Doing service work / helping others for spiritual growth

[pfletcha]

       I kinda hail from a background in Alcoholics Anonymous (it’s kind of the cornerstone of their spiritual program  ) , would like to start a topic on the meaningful act of giving back/helping others as a form of diminishing Self , often quite dramatic and literally ! 

           It’s not just AA ; many of the spiritual leaders knew what was up ! Iirc , that dude that was guru to Ram das put feeding people at the very tip top of what I assume is a very long list of things to do to become enlightened. 
 

           Helping make a difference in someone’s life , and especially doing something that’s unique to your skill set/experience has paid off in ways I’m still coming to grips with …but before I go into any more detail , I want to hear any of you guys’ experience with helping others, good bad or neutral . 

           

Edited October 10, 2022 by pfletcha

[puporing]

If you can enjoy the thing in and of itself (ie with no attachment to the outcome of it or what you get from it, though it's fair if you want this as a career too), that's a good place to act from.

Find out what your limits are for giving and self-care/boundaries, but that'll happen through trial and error alone too.

Tends to work better if someone is open to or asking for the assistance.  

Find role models who are living this day in and day out.

But since you're on this forum, you know that's not all there is to spirituality either, though to me that's one of the top goals you can set - and there are many ways to "give", perhaps infinite .  

There is actually so much joy "hidden" in giving that it just becomes your way of being. I hope you can find that joy.

Edited October 10, 2022 by puporing