When we are fully aligned with our Higher Self, all else falls into place. Any action we take will automatically be good not only for ourselves personally but also ultimately good for our families, our community, our country, our planet. Since everything is One, it can be no other way. That’s the good news.

The trick is that before we get to that state of being, while we’re still trying to connect to our inherent connectedness, ecology is not necessarily automatic.

Finding the right path does initially take some seeking. But seekers who are sincerely on the path often find that “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” We recognize our right teachers and paths in different ways. But asking whether the path is ecological is a good place to start.

There are a myriad of spiritual practices that can lead us toward spiritual fulfillment. My favorite is:  G – R – A – T – I – T – U – D – E.   Present in almost all the paths is the “attitude of gratitude.”

Gratitude is the quality of being thankful; the readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.  The act of being grateful does not begin and end with simply saying “thank you” whenever you become the beneficiary of an act of charity, or kindness or compassion. There is something much deeper than that.

Meister  Eckhardt  said  that  if  the  only  prayer  you  pray  is  “Thank   You,  God,”  that will be enough. Many teachers advise making gratitude lists upon waking and before you go to sleep.  Placing your focus firmly on what you do have in your life, not on what you don’t have. In doing so,  your gratitude enables you shift the gear to what is lacking in your life to a life of abundance.  Do not take for granted the “good” that is already present in your life.

I like to thank the Divinity, my unconscious mind and my Higher Conscious Mind for all my blessings, large and small. The tipping point that allows your connectedness to feel more present is when you find yourself in a state of appreciation much more consistently than concern or complaining.  Developing the habit of being thankful even to the smallest things in life is simply an invitation for greater and better things to come.

Spiritual practices will begin to occur naturally as you progress on your own spiritual path. Many people choose bits from one path and bits from another. Whatever brings you to that conscious connection of your intrinsic spiritual nature is perfectly acceptable.