The Attitude of a Spiritual Astronaut

I recently read the autobiography of Colonel Chris Hadfield. If you are not familiar with that name, he is a retired astronaut who has spent over 165 days in space. 

Astronauts have a very interesting perspective of life on Earth. When they are in space and they look down upon our beautiful planet, they don’t see country lines. They don’t see political parties. They don’t see different religions. They see Earth. Then they look through a window on the other side of the shuttle and they see the vastness of space. There are many years of training needed to become an astronaut. It requires certain practical skills and experiences, hard work, dedication, and certainly bravery. But there was something else that was mentioned in the book that really stood out – attitude. 

In space terms, “attitude” refers to orientation – the direction your vehicle is pointing relative to the Sun. You want to always know your attitude otherwise the shuttle can veer off course and the astronauts can become disorientated. There are various sensors and tools used so that the Mission Team do not lose their attitude while on a mission. 

This is true from a spiritual point of view as well. If we keep our attitude – the right attitude – and monitor it, we can keep ourselves on the right path. We can keep track of our spiritual evolution – where we are in relation to greater spiritual beings, like the Sun. 

To avoid becoming disorientated, we should keep focused on our relationship to the Sun, or in other words, our relationship to God – keep this front of mind always. It isn’t the only attribute that we monitor, but it should definitely be one of them. 

There are some interesting parallels in the qualities that make a good astronaut and the qualities that the Cosmic Masters tell us make a good spiritual aspirant, or spiritual astronauts. Attributes which, when put together, can help us create the best attitude.

The first of these is cooperation.

In a Mental Transmission received by our Master, Dr. George King, on February 14th, 1957, the Cosmic Master under the pseudonym of Zeme 85 Co-efficient said:

This basic relationship which formulates successful co-existence is understanding and appreciation of the abilities of one another. Many of you are only too eager to recognize the disabilities of one another. The results of this are obvious. For the recognition of disability brings as its force of reaction the recognition of disability. In this way is the vicious circle described.

He goes on to say:

Recognize each other’s abilities, my friends, then co-existence becomes an unlimited blending together of soul and soul in the cause of the application of the Law.

If a small team of astronauts are on the International Space Station for several months, they have to get along, they have to cooperate with each other. In fact, working well with others is an essential part of the selection process for astronauts. 

The same can be said in our spiritual lives. 

The person with a positive attitude will see the good in people, not dwell on someone’s weaknesses. It is certainly normal to notice the differences between people, and even try to encourage our fellow spiritual seekers to grow in various ways, but if we don’t recognize others’ abilities, we are not cooperating with them. We are just tolerating them. 

As spiritual workers, we want to help build each other up, so that we can work together to build the New Age on Earth.

The next quality of a spiritual astronaut:

Have a love of learning.

Our Master said:

There should not—never be a day passed but what you learn something new. Never a day. Never miss any opportunity to learn something new. Especially if it’s worth learning. If it isn’t, then don’t bother to learn it. Remember, this glass is three-quarters filled. If I was to try to fill that with the nectar of God Himself I could only put a quarter in there because the rest is orange juice. Remember that. Remember that. Don’t let your mind be cluttered up with things which are no use to your progression. Learn anything which might be of help no matter what it is, whether it’s how to run an off-set machine, how to bandage your finger, how to put a splint on, how to give healing, how to pray, how to do a drawing, how to write a poem, how to paint a picture. Learn these things but keep the mind—or the brain—as uncluttered as possible.

Col. Hadfield wanted to become an astronaut but he was Canadian and NASA was only accepting American applicants. His dream seemed impossible. But he continued on following his dream, just in case.

He joined the military, became a fighter pilot, then a test pilot, then ultimately joined the Canadian Space Agency which, in time, started working with NASA to send Canadians to space as well.  With each step, he worked towards his goal. But for all of these years he was working towards becoming an astronaut, he was grateful for the work he was doing. He loved every day. Each day learning a new skill that brought him closer to his ultimate goal. Even though it was years before he went into space, he made the most of those years. He went to work with a smile on his face, not knowing whether or not he would ever be chosen to go on a Mission. 

If an astronaut only enjoyed whizzing around the Earth in a spaceship, they would not like being an astronaut. The ratio of time spent in preparation to time in orbit is many months to a single day in space. 

In The Aetherius Society, we have such incredible opportunities. They’re so incredible that it’s not possible to properly wrap our heads around them, or fully appreciate them. We are literally cooperating with the Gods from Space. Something an astronaut can’t dream of doing. We should have great enthusiasm in everything we do and everything we learn.

The more we continue to study the teachings, the more skills we learn that can help The Aetherius Society in some way, the more we are appreciating the opportunities we have. The more we are helping. The more we are manipulating our karma, and therefore, helping the world. 

If we could see the positive karmic pattern that we are creating for ourselves, if we could see the faces of the peoples whose lives are saved by our efforts, we would be completely overwhelmed with gratitude. 

Which brings me to the next attribute: gratitude. 

Our Master said:

I’ve met some whose lot through life has been pretty hard all the way round, and yet they may have grumbled a little but, really, they do thank God, and have thanked God, for the great opportunities of these particular experiences, which, if lived through correctly will never have to be endured again. Whether they are good or bad ones. So-called pain, or so-called happiness, they will never have to be lived through again if lived through correctly the first time.

It is hard to be grateful for a painful experience. Ultimately though, everything is a learning experience, regardless of whether it’s pleasant or painful. And if we learn all that we need to from our experiences, we will not need to go through them again. 

Having this attitude of gratitude for our experiences helps in different ways. 

Firstly, it helps us see the big picture. We can look at an experience and try to determine what we are meant to learn. By doing this, we are more able to detach from the emotion of the experience. We take it less personally. 

Secondly, it makes us look at the situation more positively – as an opportunity for growth – which in turn will help us get through it. 

The next attribute may seem obvious – do a good job.  

The Master Saint Goo-Ling, July 8th, 1965:

The energy you call love manifests upon every level, from the basic to the highest as far as you are concerned. If you would mix anything with your labors then mix this true feeling, this unbendable loyalty, this joy, this happiness, this love. These are the aspects of service. This is the attitude which will help you to help your Society help the world.

Take every task very seriously, yet with great joy. Every task is important, no matter how small it may be. Regard it as such and do it well. No, better than well; better even than that: do it perfectly. Please remember that many questionable intentions are camouflaged by the saying: “We are doing our best.” Do better than that. Remember for Whom you work. Remember for What you work. This memory will govern how you work.

We often underestimate ourselves. As humans, we really do not know the limits of which we are capable. If we aim for perfection, we can surprise ourselves and reach new heights. 

Excellence is a habit. If we strive for excellence in all that we do, it will not be easy at first. But it is a habit and we can create a habit of excellence, of perfection. We won’t get it right every time, but if we strive towards it, we will learn more and we will get better. 

This is what astronauts do. They train for years for the same Mission. They take the approach of “sweat the small stuff.” They take great care in doing each task as perfectly as possible. This helps them be better prepared for all future scenarios. What happens if they are 20 degrees off attitude? What about compounded problems? 

Col. Hadfield told a story of when he learned the importance of this approach. He was in the Canadian Forces basic jet training and each flight the cadets had was supervised by an instructor. If you flew poorly on one of these flights, you had to have a “re-ride.” A “re-ride” was a black mark on a pilot’s record. They would not be kicked out immediately, but it was most definitely a stain. Instructors would treat you differently and for Col. Hadfield, it would have ruined his dream of becoming an astronaut. 

One test flight, he did not do well. He was reacting to every move, instead of anticipating it. He didn’t show the control of the situation that is normal, and expected, of pilots at this stage. At the end of the flight he sat next to the instructor, devastated that he very well may have to abandon his goal. The instructor looked through his paperwork and said that he could see that the type of flight they had that day was not normal, so he was going to chalk it up to a bad day. 

Chris Hadfield had viewed training as an ongoing test. His goal was to create every possible advantage for himself and give the best possible answer to every single question. So when he blew that flight and nearly got a re-ride, he was forced to look inside himself to try and figure out why he hadn’t been ready. Was he tired? Not assertive enough at the controls? Too focused on the wrong things? 

No, the problem was simple. He had decided that he was already a pretty good pilot and that he didn’t need to fret over every last detail. He said:

It’s true, you don’t need to obsess over details if you’re willing to roll the dice and accept whatever happens. But if you’re striving for excellence – whether it’s in playing the guitar or flying a jet – there’s no such thing as over-preparation. It’s your best chance of improving your odds.

He made sure that this never happened again. Before every flight going forward, he spent the night before in the jet, practicing, walking through everything he needed to do. He became 100% prepared because he wanted to be able to perform perfectly. 

Swami Sivananda once said:

You are the architect of your own fate. You are the master of your own destiny. You can do and undo things.

You sow an action and reap a tendency. You sow a tendency and reap a habit. You sow a habit and reap your character. You sow your character and reap your destiny. Therefore, destiny is your own creation. You can undo it if you like – destiny is a bundle of habits.

We, as spiritual workers, should strive to be perfect. Not just because we underestimate our abilities, but because we care about the work that we do. When we perform The Twelve Blessings, we want to be able to send out as much good quality energy to the world as we can. When we give spiritual healing, we want to help our patient as much as possible. We want to have good concentration so that we can listen to the Masters and learn as much as we can from them. 

But this approach can be taken in every task. Any job that we do, we want to do it perfectly. 

Which brings me to the last attribute that is essential to having a good attitude: the ability to take on constructive criticism. 

The Master Aetherius said in 1956:

Please dear friends, try to cultivate the right idea. Don’t expect praise. Don’t even want it. If people praise you, please walk away from them. What are they doing? Giving you false confidence. Praise, you know, is just as damaging as criticism! In fact, if it be constructive criticism, it could be more helpful than praise. Don’t look for it, don’t want it, don’t expect it—it’s an imposter, anyway. It is your duty to do these things. It is your duty! Naturally there are times when you deserve commendation. But revel not in such things. If you would revel, oh my friends, revel then in the Light of God.

At NASA, astronauts are not only expected to respond positively to criticism, but to go one step further and draw attention to their own missteps and miscalculations. To do so makes the difference between life and death. 

Col. Hadfield was once explaining to a group of space workers why he did a particular task in a certain way. Another astronaut jumped in and cautioned the group not to assume he was correct, just because he spoke with confidence. Col. Hadfield felt a sting. He wondered if the feedback was too harsh, or personal. He stopped to ask himself why his colleague was saying that.

He quickly realized that he had to concede that the point was valid. He doesn’t come off as wishy-washy and he was used to telling others how to do things. But that didn’t mean that he thought he knew everything.  He assumed that people understood that and felt free to jump in and ask questions. But perhaps his demeanor was making asking questions difficult. He took the feedback on board and tried to make it more comfortable for people to ask questions. Going forward, instead of waiting for someone to give him feedback, he started asking for it. What could he have done better? How can he improve for next time?

All of us have room for improvement. I can definitely say that for myself. If we didn’t we would have ascended by now. Some lessons we can learn on our own, but other times we need help. We didn’t learn how to tie our shoes by ourselves, or ride a bike. We made mistakes and the person teaching us would help us understand what went wrong, so we could try again. 

When we all first came across The Aetherius Society, we might not have known how to pray in the best way. Perhaps we held our hands together, or we didn’t pray dynamically. But we learn through feedback and are open to change, and we become better prayers. 

It’s all part of having the right attitude. 

Now this was not an exhaustive list of all the attributes that create a positive attitude, but they are some that got Col. Chris Hadfield closer to the Sun. Similarly, having this kind of attitude can also get us closer to the Sun, closer to God.

As the Master Jesus tells us in the Eighth Blessing, the Sun “is the God of your Bible, it is the Brahma of the Hindu Scripts.” It is the nearest thing to God in our concept of manifestation. 

As I mentioned at the beginning, to avoid becoming disorientated, we should keep focused on our relationship to the Sun, or in other words, our relationship to God – keep this front of mind always. The Aetherius Society doesn’t just offer a spiritual path, but also a community, and, thanks to the Cosmic Masters, we have the knowledge to understand that we are works in progress. We understand the things we need to do to evolve spiritually. 

Apparently they say in the military, “Never volunteer!” But in The Aetherius Society, I would encourage everyone to take an interest in all that we do. If we come to as many activities as we can, ask to help out, monitor our attitude, cooperate, learn new things, be grateful, take feedback on board, and take pride in the work that we do, then we can become Spiritual Astronauts.

About Lisa Rosser

Lisa is the creative force behind the “Spiritual Fix” where she shares insights into navigating life’s ups and downs with a spiritual perspective centered on healing, growth and transformation. A Minister at The Aetherius Society’s American HQ in Los Angeles, she has dedicated over a decade to interpreting and sharing the messages of cosmic beings. She also authors the “Weekly Inspiration” email series for 12Blessings.org, offering a weekly dose of spiritual nourishment to a global audience.