Mind + Grind: A Thinker's Guide to Practical Spirituality

By Gavin R Jackson

Spiritual swagger is your birthright!

The very essence of your nature is to have a life that works for you and to experience health, love, joy, and victory. The concept of Mind+Grind is an examination of tried and true methods

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xscape Publishing
• Release date: Dec 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781956799019

Book preview

Mind + Grind:

A Thinker’s Guide to Practical Spirituality

By Gavin R. Jackson

Published by Xscape Publishing 2021

Copyright © 2021 Gavin R. Jackson

ISBN 978-1-956799-00-2

All rights reserved. Parts of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, with credit given to the author but not for resale or other paid purposes.

Gavin R Jackson asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

No area of life is immune to the combination of faith, work, and enthusiasm. 

 Dr. Derrick B. Wells

Birds born in a cage think flying is an illness.

Alejandro Jodorowsky

I AM!

Bruce-Leroy, in response to the inquiry, Who’s the one and only master?

For Ethan and Dean,

that you both may know that the world is yours

For Dad,

I still hear your directions, loud and clear

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

There are countless people that have poured in to me in many ways that have made this project possible.  I cannot practically list them all but I am filled with gratitude for every contribution along the way of my journey.  

However, I want to give specific acknowledgement, first and foremost, to my wife Christina, whose unconditional love, unending support, and immovable faith have made not just this book, but every worthwhile accomplishment in my adult life possible.

To my mom, Dee Jackson, as my first and greatest teacher of spirituality and my steadfast encouragement from my first breath to this very instant. She is and has always been the foundational rock of our family.

To my sister Syreeta, who always has managed to see only the highest version of me, and calls me up to that version and supports that version as often as needed.    

I must also acknowledge my spiritual teacher, and mentor, the Rev. Dr. Derrick B. Wells, without whom the fulfillment of my role as a teacher may have never come into expression.

CONTENTS

FORWARD

1. Your Source of Strength

2. Beyond Just Survival

3. Essential Evolution for Discernment

4. Your Freedom is at Hand

5. The Awakening

6. You Are More Than Enough

7. The Battle is Not Yours

8. Angels Watching Over You

9. Forgiveness Under Pressure

10. Stand

FORWARD

Spiritual swagger that is your birthright! The very essence of your nature is to have a life that works for you and to experience health, love, joy, and victory. The concept of Mind+Grind is an examination of tried and true methods of achievement, positive transformation, and breakthroughs as informed by spiritual principles found throughout a myriad of faith traditions.  

In this particular writing we are examining a few offerings from the Old and New Testament of the Bible and how they can be used in very real and practical ways. The idea is to not just leave the scriptures to lay dormant in the book, shackled by traditions and edifices. But rather to walk it like we talk it, as we overcome, create, and expand. 

Faith is effectively useless if we can’t demonstrate it when it counts in our life and affairs. That demonstration requires that one must elevate one’s own thinking, and then use that elevation to inform intentional works. That is the undefeated formula of the Mind+Grind. When our efforts are charged with a higher consciousness, we will no longer struggle. We may work hard, but that’s not the same as struggling. For instance, a duck would struggle to climb a tree. But a duck doesn’t struggle to swim or fly.  Even if it works hard to swim or fly, it doesn't struggle because that work is in alignment with its natural design. The understanding of our natural design lies in spiritual understanding and our triumph lies in the application thereof! So let’s bring the scriptures to everyday practical use for our ‘right here and now’ better living. 

At the time of this publication, we are experiencing the extraordinary challenges of a world-wide virus pandemic. Because of this, many are being forced to slow down from their normal routine as the ability to safely have interpersonal contact is greatly  limited. All walks of life from white collar executives and blue collar workers to home care laborers and stay-at-home parents are all being forced to take a pause and step back from their regular life pace. Those who once struggled to take a 2-week vacation in the past are now on a 60-, 90-, or 120-day vacation from their routine. While it was an unexpected shift for many, it is important for us to take advantage of any unexpected season of rest. At some time in life, we all need to rest and recharge.

In our normal daily routines, seeing the little battery in the corner of our cell phone turn red prompts us to recharge the phone. If we are out and about, headed to a meeting or simply running errands, a dying cell phone will cause us to stop and take immediate action. Some may even borrow a charger from a complete stranger in order to recharge their cell phone. Decades ago, this would seem extreme. But as we have