An Inside Job

by Martin Montes

The educational platform called “earth” is designed to teach us spiritual lessons for our soul’s growth. This schoolroom is set up perfectly the way it is. There is one prerequisite that is needed when preparing ourselves as students for our learning. That prerequisite is the commitment to creating a clean, peaceful and harmonious internal environment.

We often make the erroneous assumption of looking on the external for this preparation. We focus on our bodies, homes, vehicles, and other physical things. But that kind of clean up is usually short-lived. Cleaning up our internal environment is where we need to begin. This focus elevates our level of consciousness. When we commit to our inner world, it becomes habitual. We are all creatures of habit. Let us become aware of the unlimited resources from within; it will start a very positive effect on Earth.

All that you do comes back to you. This is promised by one of the spiritual laws of the universe, the Law of Cause and Effect, or the Law of Karma. This law states that what you give out inevitably comes back around and it applies to both conscious and unconscious actions. This universal law is alive and well. The more conscious we become, the clearer our intent is, and the more desirable our internal and external environments become. What you are on the inside will radiate on the outside.

Our environmental agenda is starting to get more exposure in this nation. There are celebrations across the United States on Earth Day in the spring. We pay a waste disposal environmental fee when we get an oil change on our vehicles. I remember reviewing the property tax notice on my home last year. There was this proposed fee for environmental lands listed under the column of “voter approved debt payment.” We all could incorporate some kind of positive environmental ritual day in and day out. These healthy attitudes will then liberate others to do the   same and a snowball effect would manifest.

I lived in a studio apartment in New York when I worked on Wall Street from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s. Sometime in the early 1990s, our garbage laws changed. Recycle laws were emphatically implemented. Homeowners would be fined if the recycle laws were not obeyed. I recall that I had to have a pile for newspapers, a bag for plastics, bottles and metal and a bag for regular garbage. I also remember that the newspaper pile had to be tied up as a bundle to be discarded. I also had to remember which days the sanitation workers would pick up the recyclable newspaper, the plastics, bottles and metal and which day they picked up the regular garbage. I was growing restive with the amount of space and time all these garbage laws were taking up in my life — not to mention how much space it started to take up in my studio apartment.

Years passed by as I kept obeying the garbage laws. I assumed that recycle laws were implemented in every state in this country. That assumption came to an abrupt halt when I moved to Florida. I was both shocked and relieved to discover that the recycle laws were “optional” in the apartment complex I was moving into. After settling in, I decided that, since the recycle law was not mandatory or strictly enforced, I did not have to comply. I would simplify my life by throwing out all my garbage in one bag.  At first this decision was a relief. It was much easier disposing of my garbage. I kept up this behavior for six months.

After the six months had passed, I started to feel uneasy about not recycling. There was this inner feeling that I should start again. I knew it was the right thing to do. It was that old battle between good and evil, right from wrong, surfacing in my consciousness. As I thought about this inner feeling, I realized that I no longer accumulated morning newspapers as I did when traveling on public transportation in New York. In Florida, I would be driving to work, which changed my morning ritual of newspaper reading. So, without the need to accumulate newspapers, all I had to focus on was the plastics, bottles and metal. I noticed that the apartment complex had one large recycle bin that accepted the plastics, glass and metal. That simple awareness and the voice of my internal environment made me initiate the environmental change of recycling again. It was the correct solution to my inner discomfort. Sometimes doing what’s right may not be the easiest path to follow. But doing what’s right does lead to the correct port of call.

We can clean up our internal environment by consciously building the following attributes. Getting a good night of sleep. Taking time to meditate. Eating healthier foods. Exercising regularly. Feeding our minds with positive daily affirmations. Reading meaningful books. Thinking happy thoughts. Surrounding ourselves with supportive beings. Doing anything positive that can bring you closer to your center, your internal environment.

Another great attribute to develop is the ability to laugh. This last attribute was taught to me by an 86-year-old man whom I met a couple of months ago in Los Angeles. We became engaged in a two-hour significant discussion on life. He was a true sage, bestowing a wealth of knowledge upon me. One positive trait he specifically conveyed stuck in my mind — the importance of laughter. He told me that one day he realized that he didn’t laugh much in his daily life and he decided to change that. He just started laughing everyday until it became a natural habit. A good laugh does wonders for our spiritual, psychological and physical health.

Another way of viewing these environmental changes in our lives is through our behavior. Our behavior is determined by our self-perception. What needs to change is our self-perception, our internal environment. That change will trigger a better behavior. A better behavior will create an improved external environment. The willingness to change is vital to our future health and environment. We need to be more conscious of our universe. We can’t change what we don’t acknowledge. Seek and you shall find. What you find is the God spark within — the spark that brought about a conscious awareness that we are all connected. This mental revelation will precipitate a positive cosmic change on our Earth. You are a winner for trying. You are your own judge. I have faith you will do the right thing. I send my prayers for a universal vision of higher awareness and for more consciousness about our environment.

Martin A. Montes is a spiritual astrologer and member of the American Federation of Astrologers, Inc. (813) 902-9434