The Practice of Shining

Shining can be understood as the outpouring and radiating of our goodness, beauty, joy, skills, talents, potential, and appreciation. It’s an act or expression that can encompass and enhance all that we do. It’s the intentional joyful actualization of our benevolent intentions, choices, and activities; our care, precision, creativity, and curiosity; the flair and style we show in our work and play, as well as pertaining to the quality of our efforts. It’s the love and kindness we share with others; it's the enthusiasm, vitality, and confidence through which we engage positively with the world; and it's our awe and wonder for life and living. We can shine in our work, interactions, and understanding; in our kindness, humor, and fun. We can shine as artists, teachers, craftsmen, inventors, entrepreneurs, family members, friends, members of our community, or simply as conscientious human beings. We can shine through art, gardening, cooking, crafts, sports, activism, self-improvement, and caring for others. In other words, we can shine in everything we do. Ultimately, the aim is to cultivate shining into a constant mental state, becoming our default mindset, where the mind naturally abides. The choice and ability to shine are always present, however, shining is only possible through a positive, open, and self-confident attitude, without expectations of reciprocation or reward.

We all naturally shine at different times, on our birthdays, when we win or achieve, during our first kiss, when we feel attractive, on our wedding day, at the birth of a child, when we perform, or when we are in love. Some people seem to naturally shine in everything they do, possessing a natural radiance, presence, charisma, or magnetism. It’s important to understand that shining is more than just radiating positivity and goodness (simply being nice). On the contrary, shining includes radiating all of our virtuous qualities including our wisdom, maturity, stability, integrity, courage, strength, determination, resilience, and self-discipline; including our clarity, objectivity, equanimity, and spaciousness.

Shining and awakened living

To further our understanding of shining, let’s look at its composition. First, its foundation is based on right view – the correct view of ourselves and reality. From the clarity and goodness that arises from our right view, shining then naturally radiates from us as our attitude or spirit towards life. One of the best ways to shine is through the ten tenets of the skillful living lifestyle which is the basis for awakened living. When put into practice, shining allows us to engage with life more openly and spontaneously. This reduces our neurotic speediness and busyness that fuels our grasping, over-reactivity, and obsessive self-interest. The daily cultivation of shining should be seen as a sublime act of generosity, in which we share our goodness, beauty, joy, talents, and skills with the world.