It is an interesting word – conscientiousness – and it is one trait that I admire in people and one that I aim to embody myself.

This is what it says in Wikipedia:

“In psychology, conscientiousness is the trait of being painstaking and careful, or the quality of acting according to the dictates of one’s conscience. It includes such elements as self-discipline, carefulness, thoroughness, organization, deliberation (the tendency to think carefully before acting), and need for achievement. It is an aspect of what was traditionally called character.

Conscientious individuals are generally hard working and reliable. When taken to an extreme, they may also be workaholics, perfectionists, and compulsive in their behavior. People who are low on conscientiousness are not necessarily lazy or immoral, but they tend to be more laid back, less goal oriented, and less driven by success.”

I know that when I am not in balance, I can certainly move more towards the workaholic and perfectionist part, rather than just being thorough – but on the whole, being conscientious has been a wonderful asset to have.

One story comes to mind.  In my early twenties, I was working as the receptionist in a five star hotel.  The hotel was in trouble and looked like it could go into receivership at any time.  All the staff had lost interest and were just biding time until they found something better.

One evening shift I received a phone call with a long and detailed message for one of the in-house guests.  It involved flight numbers, times, addresses and was phoned in on a mobile that kept breaking up.  I took down the message, confirmed all of the details, delivered it to the guest and then ensured the taxi was booked for the correct time to take the guest to the airport to meet that flight.

Little did I know that the hotel had been taken over, and the new General Manager was the “guest” and the new Assistant General Manager was the “caller”.  This was a test, and the two of them had been putting the staff through similar tests all week.

Once they took over the hotel, they sacked 95% of the current staff – but I received a traineeship that had me working through every department of the hotel, with a clearly defined pathway to eventually become a GM myself. I ended up changing direction in life, but at the time I was very excited at my prospects.

The essence of this, is in the intention, not the outcome. 

There is an old saying and I can’t remember it properly but it goes something like “What is enlightenment?” asked the student of the master “Did you have breakfast this morning?” he questioned in return.  “Yes” said the student, puzzled. “Did you wash your bowl?” he asked.  The student nodded. “Ahh yes,” the master pointed out “But did you do a good job?”

I have a fascination in all things unexplainable and this story certainly fits into that category.  I think the essence of this story is what is important, not the actual facts surrounding it.  Messages of love, tolerance and acceptance never get old with me…

Mellen-Thomas Benedict is an artist who survived a near-death experience (NDE) in 1982. He was dead for over an hour and a half. During that time, he rose up out of his body and went into the light.

Curious about the universe, he was taken far into the remote depths of existence, and even beyond, into the energetic void of nothingness behind the Big Bang.

Eminent near-death experience researcher Dr. Kenneth Ring has said, “His story is one of the most remarkable I have encountered in my extensive research on near-death experiences.”

The Near-Death Experience of Mellen-Thomas Benedict

In 1982, I died from terminal cancer. My condition was non-operable. I chose not to have chemotherapy. I was given six to eight months to live. Before this time, I had become increasingly despondent over the nuclear crisis, the ecology crisis, and so forth. I came to believe that nature had made a mistake—that we were probably a cancerous organism on the planet. And that is what eventually killed me.

Before my near-death experience, I tried all sorts of alternative healing methods. None helped. So I determined that this was between me and God. I had never really considered God. Neither was I into any kind of spirituality. But my approaching death sent me on a quest for more information about spirituality and alternative healing. I read various religions and philosophies. They gave hope that there was something on the other side.

I had no medical insurance, so my life savings went overnight on tests. Unwilling to drag my family into this, I determined to handle this myself. I ended up in hospice care and was blessed with an angel for my hospice caretaker, whom I will call “Anne.” She stayed with me through all that was to follow.

Into the Light

I woke up about 4:30 am and I knew that this was it. I was going to die. I called a few friends and said good-bye. I woke up Anne and made her promise that my dead body would remain undisturbed for six hours, since I had read that all kinds of interesting things happen when you die. I went back to sleep. The next thing I remember…. 

You can read the rest of the story here

Last night I went to a talk by Dan Millman, author of the classic book “The Way of the Peaceful Warrior”, as well as many other inspirational writings.  I first read this book in the late 1980s and it encouraged me to think very deeply about the themes presented in it.  It became one of my favourite books, and I have read it many times over the years.

Two of the interesting topics that Dan mentioned in his talk, were the concepts of spirituality and enlightenment, and what it means to bring these ideals into our lives. 

People have varied impressions of what these concepts mean, and to many they see living “spiritually”,  in association with being a monk in a monastery and spending life in devotional meditation.

And in regards to enlightenment, one definition states that it is “characterized by the extinction of desire and suffering and individual consciousness”.

Which is why I have never aspired to be “enlightened” in that particular manner. 

To my way of thinking – we are here on earth as humans, with a complete range of feelings and emotions, desires and dreams – and to deny that, to aspire to leave those parts of our humanness behind, is to deny who we are in this world.

The range and depth of our feelings is what gives our world colour, texture and meaning.  If we transcend our very human feelings, then we are transcending what it means to be human.  If we weren’t meant to experience ourselves being human, then why are we here?

Dan spoke about a concept that I have been familiar with since reading his books 20 years ago, and that is about practicing spirituality whilst living in the real world.  As he says, it is easy to be “spiritual” whilst living as a monk, but try being “spiritual” when you have a full time job, family, mortgage, and the daily demands and pressures that we all face. 

Practicing the concepts of love, kindness, compassion, gratefulness and joy in these circumstances takes a strong and focused individual who will be constantly challenged.  This person gets the opportunity to “practice” these higher principles daily, in a way that the monk is never challenged to.

To me, everyday spirituality, living gently in the world rather than removing yourself from it, is something very worthwhile to aspire to.  We can use idealistic notions of transcendence as inspiration and guidance, rather than as a rule to live by.

That doesn’t mean that we stop growing and working on healing our stuck negative emotions and the harmful patterns we can get into – but it can mean losing the idea that you can’t experience spirituality and enlightenment in your life right now.

Even though it isn’t always easy, embracing the rhythms of life, the highs the lows and the moments of perfect grace, brings with it a deep sense of peace and gratefulness for all that it means to be human.

And that for me, is what enlightenment is all about.