Dirty Feet

“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”

~ Mahatma Gandhi ~

Gandhi was a spiritual man full of wisdom and keen insight. What exactly does he mean here?

One of the first practices we learn on the spiritual path is to protect ourselves from the negative influences of the material world. A Hindu tenet is to live in the world but not of the world. In other words, although we have to live, work, love, and function in material society, our minds should be focused on our own spiritual growth. We protect ourselves from the influences of negative energy by wrapping ourselves in a cloak of blue or white light (or some other form of spiritual protection). We eat healthy, wholesome foods. We clear our minds of negative thoughts and accentuate the positive. We practice patience and forgiveness and push those dark feelings of hatred and anger from our hearts. We take care of our bodies in ways that honor and promote LIFE. We avoid hateful, chaotic, negative people. We surround ourselves with beauty, cleanliness, aromatic fragrances, peace, tranquility, and serenity. We remain calm in the face of danger and adversity. We strive to help others. We extend our hands in friendship and kindness. We turn off the noise, the hate, the violence, the chaos, the insanity directed at all of us by the media and loud, angry, hateful people. 

And it does not matter whether we are Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, Wiccan, or any other spiritual affiliation. The principles remain the same. Meditation and contemplation; prayer; trusting in a higher power; opening up our minds and hearts to the positive flow of energy; cleansing our minds and hearts of negative thoughts, feelings, and influences; striving to be a constructive force in the world instead of a destructive force; projecting light and a ray of hope in a dark world – all of us have the capability to shine like the brightest star in the night sky. But it takes commitment and work and a sincere belief that we all contain a divine essence inside ourselves.

May the divine spark in you shine brightly!

Dawn Pisturino

July 20, 2022

Copyright 2022 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nonviolent Civil Disobedience

“World peace through nonviolent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other methods have failed. Thus, we must begin anew. Nonviolence is a good starting point. Those of us who believe in this method can be voices of reason, sanity, and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred, and emotion. We can very well set a mood of peace out of which a system of peace can be built.”

~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ~

Martin Luther King Day will be celebrated on Monday, January 17, 2022. Some people will just view it as a three-day weekend. Others will have already rejected his nonviolent method in favor of violence, threats, bullying, and agitation. But other Americans remember his significant contributions to the Civil Rights Movement in the United States and his continuation of the work of Mahatma Gandhi in India.

Dr. King was a highly-educated Baptist theologian who embraced the message of Jesus Christ to fight hatred with love; violence with peace; injustice with education and peaceful demonstration. He used his powerful voice to expose the forces of hatred, racism, segregation, and elitism in America. And he did not back down, in spite of threats, condemnation, and ostracism. He paid the ultimate price – assassination – and became a martyr for the cause of Civil Rights.

And yet, his message of love and peace has been rejected by many young people as old-fashioned, slow, and ineffective. He was too religious and conservative for their tastes. For them, bullying and violence are the only path to justice.

The ideals of the 1960s died because of two things: violence and the commercialization of those ideals. Most people abhor violence and will not support it unless they feel directly threatened. Right now, we live in a society where safety and security have been compromised by errant politicians. People have been hit over the head with COVID, government overreach, and economic uncertainty. The American people need reassurance and HOPE – not threats and violence. People who believe that violence is the path to justice may be in for a rude awakening.

Let’s keep the message of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. alive and well in 2022.

Dawn Pisturino

January 14, 2022

Copyright 2022 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.