine but feminine enough to embrace Yoga, meditation, collective conciousnness, compassion, open minded and romantic BUT he would be Gangster in that he was wild, adventurous, slightly untamed, mischevious. He would have a dark quiet unrest and an alluring passion, a rebel with or with out a cause, someone rough around the edges with a gigantic heart and a blazing spirit, maybe he has a motorcycle and tattoos. 

Yes! "Exactly".

Someone once told me if Jim Morrison was alive he'd be my Soulmate.
Jim Morrison=Spiritual Gangster. Are you starting to see it?

That's the aspect of the Spiritual Gangster that I EMBRACE. The aspect that made me want to start a clothing line called Spiritual Gangster ( only to find there already is one). Just because you do Yoga, Meditate, get energy healings, believe in Peace on Earth, Charity, Environmental Education, Greenpeace, NDRC, Animal Rights, Rebirthing, Chakra Balancing, Quantum Physics, Sacred Geometry, Angel Cards or whatever your into .....It does not make you a pussy, a sap, a hippie, a new age wierdo... it makes you AWARE, it makes you alive and part of an enormously growing movement and conciousness. 

Some of the hottest, hipest, coolest people I know are Spirtual to the core. What you wear, the car you drive does not equate your spirituality quotent. Just because you meet a "hipster" don't assume they are not stiving to be spiritually aware. Or don't think a tattoed guy on a motorcycle doesn't meditate.
Don't be afraid to engage converstions with people by judging their outward appearance... people would never guess in a million years I was a Reiki Practitioner. I will say the majority of the people closest to me to this day are those who have come to me for a Reiki Healing because they see a SPIRITUAL side they never would have believed exisited and it was that part of me that they resonate with the most.

You choose this body. You choose this life as a spirit. You borrow it for an experience and the journey called, life. To have to highs the lows, the dark the light. 

I'll never forget my first expereince at a Brian Kest Yoga class. I walked in to see a room full of tattooed ripped guys with six packs and some of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen. It was intimidating at first. Then it clicked, it wasn't about that. It was a room full of people working on their INSIDES. Just because someone rides a Harley, drinks a beer, wears a mini skirt, listens to metal, has tatoos, loves sex, does not mean they are not connected to the light. Being spritual doesn't mean being cut off from self expression. It means excepting self in all it's variations. The part of this term Spiritual Gangster I embrace is be who you are. Your inner gangster (ego) makes you YOU, it drives your challenges, it makes you compassionate to other people.

There is another term that HAS made it into not the urban dictionary but Wikapedia itself. That is SPIRITUAL WARRIOR.
"The Spiritual Warrior has resolved to attain Buddhahood in order to liberate others. The one who combates the universal enemy: self ignorance. A Spiritual Warrior's path is compassionatley to help others with wisdom."

A Gangster is seeking Power. But it seeks power from the depths of darkness. From Fear. Just like Ego. Meglomanic behavior,. A Gangster has no remorse it is cunning, decieving and  will hurt with out hesitation or remorse. Feed me feed me feed me or you Die. I die you die. 

A Warrior fights for a cause, his or her own beliefs based on fairness, passion, pride, faith and a deep sense of self. Why are there many stories of warriors outnumberd in battle who win? It is a faith, light driven belief system that has no time for Ego driven fear. A Warrior fights when all other options are exhausted, and they do fight to the death. It is a fearlessness, what I believe I am worth is worth it all.

If we enter battle with this mentality against ego nature we have a fighting chance. Our Gangster nature can be brutal pushing us through our lives like a bull in a china shop, masking true feeling, contact and communication with distraction and lack of grace.

I probably will date my fair share of Spiritual Gangsters because of the thrill, and because of the parts of me that haven't healed enough yet...to know better...because I too am still a little Gangster.

What do I strive to become and who do I strive to love? A Spiritual Warrior.

A Warrior is just as cool, just as strong, just as wild as a Gangster...I just imagine the internal dialog to be a bit different. Gangster, Warrior...wherever you are at, be you... strive to grow to be uniquely you and enjoy the ride.















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