This time, practice the main points.

Baby meerkat photo from National Geographic Kids

          Wildlife researchers are beginning to study how some animals purposefully instruct their young. There has been much debate over what constitutes teaching, especially a criteria that could be observed by humans. In 1992, biologists Tim Caro and Marc Hauser successfully proposed three behaviors to identify such instruction:

1. The usual behavior of the teacher is modified when an inexperienced pupil is present.
2. There is a personal cost to the teacher.
3. The student learns skills more rapidly than it would have on its own.

Helping their young develop survival skills will ultimately advance their species, therefore these animal instructors waste no time when it comes to teaching. What advances our spiritual development? Slogan fifty-one identifies three main points: selfless action, application of the teachings and a mind committed to awakening and compassion. Like the animal teachers, we have no time to lose.

Practicing what is important means getting your priorities straight in terms of your spiritual practice. ~ B. Alan Wallace

For more information on the fifty-first slogan, go here.