How connected do you feel to life and all that lives? How inspired can we feel if we think we are separate from everyone and everything else? Do you allow yourself to be inspired by the people you don’t like just as much as the ones you do? Do you get inspiration from all colors and fragrances? Are you paying attention to the “little” and not just to the “a lot”? Are you motivated and inspired by what you call good and what you call bad?

The essential nature of the universe is love even though it may not appear so in the present. If all of us were to begin aligning our spiritual health, along with our mental and physical health, there would be less violence and poverty. We wouldn’t be trying to convince ourselves that somebody else has our good. We would be open to inspired, positively motivated living.

It has to start with each individual. Here are ways you can align yourself:

Spiritually: Start by praying, meditating or finding a church or spiritual home that teaches love and abundance, rather than guilt and limitation.

Mentally: Try refraining from the need to be “right,” instead interrupting the arguments in your head with thoughts of kindness and giving love in the Universe without expecting anything in return.

Physically: Take care of yourself by going to a chiropractor, getting a Reiki treatment or hiring a trainer and exercising. Begin by simply parking your car further away so that you need to walk more.

What will you think and do in order to remember that we are connected to the universe? What will you do to maintain that connection? Begin by opening yourself to the inspiration of all as the opportunities present themselves to you.

Rev. Shawn is an ordained Unity Minister who began his spiritual journey in earnest in 1997 after a successful career as a lighting and sound designer in New York nightclubs. Shawn’s mission in life and in his ministry is for everyone on planet earth (including himself) to KNOW that he or she is Good. The Unity Center for Practical Spirituality is at 3 Main St, 2nd flr, Norwalk. For more information, call 203-855-7922 or visit UnityCentereps.com. See ad, pg 27.